Fit Facts: Running With Baby

Striding with a stroller gives you an intense workout without compromising your running form.

Frank Claps
Her Sports + Fitness

Baby on Board

Good news for active moms and dads: Striding with a stroller gives you an intense workout without compromising your running form.

In a Texas A&M study, five men and five women ran for 30 minutes at 75 percent of their race pace both with a stroller, and without. The results found that while running with a stroller provided a more intense workout than running stroller-free, there was no difference in stride length and overall running gait.

To find stroller-pushing running buddies in your area, visit www.seemommyrun.com or www.strollerstrides.com.

Stay Active with Age

Here's more motivation to keep moving through the years. The National Runners' Health Study, which surveyed 4,800 female and 7,800 male runners ranging in age from 18 to 75 over a period of nine years, found that to offset middle-age weight gain women should increase their weekly mileage by about 2.4 miles a year, and men by 1.7 miles, starting in their mid-thirties. Researchers speculated that women require a greater weekly increase because they tend to store fat in the butt-hip area, which is harder to burn than fat around the abs, where guys store it.

As you age, your metabolism slows. To avoid having that translate into added pounds, reduce your calorie intake and increase your activity with the passing years.

Bridge Pose

Stiffness in the neck and shoulder area? Alleviate tension and limber up with the bridge pose, which stretches the neck, strengthens the legs and increases flexibility in the back and shoulders.

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your heels near your butt, hip-width apart. Tighten your glutes and curl your pelvis toward the ceiling, pressing your back into the floor. Then, slowly lift your lower, middle and upper back, raising your hips to the ceiling. Your weight should be on your shoulders and feet. Hold for a few seconds, and release by lowering the spine one vertebra at a time.

Power Up with Perfect Squats

Keeping your eyes focused upward or straight ahead while doing squats helps engage the right muscles--glutes, quads and hamstrings. A dropped gaze may cause too much bending at the hip and waist, which reduces effectiveness and increases the chance of injury. Strengthen your legs and butt with twice-weekly squats (three sets of 10 reps). With feet shoulder-width apart and back straight, slowly "sit down" until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Don't let your knees pass over your toes and keep your feet flat with the weight evenly distributed.