Fitness for Cringey Moms and Grumpy Teens

by Abby on March 26, 2020

Man, what a rollercoaster, huh? One minute we’re all, “This is an adventure! We’ll make waffles and watch movies!” And the next we’re wailing into our weighted blankets about how we’ll pay the bills or force our teens to do algebra for the next 2 months. Yep, as of yesterday, they’ve closed schools here in MD through the end of April. 

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

We’ve all cycled through our individual meltdowns in my house over the past several days. No sooner did I decide to start this blog back up than I broke it. Something about incompatible PHP code, outdated plugins, blah, blah, blah. Hours and hours of back and forth with tech support in another time zone and it’s finally fixed. And, honestly, chatting with the web hosting guys is the only support and adult interaction I’ve had in days – I’ll take it!

I’m trying to keep my spirits up with daily exercise. Much like meditation, it’s become a habit for me and I feel out of sorts if I don’t do it for a few days. Pre-quarantine, I was used to going to the gym at least 5 times a week for a yoga class, a strength-training session, or a run on the treadmill. Now, walking up and down the stairs to the laundry room is about the only cardio I get. 

Thankfully, there’s a ton of free fitness videos online. My gym sent out a link to Les Mills group exercise classes on demand. So far I’ve done barre with a couple of statuesque beauties on a surfboard (?) in the middle of a fjord (??) in New Zealand. (“Hey Siri, do they have fjords in New Zealand?” They do! Now it’s a workout AND a homeschooling lesson!)

This is my 11yo son’s idea of a workout:

That balance board was a good purchase. You can also do planks on it. I have a pic of my 13yo doing one but I am FORBIDDEN to post it. Now you know one of the reasons I stopped blogging. Teens ruin everything. J/K! LOL. 

Speaking of teens, I took my kids out for a hike when the sun came out the other day. And by took I mean forced. And by forced I mean threatened. Literally the only power I have over the teen is threatening to take his phone away. #ParentingConfessions

So there we were, on our forced march through the wilderness, silently cursing each other’s existence. We didn’t see another soul. Or any interesting animals. But we did find a weird-looking plant that looked like coronavirus spores. Anyone know what this is? 

weird plant that looks like coronavirus spores

By the time we got home I needed some virtual yoga on the beach in Costa Rica. 

I’ve also tried the Les Mills SH’BAM dance-type class, which my 11yo declared “Cringey.” It’s super-empowering to model a healthy lifestyle for your children. 

What are you all doing to keep moving during this stressful time? 

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Lou Mello March 27, 2020 at 9:26 am

Well, for exercise, my 5 days a week at he gym are now on the home treadmill and doing pushups on the family room floor. I definitley don’t envy handling a young teen and a tween for home school and everything else at home, yikes.
I have no idea what the plant is, sure is a weird looking one. Hang in there, this too shall pass. E..V..E..N..T..U..A..L..L..Y…….

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Abby March 29, 2020 at 10:05 am

Good for you, Lou! I challenged my kids to a plank contest the other night. If there’s competition and bragging rights involved, they get into it. 🙂

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Julie Rector March 27, 2020 at 6:06 pm

I’ve been doing Yoga With Adriene, and training for my first 5K (which is one probably going to be postponed or cancelled) with Couch to 5K. I also did a Frozen-themed Cosmic Kids Yoga practice with my kids, and twice have had my butt kicked by P.E. With Joe, which I’ve done with my 7 year old!

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Abby March 29, 2020 at 10:06 am

Nice! I am not a big runner at all, but yesterday I went out and did 1.5 miles in the rain just to get out of the house.

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Randy Rancher August 23, 2020 at 7:48 pm

Fitness sucks. Signing off- badposture217347

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