Build Healthy Habits and Make Movement Your Medicine

Movement is key for kids

On a recent trip abroad visiting family, my son's neck really started to bother him. He couldn't turn is head and it hurt to the touch. The weather suddenly turned cold and his neck was exposed and he had trouble adjusting to the time zone so he was a bit sleep deprived as well. The day prior he was doing front flips into the pool, and running outside playing tag with his cousins.

He started having some acute pain and had to stop being active for a full day. No swimming, playing basketball, running on the beach or playing ping pong with his cousins. The next day, my husband took him and his brother to the beach and the plan was for my younger son to build sand castles and play in the sand with is cousins while my husband and older son went to the ocean to swim. Except when they got to the water and turned around, my younger son had run down to the water and jumped in the water with them!

Swimming in the cold Atlantic Ocean with his dad, grandfather, and brother was too good to pass up and incredibly, his neck pain receded and more of his mobility returned. He went from not being able to easily turn his head side to side to swimming in the ocean and jumping the ocean waves within minutes. Being active had actually made him feel better. Not Ibuprofen, not Tylenol, but movement. Plus the social element of being active with family. Movement matters for kids.

Movement after having kids

As an adult, we don't quite heal as quickly as children. However movement can still have a profound effect on our health. I've been an athlete for most of my life up through college, and when I had kids, a lot of my exercising stopped. It took years to get back on the horse if you will, and it wasn't until after my second child was around three years old that I attempted to incorporate regular exercise into my weekly regimen. I got into a regular routine eventually and I finally felt I had my body back again.

Then I got pregnant with my daughter. Since I'd already setup a regular habit of exercising before getting pregnant, I continued to do it throughout my pregnancy up until I was 8 months pregnant. When she was born, she was a big baby, 10 pounds and 5 ounces, and I delivered naturally so the recovery was faster, but my body had been completely changed.

Just days before I gave birth to my daughter.

Rebuilding the Body

After six weeks post-partum, I started to slowly incorporate movement and exercise back into my life and it felt grand. Then at 6 weeks and 3 days, I ran my first mile, in 17 minutes. It wasn't so much a run, but a slow jog. Definitely my slowest time ever, but it didn't matter, I did it. Each week I did atleast some type of movement, first started doing yoga movements that felt good, and then worked my way up from 20 minutes, to a 45 minute live class through SpringSpot via Zoom. I couldn't do situps for atleast the first 4 months, but I modified the movements that I could do. I also had DR and researched which movements I should avoid and didn't do those. I also found a post-partum pilates woman that helped me retrain my core muscles.

I literally built my body back up from scratch.

9 Months after having my daughter I'd rebuilt my strength to do a headstand again.

Movement was my medicine and the key to it all was consistency. Even when I had to miss a class one week, that was okay, I just never let it be two consecutive weeks. By building up this exercise habit over a few years, it was easier to stay committed to it.

It also helped that I felt accountable to our SpringSpot instructors and our other students not to miss a class unless absolutely necessary. I scheduled my days around the classes and I actually looked forward to them.

Figuring out the Fundamentals

Going through the process of building my body back while also developing our SpringSpot curriculum also helped inform my team which types of movement were truly foundational. That's how we came up with our current trifecta of classes: Total Body Strength, Cardio+Core, and Yoga Flow. These three classes were literally the only classes I did since giving birth, and I sprinkled in some running and swimming and that has helped me get to today.

My daughter is two years old now, and after consistently investing in my health through strength training, cardiovascular training and flexibility and mobility, I feel stronger than I have ever felt in recent adult memory. I move confidently through life and enjoy the extra strength and stamina I have to stay active with my three kids, one of whom plays competitive sports. Or even just being able to run after my now very fast daughter, and model for her how important exercise is to me and our family.

Getting back on the tennis court to play tennis with my oldest son.

Making it Work

It isn't always easy to stay committed and fit in movement and exercise with a packed schedule, but you can get creative and remember that something is always better than nothing. Case in point, while traveling in Europe recently, I knew I wanted to continue strength training while traveling, but did not want to pack heavy weights in my suitcase. Instead, I packed my yoga mat and some resistance bands. I ended up doing a Total Body Strength on demand workout from SpringSpot with my niece, who is more than half my age. Instead of weights, we just used a 1.5 liter water bottle for the weight! It worked great and we were well hydrated afterwards :)

Remember that movement is medicine for both you and your kids. By committing to building healthy habits today, you're setting yourself and your kids up for a long, active life tomorrow.

If you're looking for ways to kickstart your training, check out our 3 Month Training Plan on SpringSpot. If your kids could use a jumpstart to their fall sports training, then check out our Kids Boost Camp. Held August 19th and 20th IN-PERSON in Portola Valley from 9am-11am. For two days, your kids will build strength and endurance, a better mindset and healthy habits. Plus learn habits to help minimize injuries in their sports. Spots are limited so sign up today!