It's been at least six weeks now since Madi's birth and our family has quickly adjusted to the “Fawcett Five.” My doctors cleared me to fully exercise and our family is now out and about doing the things we love. Running around and staying active as a family makes our busy lives exciting. It's been a challenge finding ways to workout and incorporate the kids, but it's also been fun! Below are a few of the workouts our family enjoys, I hope you can benefit from them too. As always, make sure you have completely recovered from giving birth and your physician has cleared you before attempting the exercises below.

I've found that family jogs and bike rides are not only a great way of fitting cardiovascular exercises into your daily routine, but it's fun for the whole family. Walt and I put the kids in strollers and to the park we go. The girls like it because it's like a ride for them, then they get to play at the park, and for Walt and I, the strollers add resistance to our run. Below are some variations of our family routine, please take precautions when doing any exercises and only workout at your fitness level.

Beginning
Take the family for a brisk one mile walk. Be sure to tightenyour muscles to increase overall strength.

Intermediate Routine:
Lightly jog or walk for one to two miles.

Advanced Routine:
Run through hilly streets to Run through hilly streets to more muscle.

With a newborn in arms, you may also be carrying a baby bag, a car seat and a stroller. As you may have guessed, your everyday routine is strengthening your arm muscles. Since I know that picking up the kids and toting their stuff around is great for the arms, I like to focus my strength training on my legs. Below is a step-up exercise that will help you firm up your buns and tighten your legs. It should be easy to do when your at the park with the family or when your in the house just hanging out. I've found that my girls love to jump around, so they actually enjoy doing this with me….

Beginning:
Step up to a bench or stair that seems to be a challenging height. One leg at a time, squeeze your muscles going up and down. Try tocomplete three sets of 8 on each leg.

Intermediate Routine:
Follow the same suggestions for the Beginners level, but try to complete three sets of 10 or 12 on each leg.

Advanced Routine:
Instead of stepping up, jump up to the bench or step youhave chosen. This will require some practice, but be patient and the balancewill come. Try three sets of 10.

: Working out with the entire family isn't always the easiest thing to do, but try to make it fun and exciting for everyone. If you can succeed in fulfilling the family's needs, then you're on your way to a fun, family workout. The difficulty for Walter and me has been finding an activity that is challenging for us and still easy enough for our little girls. Sometimes they get burnt out and want to do something completely different than our planned exercise. We've found that if you compromise and make a point to include their ideas into the routine, everyone seems to be a lot happier… and healthier.

This week I spent a lot of quality time with my family while maintaining my personal training. It was important for me to get my ankles back in good condition while the team had a few days off and my family workouts helped me reach that goal.