6 Ways to Make Stroller Jogging A Total Body Workout

on February 12, 2013

Not that running while pushing a 40+ pound load isnâ€™t hard enoughâ€¦

1. Do sprints. Run as fast as you can for thirty seconds and then walk for thirty seconds.

2. Do squats. Put the stroller in park and do several reps of squats.

3. Do walking lunges. Take a running break and alternate legs as you do walking lunges. (Tip: your forward knee should be directly over your ankle â€“ if itâ€™s too far forward, you can hurt your kneeâ€¦ trust me, Iâ€™ve learned that one the hard way!)

4. Do â€˜shovesâ€™ up hills. Put the leash around your wrist to ensure the stroller doesnâ€™t get away from you, and then, as you run up the hill, utilize your core muscles and arms to shove the stroller in front of you. Catch it and repeat.

5. Do push-ups and sit-ups. Park the stroller in the grass and bang out a few moves while baby watches.

6. Run on trash day and spend lots of extra energy dodging trash cans. Smile

My review of the BOB Ironman.

Whew. Iâ€™m all sorts of beat!

{ 13 comments }

Joanna February 12, 2013, 9:03 pm
Awesome tips! Did you ever run with a regular stroller? I have my jogger one but my little guy is only 3 months old and it recommends that I wait a few more months before I try it out. When did you put your son in one?
Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries February 12, 2013, 9:16 pm
These are all awesome ideas! Definitely bookmarking to use for a later date. 😉 Love the changes you made to your blog too!
Jamie February 12, 2013, 9:36 pm
I saw a guy doing shoves with his baby jogger on my running path the other day. But, this path is flat. He would push the stroller ahead of him and then sprint to catch up. It was like a baby jogger indian run!
Angela February 12, 2013, 9:49 pm
You go girl! Running alone without a stroller is enough to get me sweating hard these days! I can only imagine when I have a stroller to push! 🙂
Merry February 12, 2013, 10:36 pm
Awesome ideas, thanks! I feel sooooo slow when I push my double BOB, but then I remind myself that I’m pushing 70 lbs!

Question – what do you do with your arms when you’re running with the stroller? I typically just alternate arms with single arm pushing, but occasionally will use both arms on the bar (although I kind of feel like I’m cheating ala holding the treadmill arms!)
Erin @ Living Made Healthy February 13, 2013, 12:08 am
Trash day is worst day to run on! It stinks so bad! Lol!
a farmer in the dell February 13, 2013, 12:40 am
You are my hero! I’ve pushed my nephew in a jogger while running and it almost killed me!
Kara February 13, 2013, 9:21 am
How do you handle not giving the kid whiplash with the “shoves”? I’ve seen people do that and their babies heads seems to get bounced around a lot. Not worth it to get an upper body workout. That’s why hand weights are good to have around.

*unless you have like a 2-3 year old, then shoves are HILARIOUS to them, but they are older and have stronger head control.
- Caitlin February 13, 2013, 10:07 am
  The key is doing it goin up a hill. No whiplash action there. Obviously wouldn’t do that if it was happening.
  - Kara February 13, 2013, 10:21 am
    Well, with the BOB Ironman, you can’t see the baby unless you are holding the bar and looking down through the plastic window, so you can’t see him if you’ve shoved the stroller away. Physics would dictate that the baby would pitch forward when the stroller hits the peak of the hill and starts going back down, which would cause a forward/backward head motion. That’s what I meant by “whiplash”
    - Caitlin February 13, 2013, 10:24 am
      Perhaps you are stronger than me, because when I shove him up the hill, he barely gets away from me! He’s fine, truly, but thanks for this comment so others can be aware.
      - Kara February 13, 2013, 10:32 am
        Oh, I’ve never done the shoves because I have the dog factor to complicate matters. I had a friend who liked to do them on our runs and she could really shove that thing far. Her 3 year old boy loved it though.
- Jenny V February 13, 2013, 4:31 pm
  Please be careful with sprints too! The sudden start/stops can be hard on even toddlers and given you can’t watch them 24/7 it’s impossible to know when a child might be eating or gnawing on something, might be slumped or napping, drinking, or even playing with something that could snap back at his or her face/body.
  
  Sprints are not worth it – the key to safely running with a baby in a jogger is to maintain consistent rhythm.
  
  Rather than shove I would find a large hill and do an elongated stride up the hill – that will still be challenging but again you’re maintaining a steady pace and rhythm.
  
  Another option is to find a Stroller Strides or other “stroller” friendly workout where safety is as important as getting your sweat on.

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