When you have young kids, it can be hard to find time to exercise. Today’s hint is one frugal way to fit in a weekend workout: Go on a family jog.
No, I’m not suggesting that the whole family go running. Rather, by family jog, I mean putting the little ones into their strollers and going on a jog with multiple kid-friendly stops. This way you can work off some calories without paying a babysitter and provide activities for your children at the same time.
I recently shared an example of one of my favorite family jogs over at 510families.com – a jog around the bayside nature trails at the Coyote Point Recreation Center in San Mateo, Calif., complete with stops at the wildlife center and science museum CuriOdyssey and the awesome Magic Mountain Playground (we’re big fans of working playground stops into our trips and jogs).
My husband and I have been doing such multi-stop jogs since my now 2.5-year-old daughter was young (another favorite of ours is a multi-stop jog around Golden Gate Park in San Francisco), and having two kids now hasn’t discouraged us. I simply push one stroller, and my husband pushes the other.
To be sure, a jog with various stops isn’t likely to be as much of a workout as a solo run. Still, it’s a lot more entertaining and still counts as exercise, and you always can work in some strengthening and toning moves at the playground stop.
You can read about more about one of my favorite family jogs over at 510families, and for more on frugal family-friendly exercise check out the exercise tip I learned from Gwyneth Paltrow, how toddler television shows can help you get in shape and my favorite postpartum workout. What are your favorite frugal ways to fit in a workout when you have young kids?
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[…] exercise methods I cover range from ones I’ve already featured here at Hint Mama (like family jogs and playground workouts) to new ones like taking advantage of trial classes. Here’s a link to […]