Exercise And Kids

Ever since I can remember, exercise has been a mainstay in my life. I’ve always been physically active, involved in organized sports, or preparing, completing and recovering from some sort of physical excursion; my wife even more so. When we first met she was running multiple nine-mile runs per week, working full-time, and enjoying an active social life. Together, we ran in several races, including half-marathons and a full marathon, a triathlon, and participated in 150 mile fund-raising bicycle rides. Now, on a good day, we are lucky to get out for a snail’s pace hour walk with the kids around the neighborhood, and that’s only if the weather cooperates.

I’ve been brainstorming these last couple of days on how to get back into a shadow of the shape I was once in before several major life changes took root. Between returning to graduate school, starting two new jobs in two years, and having two kids, I’ve put on some unwanted weight and lost some much desired muscle mass. In addition, with both kids still not sleeping through the night, the stress of the move and all things related to moving, Adrianne’s new job, establishing the kid’s new routines, and the general feeling that neither one of us has had decent consistent night’s sleep in at least two years, I need to be realistic about my New Year’s exercise goals. I know this. The reality is, however, can I tone down my aspirations for returning to peak performance shape and instead accept a wellness standard for myself instead?

First and foremost, the kids need to be squared away. There is no possible way my wife and I can add more stress to our bodies without increasing our recovery time from additional stresses. Unfortunately, the only thing we have less than money is free time. This move, a move we had to make, was suppose to propel us forward from where we have been stuck these last two years. I have yet to see that it has. Regardless, I do have a plan, at least a theory of how to add an exercise program to our schedules. We’ll see how things turn out soon enough.