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exercise
By Lisa Druxman, founder of Stroller Strides®
Babies love the motion and closeness; parents love the comfort and convenience! Even better, the Moby Wrap can also be a part of great workout. Baby's weight is evenly distributed while adding a functional 'weight' to your exercises!
Posture, posture!
Before we begin your workout, let's talk posture. The main downside we find with most carriers is that they can wreak havoc on your posture. New moms already suffer from posture problems aggravated by feeding, picking up baby, car seats and more. The best way to use a baby carrier is to focus on stretching the chest area and strengthening the upper back. When wearing the carrier, regularly contract your shoulder blades, bringing them together as if you were squeezing a pencil. Keep shoulders down and back, and neck long and relaxed.
What else can you do with a Moby Wrap?
Although not appropriate for running or even power walking (because baby needs to be kept stable), a slow walk can become a workout with baby in tow. You can also add exercise tubing to your workout and do bicep curls, lateral raises and other exercises where you are standing and upright. As long as baby's head is supported and you can maintain good posture, you're set to get fit!
Moby Wrap can be used for babies up to 35 lbs
Since newborns lack sufficient head and neck control, be sure to provide proper support until they have developed adequate control. A Moby Wrap is easier on your body (than holding baby), because it distributes your baby's weight evenly.
Plie Squat
A plie squat is a gym favorite for shaping thighs and lifting derrieres. This exercise works the quads, hamstrings, inner thighs and glutes. Baby will love the light bounce and your bottom will love the workout.
1 Stand with feet wide, your toes turned out.
2 Pull abdominal muscles in flat.
3 Slowly lower down until your thighs are near parallel
to the floor, keeping knees and toes aligned.
4 Slowly squeeze thighs and glutes until you're back
to start position.
5 Repeat for 1-3 sets of 12-16 repetitions, with a 20-30
second rest between sets. 6 To add intensity, hold your
squat in the lowered position and do some controlled pulses.
Lunge
A lunge is also one of the most popular gym exercises because it does so much at once. In just this one exercise, you work the glutes, hamstrings, quads and inner thighs. It's more important to have a long stride than to lunge deeply while performing this exercise. If you feel off balance, make your stance wider or use a chair for support.
1Stand in a long staggered lunge stance.
2 Bend knees and descend to form a 90-degree angle with upper and lower
position of each leg.
3 The kneecap of front leg should be approximately over
where your last shoelace would be. 4 Keep front heel down and weight
distributed evenly through front foot.
5 Heel of back leg is up off floor and ball of foot is
in contact with floor.
6 Keep head over hips and eyes focused directly forward.
7 Keep chest expanded and shoulder blades squeezed together.
8 Return to start position and repeat for 1-3 sets on
each leg, about 12-16 repetitions.
Wall Squat
A wall squat is a great exercise to work your upper legs. We recommend singing to your baby while your minute-long wall squat counts down!
1 Standing with your back to a bare wall, slide down the wall until your legs are at a 90-degree angle. 2 Feet should be shoulder-width apart, toes forward and abdominals tucked.
3 Hold this position and squeeze your glutes. 4 Hold for one minute or until your thighs beg for mercy.