photo by didbygraham

One challenge for moms of young children is finding the time to exercise. Nap times can be unpredictable, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the discipline to wake up for a 4 a.m. jog. I applaud women who can. If you wait for the perfect workout situation, you’ll never fit it in consistently.

No more excuses! You CAN fit exercise into your day. You don’t have to pay for a gym membership or arrange for child care. Learn to accept the small distractions and look at it as getting your body moving and spending fun moments with your little one. Today, readers share how they tone up with their young children.

SWIMMING AND MORE: If my daughter doesn’t take a nap, I will take her out to the pool. She has a floaty boat that she sits in, and I will push her with that in front of me while I do my laps, which gives my legs and abs a good workout. I also have a jogging stroller. I bring along her water bottle and one of her favorite toys. If you don’t have a jogging stroller, use a regular one; walking is a good workout, too. My daughter loves dancing to music with me — and she loves when I use her like a barbell and do bicep curls! I jump rope for cardio but without using the rope, just an invisible one. — Heather, California

VIDEOS: I bought a video called “Yoga for Moms & Babies.” It’s really cute. You use the baby in various positions. They’re all easy stretches without any complicated yoga poses. I’ve been trying to do crunches with my son, too. I sit him on my belly, and each time I come up, I tickle him, giggle or say some silly thing. He thinks it’s a blast, and it ends up being more of a workout for me because I hold my crunches longer. — Wendy, Minnesota

WALKING: I use an infant carrier to walk with my baby. Babies are like little weights, too. I lie on my back with my knees bent and do chest presses by lifting him up and bringing him back down to my chest or do squats with him. — Diana B., e-mail

BIKING: I received a bike seat and bike trailer as a gift. Now I ride my bike with my daughter. — Ali Goodrich, e-mail

PUSH AND PULL: Strollers are a good idea, but wagons are great exercise, too. — Shelly, via forums

SMALL BITES OF TIME: I can manage to steal 10 minutes here and there in my day to exercise. If I’m hard-pressed, running up and down my stairs for 10 minutes gets my heart rate up. My local community center has baby-and-me fitness classes, too. I enjoy being with other moms and their babies. — Beth Jacobson, Wyoming

FLOOR EXERCISES: I do “airplane” exercises with my baby — the type where the baby is on my legs/shins and not on top of my feet. I get a decent leg workout while sitting in a chair and placing the baby on my shins while holding baby’s hands and lifting my leg up straight, too. As my baby gets older, I think being in the backyard with a ball or at the park will keep me pretty active. — Cara H., Oregon

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