|
|
|
|
By Janet Lunder Hanafin Underdog, Gramma! Do underdog!” My three-year-old granddaughter was visiting from Memphis, we were on our first outing to the playground a block from our home, and I failed my first test as a 21st century with-it grandma. For those unfamiliar with the term, “underdog” is kid lingo for the person pushing the swing to run, shove the swing over her head, duck underneath, let go and get out of the way to give the little swinger a great thrill as she swoops into the backward arc. It’s a compound task that requires flexibility, speed, coordination and strength. I thought I had all those attributes (well, maybe not so much speed anymore), but in a pinch I couldn’t put them all together. Staying healthy and physically fit for grandparenting adds joy and excitement to the experience for both you and your grandchildren. To keep up with grandchildren, from infancy through the pre-teen years, grandparents need to develop and maintain flexibility, balance, strength and endurance. The first time you hold your newborn grandchild, you’ll be impressed with how tiny he is; after holding him for 20 minutes or so, you may be astonished at how heavy he has become. And most likely he will grow fast. Babies can double their weight in a matter of weeks, and they don’t develop skills to help you pick them up until they are several months old. As a new grandparent, you will quickly find out about “tummy time.” Our generation conscientiously put our babies to sleep on their tummies, but experts today tell us babies should sleep on their backs. When they are awake they need to spend time on their tummies to learn to lift their heads and develop their upper body strength. Tummy time is generally on a blanket on the floor, and if you want to interact with the baby you have to be on his level. You’ll have two challenges–getting down and getting up, often holding the baby. Flexibility plays a key role and strong thigh and torso muscles are essential. Judy Hill, grandmother of Isaac and Andrew, said, “Babies and toddlers have an array of apparatus for you to handle. Can you push a stroller with a two-year-old in it, navigating curbs while walking for blocks? Can you carry a folding crib up and down the stairs? How fast can you assemble it?” You need both upper and lower body strength for lifting little kids into and out of a crib, bathtub, or car seat and holding them for a story or just rocking and snuggling. By the time they are pre-schoolers they will want a boost into a tree or up to the playground zip-line. To keep up with energetic toddlers and pre-schoolers, the original models for the Energizer Bunny, you need good cardiovascular health and quick reflexes. Besides demanding “Underdog!” these little folks are likely to take off running toward a busy intersection or the automatic doors at Target, and you’d better have the ability to sprint after them. If you have let your physical activity slip in the past few years, get your doctor’s OK before you begin an exercise regimen, and start modestly. For guidance or motivation, consider joining a fitness center, hiring a personal trainer for a few sessions, or inviting a fellow grandparent to join you in shaping up. You can often find work-out DVDs or videotapes at the library or in bookstores to use as guides, or check grandparents.com and search “exercise” for short segments that suggest specific routines for grandparents. Yoga, tai chi, swimming and walking are activities that can be done alone or together. Stretching exercises improve your flexibility. Before you stretch, loosen up your muscles with some gentle aerobic movements. March in place, swing your arms from side to side or back and forth, shrug your shoulders several times, rotate your hips in a circle one way and then the other, or go for a five minute walk. Strength exercises, activities that build power in your legs, arms and trunk (now known as “core”) will also improve balance. To develop muscles you need to lift, push, or pull weight and gradually increase the amount of weight you use. The key to avoiding injury while building muscle is to start small and increase the amount of weight and the number of repetitions slowly. Don’t expect to “see” results. You’ll feel them first. Try to do exercises to build strength in all your major muscle groups a couple of times a week, but you shouldn’t exercise the same group of muscles any two days in a row. Expensive weights or a home gym set-up aren’t necessary. You can start by lifting cans of soup or plastic water bottles or milk jugs filled with water or sand. You don’t even have to fill them completely when you start. If you want an inexpensive investment that has multiple uses, go for a set of stretchy rubber resistance bands. They’ll come with a set of directions to get you started. Your grandchildren will think they are very cool, but make sure they use them only with supervision. Another inexpensive “toy” that your grandchildren will enjoy with you is a balance ball. You can use it to develop strength and flexibility, and your grandchildren will love to sit or lie on it and have you bounce them. For an added kick, sing or chant nursery rhymes in time to the bounces. Aerobic activity such as walking, bicycling, swimming, or even raking leaves helps to build endurance and stamina as well as keep your cardiovascular system in good shape. You should aim to do endurance activities at least five days a week, not skipping more than a day at a time. If you’re out of the exercise habit, start slowly with as little as five minutes of activity, adding a minute or two a day until you can manage 30 - 45 minutes. Eventually you’ll be able to push your grandchild uphill in his stroller, or even tow a couple of little kids in a wagon. Anna Marie Piccolo, a personal trainer and independent fitness consultant, teaches an infant and child CPR class at United Hospital in St. Paul which is valuable for both parents and grandparents. “Think wholistically,” she advises her clients. “Cardio exercise gets oxygen to the brain so your brain stays young and helps you think of new and different ways to be active. Staying physically fit helps your immunity so you are more tolerant of all the germs little kids bring home.” As your grandchildren become more mobile, you can do fun fitness activities together. Toddlers love to do the twist, so find a CD of the music you enjoyed as a teenager and get down. If you’re into ballroom, pick up your grandchild and waltz. She may not learn the steps, but she’ll love the music and movement and it will give you a great aerobic workout. Then there is, of course, every kid’s favorite – riding Grandpa, the horse. While you are keeping yourself in good shape you are also modeling fitness for your grandchildren, and before long they’ll be ready to enjoy the same activities you do – biking, swimming, shooting hoops, ice skating, even tennis. My own mother, an avid tennis player until well into her 80s, taught all eight of her grandchildren the finer points as well as the rudiments of the game. It is important, however, to recognize your limits and alter routines as you need to. One of Hill’s special times with her grandchildren is bathing them in her big bathtub and then chatting together while she cuddles them dry in a fluffy towel. As Issac got older he still wanted to be carried when he got out of the tub, she said, but after a couple of backaches following his visits, she realized the drill had to change. “Our new system is that I take his hand as he gets out of the tub and wrap a towel around him. Then we walk side by side to a chair, where he hops on my lap and I cuddle him dry like I always did and discuss the major issues in his world.” “Exercise isn’t something to grudgingly tack onto life, it’s a key ingredient in being alive,” said Linda Morganstein, a certified personal trainer at the St. Paul Jewish Community Center. “If you want to move gracefully into your later years, it’s critical that you move your body. Exercise means just that, using your body as it was meant to be used, getting the blood flowing, stretching and reaching, doing all the things that let you function in the world.” And that includes playing with your grandchildren. With patience and perseverance, you may even be able to do UNDERDOG!
|
Get In Shape For Grandparenting