6 mistakes I made while trying to lose weight with my stroller

Doing nothing causes no mistakes, but doing something with mistakes might cause negative results.

…that’s why I made this post on easy tips on how to avoid the typical beginner’s mistakes.
I was a stroller fitness beginner myself once – before I invented Strollnetics, I made a lot of mistakes. If you don’t want to repeat them on your way to a lean and fit body – read this. It will save you lots of energy and bring you great results.
After years of daily walking with my baby stroller – for fun and for fitness, I crystallized two types of mistakes: habit and training type mistakes. Let’s have a closer look at each!

My 3 Habit Mistakes

1. I went for a workout twice a week hoping for results

Regular training is much better and more effective than one or two training session of 2 hours per week. Regularity and consistency are the things that we are looking for. We need to give our muscles regular workouts. It is also important not to overwork or overload the body. Keep in mind – slow and steady wins the race! A walk a day is the best recipe for losing fat!

2. My training depended on my mood or the weather

Oh, it’s raining cats and dogs today – I won’t go out for a jog… Or – today I feel like I’m not up to training. If a beginner starts by saying “I’ll do it tomorrow”, then this beginner may never become a pro. We are all human and tend to be a bit lazy by nature. It is so difficult to make yourself do anything, but it is crucial to become a passionate Strollnetics fan in ANY weather and on any day, even if you don’t really feel like it. (I would advise you to love every single day – this is a precious gift that we should be grateful for.)

 3. I didn’t let myself rest

On the other hand – daily training is fine only if you combine it with some days off. Leave two days a week free and avoid any sports. The body needs to have a rest too! My indication that I needed a rest was that my feet were heavy at the beginning of my daily walk. I’d go but I’d feel glad when it was over.

You should arrange some days completely without intense sports.

Do some yoga or no sports instead. But then for the other 5 days, combine one day of intense walking (e.g. 1-1.5 hours), with days of 40 minutes’ walking and Strollnetics exercises. Change your walking activities and exercises – it will create better results. AND do not exhaust yourself, by any means. 

…And My 3 Training Mistakes

1. My stroller was simply rolling in front of me

instead of me holding it like it was part of my body.
To get the fitness load, you must actually use the stroller’s weight to work out the muscles. Do you know what sports coaches say to their students during training, especially when the sport involves equipment? Let’s take a tennis racket, for example – they say: “it should be an extension of your arm.” The same applies here; the stroller has to become a body part during your training sessions. Then you can use its weight for your fitness gain. See Strollnetics book for more

2. I was bending forward and raising my shoulders

Maintain your posture. This is very important. Don’t raise either of your shoulders or lean forward when pushing the stroller. This robs your lungs of air, and also you’re just striving to push the stroller instead of isolating specific groups of muscles to do the job for you.

How can you tell a fitness coach from an ordinary person? It’s their straight posture and good flexibility, not a 6-pack.

3. I was ignoring stretching at the end of my workout

I was happy to just finish my walking and that was it. Stretching was something I used to ditch in favor of fun times. I was thinking – good-looking women just have to be thin. I was so wrong.
A really fit and healthy woman is flexible. Flexibility lets you tell a young person from an old person. Isn’t it true? The good news here is that flexibility can be gained at any age. Just don’t push it.

Flexibility lets you tell a young person from an old person.

A good stretching session relaxes the muscles, increases flexibility and also removes tension, so we feel happier at the end of our training session. Here is a 5-minute stretching routine that can be performed standing up (as moms don’t usually carry around a gym mat to lie down on 🙂 See www.walkingmama/stretching

Conclusion: Mistakes are common to everyone who does any training.  More specific Strollnetics grip mistakes are described in the Strollnetics Book