Be a Fit, Hip Sports Mom

Photo: rattler97, Flickr

Millions of sports moms (and dads) are dusting off folding chairs, calibrating calendars and filling the tank with gas -- fall football, soccer and baseball season are fast approaching. Organized sports are the perfect avenue to transform your body into a fit, hip sports mom. As schedules rev up, turn that harried feeling in the pit of your stomach into firmer abs:

• Their Practice is Your Game Day. No folding chairs allowed at kids sport practices. When your tweens or teens are drilling, you need to be working out. Run around the field, try 20 minutes of alternating abs, push-ups, dips and jumping jacks. If you're dropping off, head out for a run or the gym for a sweat all your own. Reserve the folding chair for kid game day only.
• Pack Fit Snacks. Be a soccer snack grouch. You can't help but admire the parents who pack rockin' healthy snacks for their kids -- be the one who whips out sliced oranges and apples from a cooler filled with ice. Bring bananas and dried fruit, bake/freeze a double batch of homemade granola bars. Be doughnut-free.
  
• Know the Lingo. A hip sports mom understands subtle intricacies of the game. Weplay.com is a good place to start, Moms Guide to Sports offers quick-look pamphlets for sale, and "Soccer for Moms: Game & Parenting Essentials for Healthy Kids" looks like a fun read.
• Emergency Gym Bag. Keep fitness clothes/shoes in the car at all times. You never know when a game delay may strike, which means your fitness game day is on.
• Coach. The best sports parents are involved ones. Volunteer to be an assistant coach. You'll burn more calories running after kids than running to the grocery store.
  
• Get The Glow. Fit sports parents have a certain look about them. When you eat right, hydrate and work out, you have a glowing energy others can't miss. Set a goal to get the glow this sports season -- consistent behavior over time develops into a habit.

Fit Family Summertime Challenge -- For the next two weeks of your sports mom season, work out as often as your kids go to practice. If they can do it, so can you. Then drill with them at least once a week at home.