Use Your Baby as Resistance in This Bootie Camp Workout DVD

During pregnancy, I compared the extra baby weight to built-in dumbbells. When you’re carrying around 35 extra pounds or so, everything from walking to lunges and squats works you out just a bit more than usual. Now that my daughter is here, I use her squirmy little self for added resistance all the time. She’s now a full-time resistance accessory, making each trip up thestairs or to the grocery store just a little heavier.

Incorporating your baby into workouts (like in this stroller workout) is an easy way to start sneaking exercise into your busy postpartum life. It’s much harder to sneak away to the gym, but it’s easier to find 10 minutes here and there for exercise—especially when you involve that little one. That’s the idea behind Nikki Glor’s Baby Bootie Camp DVD. Nikki, a new mom and personal trainer at Crunch, has put together a “bootie” camp DVD that will keep your baby happy and tone your bod at the same time.

I sampled about 15 minutes of the DVD (you can get a taste of the workout on YouTube here!) yesterday with my daughter and found it to be a really good basic workout (and left me wanting to see the full workout!). Nikki leads you through several moves you can do while wearing your baby (or using dumbbells if your baby is napping or too heavy). You’ll definitely feel these squats, lunges, overhead raises and crunches with a little extra person thrown into the mix—my heart definitely got pumping. Planks, side planks and push-ups are nearly enjoyable with your little workout partner cheering you on from underneath you! There’s no reason you can’t fit in 15 minutes—this quick workout is only a quick click away. So go! Click!

Do you use your baby as added resistance during workouts? What is his or her favorite exercise? —Erin