Monday, June 17, 2013

Healthy Habits

Here is a little recap of yesterday:

They actually did it and initiated it! :)

Chris had a good father's day :) He enjoyed his foot rub and breakfast sandwich that the kids helped make. He was very impressed with their homemade gifts which I failed to take a picture of to show you :/ .....And
he was very happy with his new chain saw.

I did get my 8 mile run done early (before the kids got up)! I was out the door by 6:30 to meet S & it ended up being more like an 8.5 miler.  My foot went numb around mile 4 & so changed my stride & tried pushing off with the ball of my foot more, that made the numbness go away for the rest of the run. 

Then, around mile 6 my hip flexors started getting sore. I haven't been the best about my strengthening. I need to do it more than 1-2 times a week. I also need to stretch the hip flexors daily, which in all honesty I have probably been doing once a week.

My boys have started doing a little workout each night too. They listen to me talk about healthy habits a lot and hopefully see that I lead by example. We talk about eating right, getting 5-7 servings of fruit and veggies into our bodies every day, & about how drinking water/milk is good, but that we should avoid juice and soda. They love playing sports & are very active. I always praise them for this & let them know how happy I am that they are so healthy. 

So I think it was Tuesday that they initiated this workout. They want to do push-ups and sit-ups every night. I said that was fine and that they should pick a day where they rest. They decided on Monday.



Everyday they add 1 push-up on and 1 sit-up on. Yesterday Elijah did 16 push-ups and 20 sit-ups. Noah has been doing whatever he feels like for sit-ups - usually around 40 - 50!?!(One day he did 100 & I told him he probably shouldn't do that too often. lol) of them and he does the same number of push-ups as Elijah.  



Just doing these over a 6 day period they have improved so much. Noah's endurance with the push-ups and his form are great and Elijah is improving too.



I love that they are starting to enjoy exercise and look at it as a fun thing to do. It helps when they can see they are getting better at it and they feel stronger. We write on the calendar what the goal is for the next day, but I don't push them on it. I never want them to look at exercise as anything but fun. I'm LOVING their new-found love of exercise!

If you have kids, do they like to do any exercises?

When did you start looking at exercise as something you enjoy?

                                                                  xoxo,


16 comments:

  1. Oh those boys are so sweet! Great job on the run!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a 5 year old son, and he loves sports (tball specifically), and is known to break out something that he calls a pushup from time to time. He also enjoys yoga on the Wii.

    I think I started enjoying exercise in my 20s. I was very overweight as a child, and I have not so fond memories of forced exercise and gym class. Once I started working out for my overall fitness and wellbeing and not because someone was telling me to, it changed the whole game.

    Looks like you had a great Father's Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We did have a great day! Thanks for sharing part of your history Jen. It's amazing how little things that happen when we are young can affect us in big ways.

      Delete
  3. I love that! So cute! I didn't start getting really serious about my healthy habits until about 3 years ago, but now it's definitely something that I never want to (and hope I don't ever) let go. I want to teach my future children all about healthy choices and the importance of caring for our bodies. We only get one body!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rachel! It is so important. Good for you for starting on a healthier journey :) I wish more parents were serious about their childrens health even if they aren't about their own.

      Delete
  4. Aw how fun!

    I need to work on my hip flexors, I think that's what has been hurting me lately. Do you have any exercises you recommend?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah. Actually, I did a post back in March or April here: http://brittsrunningstyle.blogspot.com/2013/04/strong-hips-core.html These exercises were specifically geared towards the hip flexors. I'm thinking of writing a post that encompasses exercises for all actions of the hips though. They are really important for us runners! We need to keep 'em strong :)

      Delete
  5. Aww those two are SO freaking cute, I can't even handle it. Yay for healthy habits! and yay for 8.5 mile runs before everybody wakes up!! nice work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Charlotte :) It felt really good to get that long run in!

      Delete
  6. Your boys are awesome! Whenever I decide to have kids, I hope to lead by example and make it fun for them too!!! Keep doing your thing mama!
    And whoo hoo for your 8 miler!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww thanks! I hope they carry these habits with them for a long time!

      Delete
  7. My son, hes 4, love to ride his bike. Hes to fast for me to keep up but I will run, he rides his bike and my husband rides his scooter and we can do 3-4 miles like that. Its a really fun family activity. I love to watch my husband and son ride next to each other its super cute! Great job instilling healthy habits now. I never had that growing up and at 31 I'm finally starting to get it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a great way to fit in family exercise! We don't have a great area for our kids to ride bikes while I run, but they love to ride at my parents house or if we go camping.

      Delete
  8. Sounds like your family had a great Father's Day. I love that you're teaching your kids healthy habits and that they're getting excited about being healthy. Way to be an awesome mom! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. We did have a great day & thank you! You are too sweet.

    ReplyDelete