Today I’m taking the girls to the beach for a few hours. It’s my day off-I always take Friday off, minus some soft yoga and pilates moves to loosen my body, and of course a few turns on the foam roller-but I thought I’d toss this out to you. If you are BORED with your routine, GET OUTSIDE! I say this most weeks because it is so true!

Head to the park or the beach with the kids or solo.

Use the equipment available to do something physical. For instance:

1. Do some tricep dips on a nearby bench or bleacher
2. Sprint in the sand on the beach or around a track at a park
3. Do pull ups on the monkey bars (who cares what the other mothers think?!)
4. Use the stairs at the park to step up and back while working on lunges
5. Take your yoga mat and weights to the park and do your workout outside! Once you get over feeling foolish, trust me, you will feel GREAT!

Take Time Off

Think you don’t need a break from the daily workout grind? Think again! Even Paula Radcliffe admits that she takes time off of running after a marathon.

In fact, she takes off two weeks! That is more than I took off , and she is way faster and stronger than I will ever be. So take advice from her and the other pros-if you are feeling sluggish or tired or if you need a break, take it. (Check out more of her tips here!)

How can you tell if you are working out too much?

1. You are overtired. This can be due to a number of factors-working too much, taking care of the kids, not getting enough shut eye-but you do need to take some time off from working out if you are too tired; otherwise you are setting yourself up for injury
2. Your periods are changing. This can be a clue that you are over-exercising, though it can also happen if you are doing distances. If you are losing your period and you are sluggish and drawn out, you may need a break.
3. You dread your workout. Ever have those days when you just HATE the run, the lifting of weights, the core work? Maybe you are doing too much! Switch it up a bit if you can – head outside instead of to the gym or vice versa, do some swimming instead of the standard running, take your bike to the beach or mountains instead of around the block. Sometimes a change of scenery is required; othertimes a complete day or two off is what is needed.
4. You are losing too much weight. Some people don’t think this is a problem but it certainly is for some. Losing too much weight, to the point of looking more gaunt than a runway fashion model on crack, is not good! You need to have some meat on those bones, girl, so if you are losing too much weight, if people are commenting on how thin you are, if you know you are too thin but you are addicted to working out-take a break (or eat more calories!)

I’m off to the beach now with the girls, to splash in the waves and chase the birds.

Next week I’m doing a 10K on Saint Simon’s Island. It’s called Dolphin Day Race and should be a lot of fun. I’m hoping to run it at a 8:30 pace, but am pretty sure it will be more like a 9 minute mile. I’m ok with that too. As long as the knee holds up, I’ll be fine!

So today when the sun and the warmth made its appearance, I celebrated. Fridays I spend sleeping in (no 5AM workout for this gal!) and I do my workout at home in the day at some point when I have time. The workout consists of legs, core and back along with some stretches. Not much cardio, since I get enough of that the rest of the week.

Today, after stoppin gat the bookstore to do some research on a story I’m writing and to play trains with my daughter in the kid’s department, I asked my daughter if she wanted to ride her bike. Her answer: An emphatic YES! (Even she was tired of being indoors!)

So I pulled my yoga mat, stability ball, and weights downstairs and outside, and there on the driveway in the middle of the sunshine I did my workout!

Are you bored with your fitness routine? Looking for a change of pace? Want to incorporate your workout with some fun time with the kids?

Head outside!

We played hide and seek for a while. While I looked for my daughter (who cleverly hid, every single time, behind the car!) I did my lunges and calf raises (stand on feet flat against the ground, legs spread a little more than hip width apart: raise up onto toes, count to three, lower down.)

I did my crunches and core work on the mat while we also played in the dirt. Yes, it did get me a little dusty, but hey, there’s nothing like exercising AND smelling the fresh earth! Plus my daughter thought it was hysterical!

I did my shoulders while we hung out not doing much of anything. Since I didn’t completely finish the workout, now that they are at rest time I’m going to do a few more exercises.

It is possible to get your exercise in at odd hours of the day, and to do so in a fun way.

If you arehaving a difficult time getting motivated with your fitnress routine, chances are you are B-O-R-E-D!

Have you changed things up in a while, or are you still doing the same exercises you were doing as a junior in high school? (Oh, by the way, if you are, you need to make some changes-your body will stop responding if you go the same way, same time, same pace all of the time-switch it up-do a variety of ab exercises, changing out every few weeks-run fast one day, slow the next-you get my meaning!)

Just like with long runs, after a while they can become redundant. If this happens, do something new. Take a new path. Explore a different part of the city (or country, or beach, or trail). Run your same route backwards, opposite of what you typicall run.

Or simply take your weights, yoga mat, stability ball and toddler outside to play and exercise in the sun! I promise, after a few sets you will NOT be bored!

What do you do to change things up?

Today my kids joined me for stretching and ab work lol. It was funny. I love it when the youngest, who is almost two, almost bends in half as though it is no problem! I wish we stayed that flexible through life!

Thought it would be fun to share fun fitness ideas on Fridays. Today’s is about being a mom and trying to fit in a workout-and doing so at the park!

At times I run with the jogging stroller, and we go to a park down the street. When I do my workouts like this I use the park as my gym! I thought I’d list a few of the exercises I do when I’m at the park and dressed in workout gear.

Tree Stretch: You guessed it, I use the tree to do the leg stretch I wrote about yesterday!
Sprinting: The kids run and I chase. They love it and so do I!
Squats: As they climb the stairs and go down the slide, I do squats! Then I tickle them as they are on their way down!
Pull Ups: Pull ups on the monkey bars, of course!
Abs: I do abs in the grass while we play ring around the rosies and other games in the grass. For some reason my girls love doing ab work with me lol!
Push Ups: Against the concrete, while we use sidewalk chalk.

Hope these give you some fun ideas for the next time you have a park day and can’t figure out how to squeeze in a workout!