Strength Training

Strength training is exercise specifically designed to build muscle. It doesn't necessarily burn a lot of calories, but it builds muscle, which makes you strong and boosts the calories you burn while at rest. Strength training can be done in several ways, all of which involve repetitions to put stress on your muscles:

1. Weights and weight machines: By lifting, pushing, and pulling weight for multiple repetitions, you build muscle. This is what most people commonly think of as strength training.

2. Resistance bands and machines: Like weights, repetitions with these will build muscle, but unlike weights, they don't have a specific poundage attached to them. This makes them very flexible. The bands can be adjusted during the workout for more or less resistance. Resistance machines will resist more the harder you work.

3. Body weight exercises: These involve using your body as a leverage to act as the weight to build muscle. Examples include pushups, crunches, or certain weight-bearing yoga poses.

Strength training is great for cross-training with aerobic or cardio workouts such as walking, running, biking, etc. The aerobic workouts increase heart health and burn calories, while the strength training builds muscle and boosts your resting metabolic rate. Together, they make a great exercise combo!!

HIIT

I first learned about High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, from the Game On! Diet. I'd done interval training in the past, as a swimmer in high school, but never really understood the science behind it. I found what the Game On! book said very interesting, though - that with interval training, or a cycling of aerobic and anaerobic intervals, you could improve heart health, build muscle, and boost your metabolism. It said that you would keep burning calories faster even as you rested for the next 48 hours.

Sounds fantastic, right? So how do you do it?

There is more than one way to do HIIT, but the basic principles are the same. After you warm up, you do a short period of high-intensity activity (think sprinting) followed by a short period of lower intensity activity while your heart rate recovers. You cycle through the highs and lows multiple times until your warm-down. Most of the interval training workouts I've seen involve either one minute intervals at both intensities, or one minute hard and 3-4 minutes at lower intensity. Workouts are generally 20-30 minutes long. Many fitness machines like treadmills and ellipiticals will have an interval training workout option as well.

So what do you guys think? Have you done interval training before, or would you be willing to try it now?

The Importance of Consistency

Despite the funny poster above, consistency is in my opinion the number one most important thing about exercise. Without consistency, exercise is wasted. We only get stronger and healthier if we work out on a regular basis.

Take, for example, my exercise year in 2010. I participated in the 100-Mile Fitness Challenge all four quarters, even when it wasn't officially going on. All four quarters, I hit 100 miles, but I was completely inconsistent with it. I would exercise 40 miles one month, only 12 the next, and scramble the third to get the last 48 in. Even within those months, I wouldn't be consistent. I'd do well for two weeks, 8-12 miles each, then slack off the next two and do almost nothing.

That sort of exercising did nothing to help my muscles or heart or fitness level. I didn't start getting fitter until this year when I began to exercise on a consistent, regular basis. There's a HUGE difference between exercising one mile every day for a week, and exercising six miles one day and one mile six days later. Same number of miles in the same number of days, but completely different results. With consistent exercise, your body learns and grows stronger. Sporadic exercise only makes you sore without adding any real value to your body over time.

When you start on an exercise plan, it's best to set up a schedule and routine for yourself to stay consistent. That doesn't mean you have to do the exact same thing every day or every week, and you can definitely change things around to suit you, but you will get the best results if you keep going on a regular schedule.

Wii

The most wonderful thing about the Wii is all the things you can do on it to get active. With the Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, there is a huge variety of games to help you get fit, especially with the Fit Plus. The games range from the more aerobic (like boxing or hula hoop) to the lighter balance games. The Fit can also track calories burned or activities you do off-Wii.

Outside the Wii Fit, there are many games and programs that can also get you moving on the Wii. There are dancing games such as Just Dance, DDR, and Zumba. There are interactive sports games, exercise programs like The Biggest Loser, and gym-based workouts like Gold's Gym Cardio. Any of these and others are great ways to work up a good sweat while still having a lot of fun!

How many of you have a Wii? Do you exercise with it? What's your favorite Wii exercise game?

Exercise CAN be fun!

Boredom is one of the biggest saboteurs of exercise, probably even bigger than pain or difficulty. You don't want to get to a place where you dread your exercise because you're bored to death of it! Today, I'm going to talk about a few things you can do to keep boredom out of your workouts!

- Add variety! At the beginning of this challenge I listed ten different kinds of exercise, and that was just a tiny example of all the many varied things you can do. Try something new. Go to the library and pick out a new workout DVD. Choose a new piece of equipment you haven't tried at the gym. Walk a different route.

- Listen to music or an audiobook. Engage your mind in a story, or get happy listening to your favorite songs.

- Get your friends involved. If you're working out with friends, you're more likely to enjoy the time you spend exercising, plus you'll be more motivated to work out when someone else is involved.

- Join a class. Fitness classes are high energy and can give you a chance to do something new. You can also make fitness buddies!

My mini-challenge for you this week is to go out and try one new thing to add variety to your exercise. Come back here and let us know what you did and how it worked out for you! :)

Elliptical Lovin'

One of my very favorite pieces of exercise equipment in the world is the elliptical. I used to have a treadmill and I hated it. HATED it. I never used it if I could help it, and one day I gave it to my dad (who, interesting, loves the thing...) and got an elliptical instead. I'd heard that the elliptical burned more calories by (basically) combining a treadmill and a stair stepper.

I first got my elliptical while dealing with a foot injury. I don't even remember how I hurt my foot, but walking on it was difficult. It was during the first, original 100-Mile Fitness Challenge back in the last quarter of 2009, and I wanted a way to exercise! I was failing the challenge miserably with that injured foot. It's been over 18 months since then, but I will say that buying my elliptical was hands-down the best fitness decision I've ever made. I not only finished the challenge that quarter, but I did it without pain. I felt great!

Ellipticals are a great way to get a good, solid cardio workout in. It doesn't put any stress or pressure on joints and it uses a full spread of muscles throughout your body. Most ellipticals come with many settings to add different resistance levels or provide different kinds of exercise. Some read your heart rate and track your calories burned. There's quite a wide range of prices for them too, and they're available at gyms as well, so they're pretty accessible.

Are you a fan of the elliptical?

There's an App for That

Today's topic is thanks to Jill! She had that idea that we could talk about various apps that can help you to keep track of your miles and exercise. There are endless apps out there, but here are a few of our favorites:

RunKeeper - This app works like a GPS. You can track how far you've gone and what speed you were going. It also has connectivity to a website for more detailed information and and to track stats over time. You can also use it to manually track miles on a treadmill.

MiCoach, C25K, Bridge to 10K - I mentioned these running programs in last week's post. These apps help you to follow those running programs and track your progress. Some include GPS technology to track how far you've gone, some include a journal for your personal use, and some connect back to a website to evaluate your program in more detail. There's a huge variety in running programs so you can find one that works for you.

Nike Training Club - This app acts as a personal trainer, designing custom-made workouts of various lengths just for you. It also includes tutorials on how to do different exercises and allows you to use your own music and audio for workouts.

Calorie Count, Lose It!, Sparkpeople - These programs, and others like them, combine fitness and nutrition for weight loss purposes. They focus on the calories you take in with food and the calories you burn by various exercise activities to streamline weight loss.

Do you use any apps to help you with fitness? What are your favorites?

Running

How many of you guys are up for running, or would like to learn to run? I didn't used to think I liked running. Actually, I downright loathed it! But after running regularly most of this year, I've come to realize that I actually love it now. Of course, I'm still slow and can't go far, but I'm improving, and you can too! There are many programs to help a runner begin.

C25K - Couch to 5K is a nine-week program that takes you from the bare minimums of running (one-minute intervals) to being able to run a full 30 minutes. Having completed this program once myself, I have a huge amount of faith in it! I still can't run a full 5K, because I'm a slow runner, but I'm getting closer! The C25K program is flexible - you can spend more than nine weeks if you'd like - and works to build you up gradually.

MiCoach - This program offers a variety of different running plans based on your fitness level. It works with your smart phone and tracks your progress through GPS and your heart rate.

Sparkpeople's Running Program - Sparkpeople has several plans for different levels of runners to train for a 5K distance. The programs are simple and gradually work your way up. Unlike programs such as the C25K, it has lower levels for people who prefer to keep working in walking/running intervals rather than building up to full runs.

Those are the three big ones out there that I know about, though I'm sure there are many more out there designed to help new runners. Anyone else out there know another to add to our resource list? Anyone else interested in running?

Get more from your walking workout

Hello my fitness warriors! Today, I'm here to talk about sprucing up your walking workouts. While, as my last post stated, it's not necessary to walk for this fitness challenge, walking is a great way to get in the miles. There are some great ways to make your walks fun and fit.

If you're on a treadmill, make the most of your workout by walking at an incline or adding some faster walking or jogging intervals. Have some fun watching a movie or listening to an audiobook or music. If no one's in the room - or perhaps even if they are - add some dance moves while you listen to that music (just be careful not to trip!!).

If you walk outside, see if you can find more than one path to walk, so you can vary up your workouts. Are there any places with hills or rough trails to add some challenge? Anywhere you can go with particularly beautiful scenery?

Are you up for a slightly harder workout? Try jogging a little sometimes as you go, and if jogging isn't your thing, you can get a much stronger cardio workout if you lift your knees into a low-level march or add some ankle or hand weights.

What other ideas do you all have for sprucing up your walking workouts?

Oh, the exercises you'll do...

Hello everyone! I wanted to extend my own welcome in addition to Jill's from the other day. I'm looking forward to doing this challenge with you all. :)

This first week, let me ask you: what do you like to do for exercise? Though the challenge is based on miles, it's not limited to walking and running. There are plenty of options out there! For instance:

• Zumba
• Yoga
• Swimming
• Hiking
• Spinning
• Biking
• Elliptical
• Weight Lifting
• Rollerskating
• Kickboxing

And so much more. There are so many different kinds of exercise out there that there's no need to ever get bored doing the same workout over and over. What types of exercise are your favorites? Give us all some good ideas of fun things to do for this challenge!

Learning to Love Yoga

I'd like to think I'm as open to advice as the next person, or at least certainly willing to consider advice that comes my way. When it comes to my fitness goals, my daughter, who happens to be Trish, has offered me bits of advice from time to time. One was to get rid of the scale (or at least quit weighing myself 10 times a day), and the other was to mix up my exercise routine with something different; something like......yoga.

Yoga? So what's up with Yoga, anyway? People seem to really love it, but I always envisioned people laying on mats chanting their way to enlightenment. Is that really going to get rid of my fat? I was slow to venture off my treadmill onto the mat, but I finally called Trish one day and told her I was going to try yoga. "I'm scared!!" I whined. "What if I fall over? What if I get into a pose that I can't get out of and they have to pry my legs into a normal position again???" She encouraged me, and I took the next step forward. I talked her into joining me where they offered a special introductory trial: 10 days of yoga for $10. I could certainly test the mat for 10 days with her as my yoga buddy.

After becoming a jogging addict, I questioned how standing in a position named after an animal could really get my heart rate up and provide the same fitness benefits that running 5 miles on a treadmill could. I entered the room feeling skeptical and scared. It was dark and HOT! A room heated to 96 degrees with humidity? Are you kidding me? Yes, this was hot yoga. But I gave it my all. My body twisted this way and that, my legs quivering while trying to maintain balance and alignment. I was a half moon! I was a downward facing dog. I was a camel, and a rabbit, and a tibetan table! Yikes! This was more strenuous than I thought! My trusty Polar watch validated that my heart rate was up, and the calories were burning off my body faster than I would have thought.

I've come to find out through research that there are more benefits to yoga than I knew. Aside from flexibility, did you know that yoga is effective in increasing lubrication of the joints, ligaments, and tendons? Yoga also massages the internal glands and organs of the body, contributing to overall wellness. And best of all... improved muscle tone!!

So now it's been about a month, and something unexpected has happened to me. I have fallen in love with yoga. I can tell that my body is responding with improved flexibility and better MUSCLE TONE!!! But I also notice that when I leave the yoga center, I can't even fathom putting anything bad into my body (such as my beloved Diet Coke), at least for a little while! I guess it's true what they say about yoga... that it harmonizes the mind with the body. If we believe that the will of the mind can enable people to achieve extraordinary results, then yoga will be a double win for me.

There was a lot of wisdom in my daughter's advice to shake up the workout routine and try something news. Now.... I just need to work on weening my dependency on that darn scale. But isn't this fitness thing all about progress in the right direction anyway? One step at a time.

Getting out of your Exercise Rut (Mini-Challenge)

I don't know about you but if my exercise isn't varied I get bored, then burned out, then find every excuse in the book not to get in my workout. Sure it's easy to just hop on the treadmill and crank out two or three miles (kudos to those of you who can stay focused enough to do more than that!) or plop on the bike with a good book and pump those legs, but varying your workout can be important for multiple reasons.

Varying your workout can help you stay fresh and interested, it can help you reach numerous goals, and it can also help your fitness levels. I don't pretend to be a fitness guru but it seems that everyone will tell you that your body can quickly get used to certain exercises which cause you to have to work harder in order to see the same results.

Although this is the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge and we track our progress in miles, I'm going to challenge you to switch things up this week or during the following weeks. I suspect that there are lots of walkers in this group, which is great, but there are so many physical activities one can do to stay fit. Belong to a gym? Check out an exercise class--yoga, spin, step, kickboxing, strength training. Don't belong to a gym? Play basketball or tennis or even just grab those dusty set of handweights and do basic squats, lunges, bicep curls, etc.

So go out and shake things up a bit. If you write a weekly progress report, tell us in your progress report how you're switching things up a bit. If you don't blog about your exercising, tell us in the next Friday progress report.

How do you switch things up when you're regular exercise routine gets old and tired? Leave us some suggestions in the comments below. I know I love hearing how people keep their workout regimen fresh and hopefully you can gain some pointers, too.

It's not always easy, but neither are chores...

To workout or not to workout, that is the question.

Of course the obvious answer, as we are all participating in a challenge based around exercise and fitness, is to workout. Get moving, be active, etc, etc, etc…

For some of us, it’s just not that easy. For me, at least, exercise is that part of the day I dread. I think about it for awhile, and groan in frustration, wondering why no one has created a way for you to hire some crazy fitness fanatic to exercise for you where they can burn calories for you and love life as they create more and more endorphins.

I know what some of you are thinking. You think I haven’t gotten into the groove or found the perfect fit, but I’m highly suspect of such notions.  No matter how many times a trainer or Bob Harper on the Biggest Loser or some random person on the street tells me, “Once you get started, you’ll totally love it,” I do not find exercise enjoyable. I try new things, I attempt to add in adventure (if you can call a trail in your local park adventurous), and I continue to find that exercise is grueling and evil.  Obviously created to remind humans that we are bad and deserve to be punished.

So why do it?  I do it because I have to. I mean, no one is holding me down to the exercise mat and forcing my legs to kick against my will, but I realize that the key to my goals involves being active. It’s one of those necessities in life like working, paying taxes, and laundry.  Unavoidable unless you want to become a blubbering mess.

Yeah, I make it sound really appealing. I’m like that blind date who starts out with things like “I keep heads in my freezer.”

All of that said, I wouldn’t change the fact that I workout for anything. As much I complain and fret about the hour or two of hell that awaits me with a bootcamp workout or a run in less-than-stellar weather, I do like the positive effects it has on my body and my life. I'm happier overall.  It’s made me more confident in myself. It makes me feel stronger and healthier.  And the best part, I can make it up more flights of stairs without getting winded than my super-skinny friend.

How do I do it, considering how much I hate it?  I have a few small post-it notes with the all the positives that exercise does add to my life, a reminder for those days when I’m really ready to give up or especially cursing my trainer when he says, “Just one more rep.” I suggest you do the same. Prepare one or two reasons why you workout and on those days when your mind is plotting against you, take a look at it.

In the end, feel free to remember me, and know that if I can get up at 6am on a Saturday and get exercise in, anyone can.

Mare
http://destinyisdeafening.blogspot.com/

Elliptical Machine

Hi y'all! This is my first post to this blog, and hopefully it's okay, Trish! I just had a really exciting day in exercise and I thought I'd share my experience. :)

I have struggled with my health for years, and in the last two years it's been particularly bad. I've been lethargic and unable to exercise for any long period of time. Even just walking for longer than, say, 15 minutes makes my lower back and hips hurt. I've tried stretching, all sorts of warm-ups, different shoes, different places to walk, and even monthly chiropractic visits, but for the last two years, I've been unable to keep up with exercise.

Two years ago, I bought a treadmill. I really tried using it. I liked the idea of being able to walk or jog in my house, because 3 months of the year I'm too allergic to mountain cedar to go outside, and another 3+ months of the year, the temperature hovers around 100 most of the day (not fun!). Unfortunately, the treadmill never worked for me. It hurt my knees and feet, in addition to my lower back and hips. Argh!

This is really frustrating to me. I used to be an athlete, a competitive swimmer, for years. It frustrates me to no end that just the tiniest bit of exercise now is near-crippling. In the last few weeks, I've hit an even worse block on this 100-mile fitness challenge: one of my feet was injured, so that the tendons can't have a lot of pressure placed on them. I honestly thought I was going to have to drop out of this challenge. Already I am woefully behind. But I thought I'd give it one more shot - my husband suggested we go out and get an exercise bike.

Today, we went out. But instead of an exercise bike, we wandered over to the elliptical machines. I've never used an elliptical, so I thought I should try some out. I got on several, and was surprised how easy they were to use, and how easy on all my joints and my feet. The really expensive ones didn't feel like I was moving at all! Of course, we couldn't afford one of the really expensive ones (I did not get the model pictured above...), but we did decide to invest in an elliptical. We got it home and Jason put it together for me.

Oh my. It's such a strange feeling. I just spent half an hour on there, and I feel good. I feel like I used to feel when I got out of the water as a swimmer. My whole body feels exercised, not just my legs, but at the same time, other than a bit of muscle soreness, I don't hurt. More than that, I feel energized! I feel like later tonight, I might get back on for another half an hour.

Of course, I'm not going too fast or using any resistance for now. I'm just beginning, so I'm trying to build up my strength. But I'm excited. I think this is going to work for me! After years of trying to find something that works for me, I really think this is going to work. Plus, despite being a lower-end model, my elliptical still lets me plug in my iPod and listen to music or an audiobook while exercising. I love it!

Okay, I'll go now, but I just wanted to say if you have access to one of these machines, at a gym or something, and you haven't tried it, you should. It's amazing. Though I have a lot of catching up to do, I hope to see all of you at the 100-mile finish line!

10 Minute Speedy Workout!

Just Vicky here again for your speedy workout!

What you will need: 1 Jump Rope*, 2 Dumbells**


Your Workout:

1 Minute Jump Rope (count how many times you jump the rope and then divide by 2 for all future iterations... it is a faster workout if you just count revolutions rather than timing each segment.)
Superset 1: 3 x (25 Calf Raises, 10 Over Head Tricep Press)
30 Seconds Jump Rope
Superset 2: 3 x (10 Bench Press***, 10 Chest Flye***)
30 Seconds Jump Rope
Superset 3: 3 x (10 Squats, 6 each side Single Arm Bent Over Row)
30 Seconds Jump Rope
Stretch: 20 Seconds minimum - hamstrings, deltoids, triceps

This workout should take you exactly 10 minutes... want to make sure you get in your 15 minutes of exercise and get a mile? Throughout the day, set a timer for 30 or 45 minutes, get up from your desk (or wherever you are working) and d0 25 wide-stance squats (like a Plie). Unsure about doing this at your desk? I used to use a timer on my computer that would flash, then go to the bathroom and do my squats there (so no one in the office would see me - and if I were in heels, I'd just not go down as deep in the squats). Do this 5 times or more during your day along with the speedy workout and you'll hit your 15 min mark for total exercise.

*No Jump Rope? Mimic the motion of jumping rope or do something else like step ups on your bottom stair at home.

**Don't have dumbells? Look in your cupboards - smaller soup cans can be your "light" weights and big cans can be your "heavy" weights. Do you use milk jugs in your house? You can save these and make varying weights by filling them partway with water or sand - these even have a nice handle to make them easier to pick up.

***No bench at home? Lay on floor and get into bridge position to do your "bench" workouts.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me: shoredebris at live dot com

Routine for the more seasoned weight-lifter

Good Morning! It's Vicky again. Today I will give you two options for quick workouts and am beginning with the one for the more seasoned weight-lifter...

I got this workout when I was in college - I was a walk on for a heavyweight crew team (me, miss clumsy, cannot make any sports team ever in high school, gets letter saying you are the right size - a.k.a. your college application indicates you might be on the chubby side - to be a rower). Anyway, during our spring season, the football team's weightlifting coaches became our weightlifting coaches and this is my favorite workout from that time.

The picture is from this Bootcamp Crossfit Program.

3 sets of 6 of each of the following exercises (no rest during the sets) at 1/3 your body weight**.
Upright Row
High Pulls
Hang Cleans
Front Squat with Overhead Press
Straight Leg Dead Lifts
Bent Over Rows
Bicep Curls

I currently use my olympic bar for these exercises, but in the years before I could afford that, I had the tiny weight set that only goes up to 55 lbs and that works, too - as do kettle bells if you have those.

[**If you have not been pushing weights recently, I recommend dropping down to 1/4 of body weight or less... I've had to do that when getting back on the bandwagon yet again... my cycle of life]

20 Minute Circuit Workout

Good Morning! I'm Vicky and I'm normally playing with shells at Shore Debris.

I have subscriptions to Self, Shape, and Fitness magazines and use them to mix and match exercises and create workouts that work for me and my neighbors. (Yes, I am a good friend, I bring out the workout and big stick to make sure they do it!) Currently, due to my one friend's very, very hectic schedule, I've been making different 10-20 minute workouts that she can try to fit in 4-5 times per week.

This workout involves both strength training and cardio intervals and should take you 20 minutes.

For the cardio sections, I used my elliptical, but I made my neighbor run sprints on our street. You can use a treadmill, bike, step up and down on the stairs in your house, jump rope, jumping jacks, run in place, etc - Just use whatever you have around.

The "Body weight circuit" that is listed in the workout is: 20 reps each with no rest between push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges (20 ea leg), and side leg lifts (20 ea leg).

And here is the workout:

2.5 min cardio warm-up

3 x (body weight circuit, 1 min cardio sprint)

1 x body weight circuit

1 min cardio cool-down

A minimum of 20 sec each (calf stretch, hamstring stretch, butterfly stretch)

I hope this gave you a new idea for what to do with your workouts this week. Have a great mileage week and if you have any questions about what I mean in this workout post, feel free to e-mail me at shoredebris at live dot com.

Exercising Blues

You know those days when you just don't wanna? It's raining or snowing outside? You had a long day at work? The kids have xyz that you need to take them to? There's something great on the tube?

I'm having one of those days right now. Even as I type this post I'm sitting in my workout clothes half talking myself out of putting in the yoga DVD. I know that when I'm done I'll feel GREAT, but right now...I've got every excuse in the book.

What do you do to kick those exercising blues? How do you push through to get the minutes done and move on with your day?

I know I'm not the only one with exercise blues--or having a tough time getting those first few miles in. Share your motivation with us!




I'm putting out a call for guest posters. If you've got an idea of something you'd like to post, please let me know in the comments or via email.

6 ways to exercise with small children

As the parent of young children, one of the hardest challenges to getting in exercise is finding the time to work out. If you're lucky, you belong to a gym that provides childcare for your children (but you still have to find time to get to the gym.) I don't belong to a gym at all, so have find ways to get all my miles/minutes in at home. Here are some suggestions for doing it with children:

• Dance with them. You know those channels that play just music on the tv? Find the techno one, crank it up loud, and dance. (Or use your iPod, if you have one.) There are tons of kids songs out there about getting moving and dancing as well. For example, Yo Gabba Gabba's Get the Sillies Out or I Like to Dance or The Fresh Beat Band's Loco Legs.
• Get out and take a walk. We live about a mile from a small playground and a mile and a half from an elementary school. I can load up the boys in the wagon and walk there, let them play for a while, and come home. There's 2 or 3 miles right there. (Of course this only works if there isn't snow on the ground, but perhaps you live in a warmer climate.)
• Have your children do an exercise video with you. Can't you imagine toddlers doing jumping jacks? How cute! (Of course, this may also start your child on a lifetime of weight obsession, so be careful that you emphasis the health aspect not the weight.)
• Jump rope, bike rides, roller blading, soccer, tennis- all those sports things! This does require good weather and plenty of space, but if you have those things go for it. Your kids can benefit from the activity as much as you do.
  
• Strollertime: A Complete Workout With Baby in Tow. I never did this one, but it looks like a lot of fun. There was a group of women at our favorite park every Saturday doing it.
• And last, use your child AS the exercise. Literally. Lay on the floor and let Junior help you do cruches. Use Baby as a weight while doing lunges or lift him over your head as a free weight. (Use caution and good judgment, please! And if you figure out what to do with those dangly arms and legs let me know, this never worked for me.)
  
  

So there ya go, 6 ways to still get your miles in while living with small children. Do you have any other ideas? What works for you?