4 Workouts to Help You Bond and Play with your Child

Obie Editorial Team

After you have your baby, you may think that your workout schedule will vanish completely. After all, now that you have so many new responsibilities, how will you find time to exercise? The simple answer is to workout with your baby. There are tons of fun exercises that you can do around your home with your new baby. Get back in shape and lose some of that baby weight with a few of these light exercises that help you bond with your infant.

Peek-a-Boo Squats
Peek-a-boo is one of the most popular games for young children and infants. They don’t have the muscle control to really play games or move around, but they’re delighted to watch you cover and uncover your face while happily giggling. Chances are that you already play this game with your little one so you won’t have to change it up much. To do peek-a-boo squats, simply place you child in their high chair, crib, or prop them up on the floor and begin the game. However, when you cover your face, go into a traditional squat, and when you reveal your face for the peek-a-boo moment, stand back up. This will help tone your legs and butt all while entertaining your child.

Sleepwalking Lunges
If you haven’t already experienced the joys of 2 am feedings and fussy infants that resist naps, then you will soon. Instead of the usual walking up and down your hallway trying to calm your child down, try doing lunges around your house instead. Not only will this help tone your legs and core, the repetitive up and down motion will help soothe your infant and the little bit of exercise will help you calm down as well and fall back to sleep more easily.

Baby Bridge
To do this exercise, start by lying on the floor with your infant seated on your lower abdomen. You will probably have to hold them stead to make sure they don’t fall. Then, with your feet flat on the floor, squeeze your glutes and lift your hips off the floor. Your child gets to enjoy and up and down ride while mommy gets to tone up her tushy.

Pony Ride
This one is my personal favorite because my grandpa did this exercise until I became too heavy to lift. This exercise is best with older children that have enough muscle control to hang onto your leg. To begin, sit in a chair or on your couch. Then, have your child sit on one of your feet like it’s a stool, and then have them hang onto your lower leg. To begin, gently lift your leg in an up and down motion, lifting your child into the air and then resting your foot back on the ground. This will work your quads and your core if you keep it tightened during the exercise.