By Luann Abrams We all love taking our kids on nature walks. Seeing the environment through their eyes can make us feel like kids again and give us a renewed appreciation of the smallest things we fail to see as we go about our busy lives. But there are days when I just want to move! If I have to stop to inspect another rock that looks exactly like the rock found 20 seconds earlier or count how many ants are crawling in that anthill, I may scream! Days when I wish my son would STOP smelling the roses already and walk! Please tell me I’m not alone here! When I find myself wanting to enjoy a more vigorous walk and my son wants to inspect the intricacies of the dirt pile, I add a few exercises to get my blood pumping.
Here are a few things you can do to turn your nature walk into a workout:
• Do jumping jacks or squat jumps each time your kids stop to inspect some new and exciting treasure. I know you know how to do jumping jacks (ask your kiddo to demonstrate if you don’t!). To perform a squat jump, stand with feet shoulder-width apart and squat down as if trying to sit in a chair. Jump up and immediately come back into the squat. Try to land softly, which means you use your muscles to slow the momentum of your lowering body.
• Perform walking lunges as your child meanders: Standing straight with feet together, step forward with your right foot, bending both knees until back knee is close to the ground and keeping your front knee directly above your ankle. Push back up with legs, pushing weight through the right heel as you stand up and bring left foot up to right. Immediately lunge forward with your left leg. You can also carry your child either on your back or in front as long as you are comfortable with the additional weight and can continue to keep your back straight.
• Calf raises. Any time you are just standing around, you can raise up and down on your toes to strengthen your calves.
• Near a tree? Grab around a low hanging branch and do a pull-up. If that is too hard jump up and slowly lower yourself down. Do a one-armed push up against the trunk. Place hand on trunk centered under your chest, lower yourself toward the trunk, then straighten your arm to push yourself back up. You can make it harder by standing farther from the tree.
• Use a bench, curb, or tree stump as a step. You can jump up onto it, do speedy toe taps, or just simply step up and down for some added fitness.
• Carry exercise tubing with you to do any of these workout moves. Exercise tubing is rubber tubing with handles on each end that is used as your resistance. You can easily carry it with you wrapped around your hand or in your coat pocket. It’s also handy to carry with you when you travel.
• Bicep Curls. Stand on the tubing and hold one handle in each hand keeping elbows at side. Lower and raise hands.
• Outer Thigh Toner Stand on tubing with feet shoulder-width apart, hands holding handles resting on hips. Slowly rock sideways onto one foot while lifting the other foot and keeping your feet the same distance apart. Rock onto the other side.
• Tricep Kickbacks. Wrap the tubing around a small tree or post (you can also do these standing on the tubing as in the bicep curls), keep arms straight and pull back.
I hope that these exercise ideas will help you add some fitness into your day and make your nature walks even more fun!
Luann Abrams is a certified personal trainer who focuses on family fitness. She maintains her blog, trainingforfun.com to encourage active families.
