My New Workout: Interval Burn while cleaning your house

So I don't get up at 6:00am to exercise. (I admire you if you do.)  I actually get up at 4:30am, to put the baby back to bed.  So when 6am rolls around, I'm not usually in the mood to get up again.  I do tend to get up at 6:30 or 7:00am to meditate and read my scriptures.  I savor my 30 minutes (hopefully 30 minutes that is).  Sometimes my little ones try to join me.  If they are willing I coax them to snuggle on the couch with a blanket or climb into bed next to daddy.

Well, back to my new work out.  Usually after breakfast and sending the two of my kids out the door to catch the bus I try to do a work-out on Netflix.  Lately, this has not been working.  For whatever reason my toddler thinks mommy should hold her during the work out.  Some of the exercises work with an added 20 pounds in my arms and others do not.  Before the weather turned cold I would just put the kids in the bike trailer and I would huff and puff my way around the neighborhood.  Yes, I'm too cheap to buy a  gym membership and pay for child care while I go there when I know I can work my little tushy at home.  I'm not saying this would not be worth it, I'm just saying I'm too cheap.

I was a little frustrated this morning when I tried to start my workout.  I could tell it just wasn't going to happen.  So I decided to make my own interval workout that included cleaning the house and mixing it with boot camp inspired aerobics.  In between picking up toys and wiping counters (while holding the toddler) I would insert the jumping jacks, plyo (sp?) jumps, high knees, ect. to get my heart rate up (put the toddler down for that part).  When  I had to pick something up I would squat deeply (with those *very cute* extra 20 pounds in my arms). I would make a point of putting something where it goes immediately so I would have to run the stairs more.

The goal was to clean the house as quickly as possible, the more clutter to remove the better.  The result?  It was an awesome workout!  My house was much cleaner to boot and my baby was happy.  Win-win-win! You could also put baby in a sling, wrap or baby backpack for this but you would have to go low-impact. I still plan to do a pilates work-out at least twice a week because it is so great for the core, butt and thighs but on the rest of the days this interval work out is a great carb burner.

I think too often I forget to integrate my kids into what it is I want to accomplish.  We are always happier when I do.  They like to help me clean and cook (usually).  I'll admit that accomplishing these tasks is easier without little kids but it probably isn't as rewarding.  It is my responsibility to teach them life skills.  I have some new ideas for integrating the rest of my kids into this Housecleaning  Interval Burn Workout. This is going to be FUN!  Who knows, maybe they will love it too?

How do you get your exercise in?