Staying active as a busy parent can be challenging. Time and energy are commodities that can be available in limited supply. That said, it’s vital that we shoot to keep our kids and ourselves active! It’s also important to note that exercise is just one of our 6 Pillars of Health. Check out that blog for more info on well rounded health. A great way to do this is to integrate exercise into things you’re already doing such as taking your kids to the park. Here are some great ways to have fun with your kids and get your workout in at the park. For more exercise ideas, check out our 15′ Family Workouts.
1. Play with Your Kids!
- This is the easiest way to get your heart rate up and have fun with your kids. Some games you can play:
- Just play! Nothing fancy, just play with your kiddo(s)
- Teeter totters, monkey bars, stairs, other structures to climb are no joke!
- Play tag
- Set up a race course/obstacle course with a starting and finish line and map out the course and race!
- Play anything else you can think of
- Just play! Nothing fancy, just play with your kiddo(s)
Equipment Available for the Next 2 Types of Workouts
- No equipment
- As you’ll see below, you should be able to find some equipment you can use, but if you’d rather not use any, there are plenty of exercises you can do that are challenging with just bodyweight. You can see our suggestions below as well as our YouTube videos for example.
- Lower body is easiest to do without equipment, followed by core, but the challenge is you typically would have to be able to lie down on the ground; upper body is most challenging but is doable with no equipment
- Park Equipment
- You can use usual park equipment to your advantage.
- You can use steps and benches for step ups, split squats, to squat back to, to elevate pushups, tricep dips, and much more!
- You can use rails and monkey bars for rows, pullups, etc.
- Usual Parent Equipment
- As a parent, you lug around more equipment than you think!
- You can use water bottles, diaper bags, purses, bucket car seats, or your baby to add weight to lower body exercises as well as to help with upper body exercises such as bent over rows, overhead press, bench press, etc.
- Workout Equipment
- Bringing just a little equipment can go a long way. A bag of resistance bands can help you get a lot of upper body work in. You can anchor the bands to rails or poles at the park. 1 loop band around the ankles can increase challenge for lower body exercise. You can bring one moderate weighted kettlebell or dumbbells and utilize those just like we suggested the parent equipment above.
2. Perform a Time Based Workout
Time based workouts are great because you can commit to specific time period, usually less than 15 minutes, and know you will be done with your workout. You can get fancy and get the Smart WOD app on your phone or tablet which has these various time based workouts to program or you can use a good ol’ fashion watch timer.
Below is a snapshot of some examples of time based workouts you can do. However, we describe all of them and include examples in much more detail in our Time Based Workout Blog.
- Every Minute on the Minute (EMOM)
- Perform set reps/time and rest until the next minute
- Start next exercise at the start of the next minute
- Repeat through for set time (i.e. 10, 15 minutes, etc)
- As Many Reps/Rounds As Possible (AMRAP)
- Set a total time, 10, 15 minutes, etc and complete as many reps/rounds as you can in that time
- Start out at a smart pace so you can finish faster than you start
- As Quickly As Possible (AQAP)
- Perform the set exercise reps and rounds as quickly as you can and then you’re done!
- Start out at a smart pace so you can finish faster than you start
You can perform any of the workouts below however you would like with the above time based workouts (EMOM, AMRAP, or AQAP). If you are not familiar with the exercise listed, please reference our videos below. You can also reference those videos and create your own workout. Feel free to get creative and add in any other exercises you are familiar with not listed here.
Time Based Workout Examples
Lower Body
EMOM 12′ or AMRAP 8-10′ or 3-5 rounds AQAP
1. Squats x15
2. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift x7 each side
3. Walking Lunges x20
4. Single Leg Heel Raises x10
Upper Body
EMOM 12′ or AMRAP 8-10′ or 3-5 rounds AQAP
1. Rows x10
2. Pushups x10 (hands on bench step as needed)
3. Pull ups xquality set (fatigue) (feet assist as needed – see video)
4. Tricep dips x10
Below is a video demonstrating what this could look like:
Core
EMOM 12′ or AMRAP 8-10′ or 3-5 rounds AQAP
1. Deadbug x20 (10 ea side)
2. Prone supermans x16 (8 ea side)
3. Plank x40″
4. Side plank x20″ ea side
Cardio
EMOM 15′ or AMRAP 10-12′ or 3 rounds AQAP
1. Jumping Jacks x40
2. Tuck ups x10
3. Scissor Lunge Jumps x20
4. Up downs x10
5. Mountain climbers x30
Core Strength Playlist
Lower Body Strength Playlist
Upper Body Strength Playlist
We hope some of the above are helpful. In the near future, we will link a blog that breaks exercises down by muscle groups, but we haven’t finished it yet. If you do need some more guidance in designing other workouts, check out the workout generator in the helpful apps below.
Helpful Apps
- Smart WOD Timer
- This app allows you to set whatever time parameters you want for any of the above workouts
- Smart WOD Workout Generator
- Overwhelmed not knowing how to set up your own workout? This app generates random workouts that are usually time based. You can enter in specific equipment you have or that you don’t have equipment and it will stick to body weight or the equipment that you have.
3. Traditional Strength Workout
If the above time based workouts aren’t for you, traditional workout dosage is just fine. Traditional strength workout for hypertrophy of muscles would be 3×10 (3 sets of 10). Now, there’s nothing magic about 3×10, the magic is that you pick an exercise that is challenging enough that you have fatigue at about 10 reps. To learn more about how to know how hard to push yourself with exercise you can reference the blog linked. You could do any of the above workouts listed and create your own with this technique. Personally, we think the time based workouts are more fun and people tend to do them more, but the best exercise is the one you do!
Summary
Parenting is hard and finding time and energy to workout can be hard. However, exercise can help give you more energy and it can certainly improve your overall health to enjoy your family for as long as you are able doing the things you want to do! Remember that exercise is just part of the equation and make sure to work on all 6 Pillars of Health. Keep working to get the recommended exercise in weekly, but some is better than none and we hope these park workout ideas and tips help!
Now get out there and have the joy of a child and sweat a little!
Dr. Dane Happeny, PT, DPT, OCS, CF-L1
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
