So I have decided, after years of looking for a decent gym partner, that my 3 year old daughter will now be my workout partner until further notice. Sorry Kai Greene, but I'm booked. To start out our fitness adventure together, I've started off with some simple workout videos online. I found a few you tube videos by personal trainers that were intended personally for kids, and we gave them a shot. There were two large realizations from these: 1) these workouts are actually a lot of fun, and a pretty good workout too. and 2) doing a workout in a manner to keep your child engaged, interested, and also doing the workout correctly is really, really really hard.
I am sore all over, because when you're doing a workout with a 3 year old, you have to make every move look interesting. Each pushup needs to be accentuated. Each jump squat needs to be progressively sillier than the next. Planks need to become a method acting class in making a bridge while your daughter crawls along your back for amusement. Its extremely exhausting, and probably the most fun exercising I've ever had.
I didn't realize that she wouldn't become a captive audience in fitness videos until about 10 minutes into the first one, where she decided to sit down in the middle of the floor and read a book instead. That's when the performance came out, and man was that a hard workout. But Sophia followed along, and laughed the whole time, she she was very tired by the end. She even learned how to do frog jumps and pushups correctly. It was a great time, and was extremely healthy for both Sophia and me.
If you have a toddler, I challenge you to do something similar with your workout time. I have constantly used Sophia as an excuse not to workout "I can't go to the gym right now, I have to put Sophia to bed" for night time. " I'll wake her up if I leave early "for the morning, and I need to be home during the day of course, who will cook her meals? Now all of these could easily be overcome, but When you have a kid, you also just...want to spend time with them. You want to be there for them, and time away to workout seems kind of silly. Now that I've started doing exercise with Sophia I've found that its a real blast for her, its healthy for both of us, and its another way we can bond. Its amazing.
I've heard a lot of people use toddlers as excuses for things they can't do. "I can't start a business, I have a toddler" "I can't go back to school, I have a toddler" "I cant breathe in, and then breathe out a few seconds after, I have a toddler" I have said all of these myself. (maybe not the breathing one) and I am totally guilty of believing them as well. However The funny thing about having a toddler is that in many ways, having a toddler is the exact reason WHY you should be doing all of those things that you are putting off. Allow me to explain.
Your toddler is a sponge for knowledge, and for personal habits that you are doing. I've only worked out for 3 days in a row with Sophia, and shes already asked me about the "workout" twice today. She wants to do it more because she likes the routine , and she likes being like daddy. Now that she sees me and mommy at home working (Stef often works from home) she'll grab her laptop first thing in the morning and "work" for 3 minutes to a half hour. So if you have something that you want to do, or want to start, make your child a part of it. Let her see you start that business, let her watch you work, and she'll suck up all of that knowledge in a way only a 3 year old can do. If you want to lose 100 pounds, make your child a part of the process. Let her learn about proper diet and exercise with you. because she'll probably be better at it than you are, and she'll keep you motivated. Its already working for me.
Its very counter-intuitive, to have your child be even minimally involved in these "very adult" things, but I postulate that adding what is questionably the most important person in your life into these very important life changes and moves will motivate you more, grow your relationship with her, help her to learn new, more important life skills, and will help keep you motivated. You can explain to a friends how you last diet "just didn’t work out" or how that business idea "fell through" but explaining that to your toddler demands some specifics "but why daddy?" That will get you to the heart of the matter really quick if you answer those questions seriously. Toddlers can also be your ultimate performance review. Failure isn't easily explained to a 3 year old. But when you do, you'll need to break down those failures into such small little bites, that they'll let you understand them better as well. And letting your child see you fail is important too. Because failure is normal, and necessary to grow. Don't hide it. Its not shameful. People fail. I have failed. I made this blog because I failed. And now people read it. And my daughter watched me write these posts every morning. If you explain these failures to a 3 year old. you'll know the whys, the hows, the whats, and how to fix them the next time. That's huge. That's a skill that many business consultants can't even get to the heart of after weeks of analysis. Tell your 3 year old about it and see how fast you get to the heart of the matter.
So I challenge you all now: involve your children in your life. Don't hide it from them. The more involved your child is in your life, the closer they'll feel to you, and the more skills they'll learn from you. Nobody is teaching "junior high school lifetime fitness" or "how to start a business 101" I mean they might be, but you know those classes are bullshit and don't teach a thing. So take those life skills upon yourself. Show your child your failures, show her how you recover, show her how to do the same, and keep on loving her. You'll be amazed what the two of you can accomplish.
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