A crazy way to make my life a little easier.

Have you ever noticed how the first two weeks of something are easier than the second two weeks.  For the first two weeks, there's a high that sustains the activity; the momentum is all on your side.  Then, suddenly, reality sets back in, the parts of life that had to be put aside start demanding their due, and commitment becomes a real chore.   My necessities ( I really need my workout.  It literally keeps me sane.) and the general necessities were in conflict. 

How many parents  feel this?  "I can't establish an exercise regimen or a relaxation period or a time to read just a little enlightening, adult-oriented material because there are so many other things that need doing."  We can't all be Maria Kangs, right?   My guess is the majority of us feel that way.  But I'm not going to tell you to button down and set aside those times for yourself.  I'm going to tell you to multi-task.  That's right.  Clean and exercise at the same time.   I'm only half joking, and that's because I haven't gotten it all figured out yet. 

I should state right off that I am not a physical fitness professional.  I do not have a degree in body mechanics.  These are all my own experimentations with the movements that I've seen on the Insanity workout videos as I try to incorporate them into my house cleaning routine.  I confess, the first time I tried this, I had an uncanny picture of the most recent Stepford Wives movie as they all shimmied around in their cheerful workout clothes with their washing machine poles.  Well, this is the anti-Stepford.  They were incorporating housework into their exercise to stay feminine.  I am incorporated exercise into my housework to get sweaty, and I haven't hurt myself yet. 

For example, the sweeping lunge. 

 Doesn't that sound athletic?  This exercise has two parts: the first is aerobic, and the second is a stretch.  For the aerobic part, I incorporated memories of basketball drills.  Get down in a "chair" and hop a couple of feet to one  side.  Put the broom head on the ground and sweep as you shuffle back to your starting position. Keep your core tight.  Hop up a step and repeat the movement.  About halfway across the designated space, about face and perform the same motions leading with the other leg.  When that segment of the floor has been swept, move the starting point over four to six feet and begin again.  Make sure you get down into a chair position that your junior high p.e. teacher would have been proud of and keep those abs tight. 

If the area doesn't allow for easy shuffling, I use a stretching lunge.  This requires some muscle control.  I haven't mastered it yet.  The basic lunge position has one leg extended with the heel resting on the floor and the toe in the air.  The other leg is bent so that (and this is very important) the knee is directly over the foot and the backside is back.  All the work in the lunge and the squat happen because the backside is being levered back over open air, thus requiring your core and leg muscles to support it instead of letting it support itself.  For the sweeping lunge, lunge to one side (I know, I know, ouch.  Only go as low as is comfortable.) and then hold the broom out in front of you and sweep as far as you can without unbalancing yourself (Didn't I say I was still mastering this?  Many are the times I've nearly ended up on my nose).  When you've covered the ground you can reach, come slowly up out of the lunge and repeat the movement to the other side.  I find it useful to sweep against the lunge.  That is, I pull the broom from the side of the bent leg, not the straight leg. 

The mopping lunge.

For a change up (because like I said, we have a lot of floor),  I like to work in some forward lunges.  These are not like the sweeping lunges.  They go forward, not to the side.  The proper position for a lunge is with the feet parallel to each other, one a couple of feet in front of the other (I'm pretty tall.  Distance is relative to body height.).  When the body sinks down, the front knee should be over the front foot and the back knee should be under the back hip.  Both knees should be at 90 degree angles.  The back should be straight, the neck long, the head high, the core tight.  Holding the mop in front of you, go down into a lunge.  Pull the mop back as you rise.  Switch legs and move over slightly.  Lunge again.  Switch.  Lunge.  Continue until you run out of room or your legs get tired. 

The laundry attack squat. 

This exercise is for front loading laundry devices.  I've tried  to find an exercise for a top loading washing machine, but my head kept getting stuck in the door. For front loading machines, get a laundry basket that is lower than the lip of your washer or dryer.  Position the basket under the lip of the opening of the machine.  Squat over the basket (I know, I know.  Just forget that you look like you're trying to lay an egg.) and reach into the machine.  Pull out the contents of the machine and dump them into the basket as quickly as you can.  Keep your back straight, your head up, your shoulders relaxed, and your neck long.  Start with the dryer.  Empty it into the basket.  Pivot or shuffle over to the washer.  Resume the squatting position.  Pull the wet clothes into another basket.  Then pivot/shuffle back to the dryer and rapidly feed the wet clothes back in.  Flex the hips to stand up.  Start the dryer.  Move the load of dirty clothes in front of the washer.  Squat.  Load.  Stand.  You get the idea. 

I know won't get a complete body workout by doing only these exercises every day, but they do help keep me on track when I have time to do nothing else.  The cool thing about squatting and lunging while I work is that I maintain proper posture while I'm lifting the bucket, pushing the mop, etc.  I don't curve my spine or slouch.  I use proper lifting position.  Squatting is good for chasing kids, for picking up objects on the floor, and for childbirth.  Honestly, the more squatting and lunging we can work into our lives, the better. 

I should mention that I couldn't do any of these properly if I hadn't spent four weeks watching the professionals on the Insanity videos , listening  to my husband (who has a lot more fitness experience than I do), and training my muscles what proper stance feels like and where my body should be.  I get awfully sore on my housecleaning days, which makes me think I should incorporate some stretches somehow, but I work up a good sweat, get my heart rate up for over 30 minutes, and my house gets cleaned.  When I'm really on form, I can put on an audio book or a sermon and get three things done at once.   It's intense mommy enhancement time without neglecting my huswiferly duties.  I count that as a good day, and it keeps me on track.