Do consult Consumer Reports, Amazon, and other ratings before buying a jogging stroller. If the front wheel fails to lock in place correctly, the first bump could be disastrous for both the baby and the jogger. A friend found out the hard way.
3
Kudos to any parent/caretaker who makes the time to get out there at all...whether you burn 360 or 380 or even 100 calories. And the focus still has to be that your child is doing OK...run in a safe place, lose the earbuds so you can hear what's happening, be flexible with expectations, and just enjoy the time outside guilt free.
7
Separate these activities. This is dangerous, reckless, and pointless.
9
Most annoying graphic ever seen from nyt
5
I found this study frustrating/uninformed/lacking the insights of actual runners, and actual parents who run with running strollers. Rather than saying parents should run the same *pace* as they would as without a stroller (frankly unreasonable in practice), runners with jogging strollers should aim for the same or similar Rate of Perceived Exertion. So it should feel hard even if the speed is slower. Or use the stroller runs for longer, slower runs and save speedwork for days when parents can run without a stroller.
5
As a grandfather who still runs regularly, I tried running with my grandson in his stroller. I could run maybe 2/3 of my normal phase principally because I had to go slow over street humps. The stroller has to be good though so absorb the shocks that come with the run. The best way to get "the most possible bang" is to run your regular run first, then to cool down, run with your stroller.
5
Researching on a flat track greatly reduces the usefulness. I regularly push my 140+ lbs of double-stroller and two kids (the weight has naturally "grown" over time of course :-). Yeah, I'm slower going up hills and don't need to feel guilty or like I'm not getting a workout by not maintaining my non-stroller pace...
Oh, and many jogs are on gravel/dirt hike-and-bike trails.
This seems like a great topic, but the one, basic, minimal study so far isn't of much practical value (as others have well commented as well).
Oh, and many jogs are on gravel/dirt hike-and-bike trails.
This seems like a great topic, but the one, basic, minimal study so far isn't of much practical value (as others have well commented as well).
10
Any research on the effects of all that bouncing around on the brains of infants and babies?
13
running strollers are not recommended for use until babies are at least 6-8 months and have strong neck control. parents should never run with babies in a stroller that is not designed for running.
6
On the other hand, simply google "jogger hit by car" to make a final assessment of the benefits of including your child. I did not know. YIKES!
9
And if they want an even better workout, the moms can run with a weighted backpack.
Tomorrow morning while jogging, if I meet a mom pushing a stroller while running, my admiration for her will be just as great after reading this article. And I will still be glad that I'm not pushing the stroller.
Tomorrow morning while jogging, if I meet a mom pushing a stroller while running, my admiration for her will be just as great after reading this article. And I will still be glad that I'm not pushing the stroller.
3
Absurdly hysterical to use the word 'incinerate' about the 20 calorie difference between 360 and 380 calories an hour. Run, play, stop and do pushups or chase a toddler through a field. Try to get the most sleep you can because lack of sleep makes some people put on lots of extra weight. Incineration of 20 calories, pshaw. You could giggle that off with your baby in a day.
7
No information here... I'm wondering how to keep up a pace when I can't move my arms naturally. With my dog, I got a leash that went around my belt, which resulted in me being able to swing my arms and her giving me a motivating tug. My son can't do that, at least not until he's old enough for a bike...
1
The original Baby Jogger stroller, with 20" lightweight bicycle wheels, was light as a feather. Very easy to run with, one hand lightly on the handle (with safety leash attached, hopefully), and the other arm swinging normally. The newer versions are very, very heavy, imo. We had many world class runners training with their Baby Joggers. Much brighter colors too; neon blue, neon pink, neon yellow, green and orange. Easier to see, and much more baby-like than today's black and grey strollers. (former CEO of the Baby Jogger Co.)
8
Bottom line of study is that jogger gets about same value even if running slower with shorter stride length. That is good. Not that keeping same non-stroller pace increases value (was not tested); or that there is less benefit if jogger drops pace to accomodate the apparatus. An issue not addressed by the study is potential for secondary effects of altered posture.
1
I added upright bicycle handles to the pushbar of my jogging stroller, which helped me run more upright (I'm tall) and allowed my arms and hands to stay closer to a normal running position. For new parents, I would suggest worrying less about pace/posture/etc. - it seems like only yesterday that I was pushing my son around, sixteen years later I'm still running and he's starting his third year of varsity cross-country. As far as starting to run "too soon" after having a baby, I started slow jogging within a few weeks and I swear it saved my sanity even to get out for a few miles and be able to relax.
4
Please realize that your baby or young child is sitting in the wind while you run with a jogging stroller. It's cold and uncomfortable for them, even as you may be perspiring from the exercise. They often are too young to be able to tell you how chilled they are. Think of them and be sure they are protected.
11
use a blanket
3
Use a baby backpack -- not a stroller! It's better in every possible way: bonding with your baby, your exercise, not cluttering the sidewalk, etc.
Do not run wearing your baby-it can cause shaken baby syndrome! Only jogging strollers (and not regular strollers) are equipped with shocks to absorb the impact of the road and keep baby's head safe.
10
By the time my daughter arrived on the scene, I had been running for 18 years. At six months, she was in the running stroller and we circled Propsect Park for the first of what would be hundreds of times. Unless you have limited your running to a treadmill and you always hold on to the machine with both hands the whole time, it seems to me that pushing a stroller one-handed is the only way to maintain any form close to one's norm so the other arm can swing freely. Perhaps the teo-handed runners burned up more calories because the awkwardness caused more exertion.
As an aside, using a running stroller regualrly is a terrific way to bond with your child.
As an aside, using a running stroller regualrly is a terrific way to bond with your child.
7
Sorry, but the first rule must be to be able to control the stroller for the safety of your child.
14
The push and chase technique left me horrified if it is what I think it is.
15
As a lifelong jogger and now mom of two (3 year old & 4 month old), I cannot get my miles in without bringing a kid along. So I appreciate this discussion but leaves me wanting more analysis. What does research find about the effects of running with strollers on longer term things like new/different muscle engagement and posture? What does that added weight do to the runner, if anything? Anecdotally, it seems there is more muscle development in the upper body when using a stroller and therefore it's a tougher workout, even if it yields less calories burned and a slower pace. Just me?
17
There's no way that form didn't change or changed the least when strollers were pushed with two hands, unless by "form" the study authors meant how the legs moved. Holding the stroller with two hands will kill much if not all upper body rotation which is a critical and essential part of running (and all locomotive) form.
Also - big whup, so running pushing a weight slows you down and if you wanted to ramp up the workout, run faster? That's the takeaway? Brilliant.
Also - big whup, so running pushing a weight slows you down and if you wanted to ramp up the workout, run faster? That's the takeaway? Brilliant.
16
Reading this made me wonder if pulling the stroller would not be better. Ricksaw operators seem to run quite effectively pulling the ricksaw behind them. A harness device might make it easier, but one has to control the stroller when one needs to brake. The ricksaw has shafts which make this possible, just like the shafts on a vehicle harnessed to a horse. It might be possible to create a combination of harness and shafts which would allow hands free jogging so arm movements could be natural.
6
Agree. How could removing all arm swing from running not have a significant impact on form, specifically when running on flat ground? The only exception to this might be pushing a stroller up an incline, where two hands is probably more efficient.
1
"Reading this made me wonder if pulling the stroller would not be better."
Let's begin a study of the longterm effects on children watching their mothers trying to run away from them, and failing...
Let's begin a study of the longterm effects on children watching their mothers trying to run away from them, and failing...
8
I think the brand and type of stroller may also play a role. For my first child, I used a Quinny stroller which was very difficult to navigate with one hand while running. For my second child (eight years later), I bought a BOB stroller and loved it. easy to navigate with one hand while running. I actually compared by heart-rate and running pace with and without stroller using my tracking device and the only difference I could find was when running up the hill and pushing my 35 lbs toddler with stroller. Other than that work-out intensity was pretty much the same.
10
Brilliant observation! Wonder what running strollers were used the most.
2
"How to run with a jogging stroller?" A plea from another user of the sidewalks: Don't. Please don't.
41
I was about to write exactly the same comment on behalf of New Yorkers. Thank you. Aside from being a menace to pedestrians, I'm always amazed when I see someone here in NYC put their baby in what seems to me, a very dangerous situation.
7
I find this comment disheartening. Here is a runner with a child trying to get some exercise, but we can't be bothered to move over or even stop for a few seconds because it's an inconvenience? Where's the love and compassion for others?
12
No, do. I love to see fit young women jogging with their babies. It gives me hope. MallFlab is not inevitable...
4
I don't know about the "in depth" aspect of this study. Postpartum women engage their core differently than men who didn't have to contend with pregnancy and the changes it causes in the ability to control and maintain posture, stability, and generate strength. What's the point of looking at joggers with no experience with strollers, meaning not parents most likely? What's the point of emphasizing caloric output as the main benefit of running with a stroller? Why no attention given to the risks of running too soon after having a baby?
13
"Why no attention given to the risks of running too soon after having a baby?"
Evolution would suggest that any mother able to run from danger with her new baby had an advantage. There would be no "too soon" in that equation.
Evolution would suggest that any mother able to run from danger with her new baby had an advantage. There would be no "too soon" in that equation.
3