The days of using your children as an excuse for lack of exercise are long gone.

The pressures of parenthood can often pile up, making time to keep fit, look after the youngsters and a a busy work schedule plenty to tackle.

But, instead of letting your training regiment decrease and your waistline increase, consider this: take your youngster with you.

No, no, I don’t mean start training them before they know how to walk, but rather take your future runners along for the jog in the form of perambulator.

That’s fancy talk for pram.

Not only will it ensure you get some “alone time” with your tot, but studies have proven that it will improve your form, too.

Studying their posture, arm swings, and whether they used one or two hands to push the stroller, biologist Cara Wall-Scheffler was intrigued at just how much extra work it takes to push a stroller while running, reports Inside Science:

After some initial observations, she designed an experiment to investigate how running with a stroller affects the way runners use energy. She identified three separate steering techniques to test: one-handed, two-handed and push-and-chase.

And here’s what she found:

[P]ushing the stroller with two hands increases the amount of calories burned by about 5 percent, pushing with one hand increases it by about 6 percent, and the push-and-chase method increases it by about 8 percent.

The strenuous push-and-chase steering method uses the most energy, but can help turbo-charge a workout. “Depending on what the individual is trying to get out of their stroller running session, [the push-and-chase method] might be the most preferred option,” she said.

But no matter what method parents use, stroller running can help them juggle multiple demands. If they don’t jog with their child, exercise often comes with the extra cost of child care, if they’re able to find the time at all. More significant than a 5-8 percent difference in expended energy between pushing techniques is the difference between jogging with a stroller and not at all.

Not too shabby, huh?

So, to increase your calorie burn by between 5% and 8%, depending on your style, here are a few jogging prams you might consider investing in.

We already know that Swedish-brand Thule is all about making life that little bit easier – we introduced you to their epic range of cargo carriers not too long ago.

But did you know they also make a fantastic range of strollers?

The best jogging stroller is one that is easy to use, safe for your kids, and something that makes the most sense for your budget.  Yup, the Thule Glide 2 is the one you want to be looking at:

Darling, isn’t it?

Not a runner? Well Thule also offers a range of other strollers, including ones you can attach to a bicycle and ones suitable for strolling on rougher terrains.

And there you thought you were going to get away with having a dad bod once and for all.

Oh, and from Runners World, some unexpected benefits of running with a pram:

The Extra Storage

Pre-kid, I considered myself a fairly minimalist runner: I never took my phone or water bottle, just my keys and stamp-sized iPod. But these days, with the stroller’s basket and pockets virtually begging to be filled, I can pack enough stuff to keep me and my little guy hydrated, fed, and entertained for hours.

Among the inventory: phone; snacks; water bottle for me, sippy cup for him; blanket; extra diaper; and wipes.

Possible Improvements in Form

While it might seem awkward at first to run while pushing a stroller, it can actually help your form—and potentially even improve your speed—according to running coach Eric Orton, author of The Cool Impossible.

Because the stroller is in front of you, it hinders any tendency to overstride. This is especially important on downhills, when you have to hold the stroller to keep it from getting away from you—something that I initially struggled with in notoriously hilly San Francisco. “That acts as a form of braking, so you are able to keep your foot strike under you in a good way and still have a sense of braking,” Orton says. “It helps you keep your feet under you and striking the ground under your body.”

Increased Visibility

When you run in a busy neighborhood [sic] like mine, you get used to keeping a watchful eye out for distracted drivers and cars cruising through stop signs. But I’ve noticed that with the jogging stroller, drivers seem to see me better—and they’re more likely to honor the pedestrian-has-the-right-of-way rule that’s supposed to prevail.

I mean, even if you don’t have a kid, it might work? Hey, hey, hey?

See you on the Sea Point Promenade for a sunset / baby stroller selfie, which is basically a magnet for likes on Instagram these days.

[source:runnersworld&insidescience]