Within minutes, our pediatrician informed us that Chase has his first ear infection. He has been completely exhausted, fussy and in need of a lot of holding, cuddling and love which is all I’m trying to give him right now. We’ve been reading a lot of books and snuggling up a storm over here. I feel so bad for my baby boy. It’s hard to see him without his normal energy. I miss his crazy baby squeals!
Chase will still give me his mischievous little smile when we play but playtime isn’t lasting too long right now in favor of calmer activities. Chase hasn’t fallen asleep in my arms in months, so it’s so crazy to have a baby on my hands that will only calm down if I hold him and rock him. I’m hoping he feels better soon!
Total Body Pyramid Workout
A sick baby means no gym childcare for us, so on Wednesday morning, during Chase’s second morning nap (<—I told you he’s been exhausted!), I created a pyramid workout to go through in our little home gym.
Pyramid workouts are some of my favorite workouts to complete because once you finish one level and move onto the next, it feels like a mini victory within the workout. To complete this workout, I began by working my way up the pyramid.
I completed 20 reps of the five exercises listed in the 20 reps section before moving onto 40 reps of the four exercises in the 40 reps section and 60 reps of the final three exercises in the 60 reps section. And then it was time to go back down the pyramid and complete the 60, 40 and 20 rep sections in reverse order.
Exercise Demonstrations
For picture/video demonstrations of the exercises in this workout, please click the below links to ensure proper form.
20 Reps:
40 Reps:
60 Reps:
- Mountain Climbers
- One-Leg Jump Rope (each leg)
- Bicycle Crunches
Complete This Workout At Home
I went through this workout at home with a stability ball and a set of dumbbells, but you can transform it into a bodyweight-only workout that can be completed anywhere by substituting a pulsing squat for the squat to overhead press and a rolling plank for the stability ball roll-ins in the 20 rep section.
Up The Intensity
To up the intensity of this workout you can incorporate bursts of cardio in between each round, such as five minutes of running or incline walking, complete an extra round (or two) of the pyramid or set out to do as many rounds as possible in a specified amount of time, such as 25 minutes! And, as always, listen to your body and rest as needed.
More Total Body Workouts
Looking for more total body workouts to try? Here are a handful of my favorites:
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Aw Julie! Sick babies are so hard to watch. Good for you for still getting a workout in. My twins are about 5 weeks older than Chase and we’ve still managed to avoid an ear infection, but we’ve had a few viruses with fevers — and it’s just no fun.
Healing vibes to Chase! He’s lucky you’re still nursing him, and he’s getting all those immune system benefits from you. It makes me feel like I’m at least doing something when my littles are sick and don’t need any medicine.
So sorry Chase isn’t feeling well! I’m dreading that first sickness with my 7 month old. I’m sure he is loving all the momma cuddles making him feel better! Hope he is back to his normal happy self soon!
I hope your little one stays healthy! I am honestly surprised by how much his fever and ear infection completely zonked his energy and changed his whole demeanor. Poor baby! Thank you for the well wishes. <3
Your pyramid workout kind of reminds me of paying off debt. We paid off our smallest debts first and then moved up and now are slamming our mortgage! But the theory is the same, those small victories keep you going.
Ughhh. Sorry too that Chase is under the weather. I’d take the sickness from my kids anyday whether than letting them suffer =(
So sorry to hear about Chase- hope he is feeling better soon! Love these types of workouts- would be interested to hear more about your home gym set up- I’m hoping to have one in place by the end of the year.
Aw man, ear infections are the WORST! Sending love and well wishes to little Chase! <3
So sorry your little Chase is not feeling well! My little man who’s a few weeks younger than yours just had a little viral illness last month, and it was no fun! Couldn’t imagine if he had been febrile or had an ear infection with it. And I’m a pediatrician! Completely useless when it comes to my own baby ?
Oh no! I hope he feels better soon! 🙁 Thanks for sharing this workout–I love this style of workout especially with the added cardio!
Aww poor Chase! I saw that on Snap chat yesterday and feel so bad. My little one got her first cold and ear infection at just 2 months It was sooo sad! She slept a lot and needed lots of cuddles.
I’m so sorry Chase isn’t feeling well! We had 4 ear infections between Nov-March and just trying to avoid another or else we get tubes. Chase should be feeling better soon with the medicine (if you went that direction) and he’ll be back to himself in no time! Lots of love and cuddles is about all you can do. One recommendation is to see your pediatrician for a follow-up after you complete the dosage to make sure it cleared up (I don’t think all practices do it, but put me at ease knowing it wasn’t recurring at the time). Appreciate all your honest mama posts…they are so helpful! Even though my son is 11 months…I’ll read them and think “ok…I’m not the only one going through some of this stuff…and we are all surviving!”.
tea tree oil does wonders for relieving pain from ear infections! just rub a bit behind his ears. so much better than giving medicine.
Hope the little guy feels better soon!
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I love pyramid workouts too! They are a great burner and I love that I have a little bit of a mental break in between the phases.
Hope he’s feeling back to himself very soon
am i the only one who sees “burpees” and goes, nope 🙂
LOL!
Hope Chase feels better soon. The only positive thing when your baby is sick is that they want to cuddle. Sending well wishes.
Poor baby!!! Hope he feels better soon! Love seeing your snapchats!!! This looks like such a good workout!
Aww, I am so sorry to hear Chase is not feeling well! My daughter (now 18 months old) has never had an ear infection (knock on wood!), but she did get her first cold around 3 months! She has had a few other colds since, and we all had the stomach flu right before she turned one. I will take the common cold anyday, but dealing with throwing up and other things (TMI) with an infant is absolutely awful. I have heard ear infections aren’t fun either, so I hope Mr. Chase is feeling better soon! Sending healing vibes mama…it is so hard to watch our littles get sick 🙁
I hope Chase feels better!
20 burpees…that just doesn’t sound fun at all haha!
Great workout use? Can you estimate how long it took you? (I’ve got a little one, so always budgeting my time too!)
Awww, hope he feels better soon! If the doctor gave you antibiotics, be sure and get some probiotics, too. Antibiotics can lead to diarreah and diaper rash that is NO FUN!
Hope your little one feels better soon. Love the workouts. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Julie — would you mind sharing what kind of equipment you have in your home gym? I’m thinking of buying some for busy days when I can’t get out of the house!
Hope Chase feels better soon!
Thank you for this workout !! Some tough stuff in there for me but I just do what I can. I love your workout from home posts as i am able to work from home. Thanks !!
Sweet boy! I’m so sorry he is sick! Hopefully his ear infection will clear up soon!!
Thanks for always sharing such awesome workouts, Julie! It’s not relevant for this workout, but how do you time sets for your timed workouts? I’m never sure how to do workouts that are 1 min of high knees, 1 min of push ups, etc. Any tips/apps to share? Thanks!
I use the “Interval Timer ” app and I love it!
I do a lot of HIIT circuits that rotate intervals and cycles frequently, so I’m always moving my body! Great way to break a sweat, get stronger and push yourself to the limit!
Just did this workout – wow is it a sweaty one! Loved it, thank you!
Poor Chase!!! Hope he feels better soon!
Oh no – little duuuuuude! I hope he feels well soon 🙂
I can’t believe I’m admitting it, but while I’ve heard of pyramid workouts, I’ve never actually completed one! WTF mate?! Needless to say, I’ll try this at home with the weights we have available and I’m certain it will kick booty. Woohoo!! #GoTeam
Thanks for the tips!
XO, Jessica
Thanks for posting this! It really got me motivated to not skip my workout after a long days work.
I love your ideas! This one seems like a burner. I’d say I’m pretty fit, but 40 V-ups sounds intense! When I do it, I always wonder if it’s right. I feel like I’m using more than my abs & sometimes need a gentle “climb” up using my hands against my thighs. Any v-up tips other than the link you shared? I’ve never understood the “one giant motion” part. Thanks, Julie! Hope Chase gets better soon!
I had a love/hate relationship with this workout! It was great and got my heart rate up right away so it felt super effective in a short period of time. I did two rounds and it was perfect. You should post more of these types of workouts, especially because I like counting reps more than timing because it’s easier to keep track of. IT WAS SO HARD!
Thank you for the feedback, Kate!! I’ll definitely try to post more like this in the future!
Hello Julie my name is leeaudry comma I have been struggling with keeping a clean eating meal plan and I was hoping you can give me some suggestions are examples of meal plans that don’t restrict me from eating bread and I’m also looking to lose some weight and fat and some inches