I had the opportunity to hear Kara Thom and Laurie Kocanda speak at a recent fitness conference about their new book Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom. Though the book targets moms, its principles can be helpful for dads as well. After hearing them speak, I reached out to Kara and asked if she'd be willing to write a feature article for our newsletter and website. I thought it would be great to get a sneak peek at some of the ideas in the book for those pursuing a healthier way of life. To my pleasant surprise, Kara wrote three articles. This is the first one, with the others coming in the coming weeks. I hope you find the articles helpful, and strongly recommend the book as well. Enjoy!


When I became a mom, I was intent on including fitness in my life. As soon as I could, I started using the Life Time Fitness Child Center. I would work out at home while my twins napped. My husband and I would trade off early mornings to work out and take turns getting in weekend workouts, so we could each get our "me time."

Despite good intentions and best efforts, my workouts didn't always happen. A sick child would keep me out of the gym, the baby monitor would go off 10 minutes into the exercise DVD, or after being awake all night with sleepless kids, I just couldn't respond to a 5:00 a.m. alarm.

I had to make workouts happen with two, and quickly thereafter three then four, small children in my care. I did; it wasn't always easy, and there were times when it was downright comical (or so it was for my neighbors one snowy day, when I ran around with a sled attached to my waist pulling three daughters along for a ride).

And then I started to notice something. Fitness concepts, exercises and racing began to weave its way into my children's creative play. My daughters would "go to the gym" when playing house, "do yoga" in their bedroom, or compete in a triathlon-a bike / hula hoop / run event-in the cul-de-sac.

That's when it hit me: How could my workouts be "me time," if what I was doing was making a positive impact on my children?

I don't want my kids to grow up thinking they will be forced to exercise later - that it's something grown ups "have" to do. For many adults, the process of starting an exercise program can seem monumental. Isn't starting anything always the hardest part? And often, adults don't start exercising for the love of fitness, but because of health concerns or to lose excess weight. But if a child grows up with fitness as an integral part of his or her life, there's no need to start. As parents, we can remove what is most difficult about being fit: getting started.

Even when my daughters were very young, I realized I no longer wanted to exclude them from my fitness routine, and that my fitness philosophy needed to be included in my parenting. For fitness to be a family value in our home, I had to make it part of their world, too.

In the book, Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom (Andrews McMeel 2011) an entire secret is devoted to mentoring. If you're a parent, whether you're aware of it or not, you are your children's "fitness mentor." When parents exercise, their children are more likely to grow up to be active adults. I think we can also raise those odds when we exercise together. Sure, I still find time to exercise on my own, but I also seek out ways for my kids to join me when possible.

To that extent, I've become a firm believer in the family fitness triad: Being a fitness mentor to my children through my own workouts, helping my children discover their own fitness passions and finding time to be active together.

Want to include kids in your workouts? Here are five ideas for family fitness:

1)  Is your child or children taking lessons? Sign yourself up, too. Whether it's swimming, rock climbing, martial arts, or tennis, learning or perfecting the same skills that your child is working on gives you a common fitness goal-great for conversation at the dinner table.

2)  Do you work out with a personal trainer? If you have teens or tweens, schedule a group session together every once in awhile. Request a workout you can repeat together at home or at the gym.

3)  Is there an upcoming event you can train together for as a family? If your children are too young to compete, include them in the training process by telling them about your event and your preparation. Simulate an event for them at home or in the park.

4)  If you have kids who play in the Life Time Child Center while you work out, take advantage of programs like Kids Play, which is a great introduction to "group fitness" for kids. Also, after your workout is over, take 10 or 15 minutes to shoot baskets or engage in a different kind of active play in the kids' area before you leave.

5)  Share your favorite workout with your kids. They probably know how much you love Zumba or Boot Camp (or fill in the blank with your favorite activity). Create a pint-sized workout for them, so they can see what it you do when you work out and why you like it so much. The ulterior motive, of course, is that they'll grow up to be your favorite workout partner.

Kara Douglass Thom is a triathlete, freelance writer and mother of four. She and Laurie Kocanda are the co-authors of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom. Her blog, Mama Sweat, chronicles her pursuit to find fitness in the chaos of motherhood.

This article is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations in this and other articles is at the choice and risk of the reader.