by Veronica Spettman

Veronica Spettmann is a jack of all trades with a particular passion for writing. She recently graduated with her BA in English Writing from LIU Post and is excited to present herself to the real world. She writes for a food blog, The Flava In Ya Ear, and has her own blog, The Five Dollar Word, where she tracks her progress (or occasional lack thereof). An ABC (Auntie-by-Choice) and former intern for Savvy Auntie, she's excited to be invited back to contribute articles to such a wonderful information super-center for Aunties!

Are you short on space, Auntie? Do you travel a lot but don’t want to miss workouts on the road? Are you lacking the funds to buy expensive workout gear because you’d rather shower your nieces and nephews with presents? Are you looking to get toned without looking like a bodybuilder? If you’re anything like me, I personally have a space the size of a bathmat (about four feet by five feet), the budget of a college kid (zero!), and I’m never in the same place for longer than an hour.

With that in mind, I set out to find a workout regimen that would help me lose weight, tone up, and feel good. Through personal experimentation and a little bit of asking around (some personal-trainer friends proved invaluable), I have found the perfect workout solution for every Auntie.

Ideally, you should alternate cardiovascular exercise and strength training for about an hour, but the great thing about this workout is that you can customize it to your time restrictions, and involve your nieces and nephews in the fun. Here’s how you do it:

Make an hour-long (or shorter, according to the time you have) playlist full of music that gets you PUMPED! The key to this workout is to never stop your playlist, so that you’ll never stop moving. Use the first full song to warm up, moving and shaking around or doing a gentler version of one of the cardio options below. Explain to participating nieces and nephews why it is essential to warm up before any physical activity.  You should never exercise without warming up, because it will put your muscles under unnecessary strain and could cause injury.

When the second song comes on, you can do any one of these cardiovascular exercises:

1.  Jumping jacks: There’s a reason jumping jacks are a cardio standby. They’re easy to perform anywhere because they take virtually no space and require no equipment. If you aren’t familiar with jumping jacks, begin by standing with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Jump up and land so that your legs are separated and your arms are in the air above you, with your body forming an ‘X’. Jump back to your starting position, and repeat. That’s a jumping jack. (To raise the intensity, use weights, or the alternative suggestions I mention below if you don’t have weights, to strengthen your arms, or squat when you jump out to strengthen your legs.) Your nieces and nephews will love these because they’ll already know how to do them. Their energy may even inspire you to push yourself harder.

2.  Jump rope: If you don’t have a rope, just pretend like you’re jumping rope, arms and all. This may take some practice if you’ve never used a jumping rope before (or if you haven’t used one since grade school). If you want to invest in a jump rope, it’ll run you between $7-$10. Or just borrow one from your niece; chances are she’ll have a perfectly suitable jump rope for you.

3.  Run in place: Seems silly, doesn’t it? But if you actually run quickly instead of leisurely jogging, it’ll get your heart rate up so that your strength training will be more effective. Want to raise the stakes? Instead of just running in place, bring your knees up toward your chest while you run. This will simultaneously raise your heart rate and work your abs and buttocks. This would also be a great way for you and your nieces and nephews to be a little bit silly by adding wacky arm movements to your jogging!

4.  Side-step: This is generally most effective if you have an aerobic step, or something similar, but you can perform this exercise without a step as well. Start with both feet together on the step. Touch one foot to the ground (if you aren’t using a step, touch one foot out to the side while bending the other knee into a lunge). Jump up and switch feet. Repeat. This movement will be great practice for outings in nice weather with nieces and nephews (it’s the same movement you make when you’re trying to catch them as they run past you).

When the third song comes on, you’ll want to target a part of your body for strength training.  Here, I’ve listed one exercise that I do for each part of my body:

1.  Arms: I have 2-pound weights that I use, but you could also fill matching soda bottles (or nieces’ and nephews’ baby bottles) with water, or use soup cans. Bent over from a standing position, with straight knees, a flat back and your arms flush with your sides, pull your elbows back behind you and straighten your arms again (this motion will work your triceps). Bend your arms again and re-straighten them. Do this ten times. Then, with your arms back at your sides, do a set of ten bicep curls. Alternate between the two for the duration of one song.

2.  Abs: One of the most effective things to do is basic crunches. However, this becomes boring quickly. I like to spice it up by alternating different kinds of crunches, like side crunches to work my obliques. To do this, start in the basic crunch position, lying on your back, with knees bent and feet on the floor. Tip both of your knees to one side while keeping your shoulders facing toward the ceiling. Crunch up using the muscles in your side, so both shoulders leave the ground. Do ten repetitions, then switch your knees to the other side and repeat. As with regular crunches, be sure you don’t strain your neck. Let your nieces and nephews participate by asking them to hold your ankles in place (it’s great motivation to keep crunching if you try to tickle your nieces and nephews every time you come up).

3.  Legs: Try squat jumps! You will hate these more than your young nieces and nephews hate broccoli, but they work wonders.  These double as a cardio exercise and are very strenuous, so if they are too much for you, do regular squats until you feel strong enough to add the jump. With your legs shoulder-width apart, go into a squatting position (I find it’s easiest to get the right form when I clasp my hands in front of me). Then, using the muscles in your legs, jump up as high as you can, landing in another squat. If you can do more than 50 of these during the course of a song, you may just be a body-building Auntie! These are very tough, so don’t get discouraged.

4.  Glutes: If you do glute exercises after squat jumps and some cardio, then it will almost seem like a break. Lying in the crunch starting position, place your arms on the floor at your sides. Using your booty muscles, lift your hips into the air as high as you can, and lower back down again. This is a really fun exercise to do to a beat or rhythm. Or to challenge your stamina, when you lift your hips, tell your young nieces and nephews to crawl underneath the space it makes. You can’t drop your hips until they’re out from underneath you, so it’ll motivate you to stay up!

5.  Back: The back can be challenging to work out safely, so if you feel any pain at all, stop. Lying on your stomach, put your arms on the floor in front of you, fingers pointing forward. Using the muscles in your back, lift your arms and legs off the ground. Try to get your shoulders and pelvic muscles off the ground as well, to add intensity. Lower to the ground and start again. Ask your nieces or nephews to hum the Superman theme song for you if you’re struggling to keep it up!

Your pattern will be: warmup, cardio, strength one, cardio, strength two, and so on. Use your last song to cool down and stretch out the muscles you just worked so hard. Share a cold drink of water with your nieces and nephews and thank them for their help.

You’ll want to alternate one day on (doing the workout), and the other day off (resting). As with any toning or weight loss goals, it helps to have a healthy diet. Eat when you’re hungry; stop when you’re full. Stop eating about two hours before you go to bed. Get a good night’s sleep every night.  Soon you’ll feel great about taking your nieces and nephews to the pool while donning your own bathing suit this summer, Auntie!


Published: March 20, 2012