As a busy mom, womens triathlon training can seem to be an impossible task. While true that the first few years of life require a large portion of yoru time to be devoted to your little one, there are ways to carve out time for yourself in order to fit in some training for your next triathlon.
What’s even better, is that while the number of hours in a day remain the same, your child keeps getting older and will soon be involved in activities that don’t require as much time from you. Things like preschool, daycare and playdates.
Finally when your future triathlete gets old enough they be able to start participating in some of your trianing with you, possibly even becoming a good training partner for you!
So no matter what phase of motherhood you are in or how old your children are, here are some top ideas for fitting in workouts where ever you can.
1) Babysitting at the gym – perhaps the gym you belonged to before you got pregnant wasn’t so kid friendly…but I bet there are plenty of gyms in a decent driving distance that offer some type of daycare or babysitting for parents while they workout. Your child gets to see a new environment and socialize with a new group of kids, and you get to sneak in your treadmill session or spinning class.
2) Children’s lessons – Swimming is a great example of an activity that you can share with your child. If swim lessons are offered for your child’s age group, you may be able to get in some lap swimming at the same time. You may be torn about watching your little guy or girl learn to swim, but if you have no other opportunity to get into the pool, it will help you get some exercise, destress and reneergize…all of which make you a better mom! After the swim lessons and your workout you can spend some time together playing in the kids pool.
3) Playdates in the nieghborhood. This works best if you can find a group of 3 or more moms (or stay at home dads) who are all interested in helping each other find some time for each other. Here’s how it works. One mom (or dad) hosts a play date for an hour or two while the other 2 (or more) moms go for a midday run or jog. The more parents in the group, the better because with more than 3 kids, having another adult along ot watch the kids is a safer situation. Likewise, having a larger group of exercising moms helps your womens triathlon training group grow…making it more likely that you will all continue training!
4) Naptime Core Workouts. No parent wants to be far from their child during naptime. But with a baby monitor right next to you, naptime is a great time to do some core work, yoga or pilates DVDs at home. I know that when your lil triathlete is sleeping you may be tempted to take a nap as well. But keep in mind that this may be one of the only times you have some alone time…do something nice for yourself, like working on that slim mid-section!
5) Bathtime with Dad. It’s no secret that mom’s do the lion’s share (lioness’ share?) of the work in most households. Even if you are a full time working mom, it’s likely that you still spend more time with the tykes than dad (unless dad stays at home). Give dad some one on one time with the kid and let him help with bathtime/bedtime routines a few nights a week. Take t his time for yourself ot do a quick jog around the block, or mabye a spin on your indoor trainer. You’ll be done wiht your mini-workout just in time to help tuck Junior into bed.
I hope this has inspired some ideas for womens triathlon training. Just because you’ve got a baby/toddler/tween/teen in the house doesn’t mean you cant successfully find time for a little sprint triathlon training.
Let me know if you have other ideas!
-Coach Suzanne
Jogging strollers and the kid bike seats that sit on the back of the bike also work for kids. Granted I only have one child at this point so it isn’t too overwhelming. My little girl adds some extra weight to my runs and biking and it gets her out of the house with me.
I trained for my first sprint pulling my two kids in a bike trailer. I had two jogging strollers but not a double so I roped two friends into training with me – they took turns pushing the baby while I gutted it out pushing the heavier toddler… turned out to be fun for everyone, even the kids!
I’ve been doing triathlons for a few years now. Last summer my husband was deployed, so I really got creative with fitness. So, here are my regular habits during summer: I push a jogging stroller with the now 4 year old, it gives me a good sense of a true race pace; bike pulling her in a trailer to and from preschool when the weather permits; attend an early morning spin class once a week if my husband isn’t working; occassionally get an early morning sitter (grandma) during the summer so I can go swim at the lake and it isn’t too stressful for them since the kid is still asleep. I’ve also invested in a direct drive indoor bike trainer to use after she goes down for the night.
Since I get to be a stay at home, we also try to spend our summer days on adventures which may include a run around a lake and conclude with playing on the beach, or doing landscaping projects to build strength.
She loves our “adventures” and it wears us both out in a good way.
Wow Natasha, that sounds amazing, so happy youre able to find ways to incorporate fitness with child rasiing, and teaching her great habits!