Exercise Excuse 3: “I Don’t Get a Break From the Kids.”

The answer is to multitask, experts say.

“Take the kids with you,” says Hill. While they’re swinging, you can walk around theplayground or backyard or jump rope. Walk the kids to school instead of driving them. During their soccer games or practices, walk briskly around the field.

Use your family time for active pursuit, Brunett suggests. Go biking with your kids, put up a badminton net in the yard, sign up as a family for “fun runs,” or just walk around the neighborhood with your children. When the weather’s bad, try active video games like Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Sport, and Wii Fit.

And remember that your fitness is good for your kids as well as you. “When mom or dad is more fit, has more energy, the whole family benefits,” says psychologist Christina Recascino, PhD.