When you become a father, something happens. You suddenly experience a different kind of love than you've ever felt. You find yourself in awe of your partner for what she's done, and many of your old priorities, like watching football on Sunday afternoon, take a back seat.

However, this doesn't mean the old you disappears. Instead, it steps outside itself and becomes a second person, the one who wants to do nothing but dote on the child you've helped create. While this new you will prevail over your day-to-day life – the one now governed by naptimes, diaper changes and cartoon characters – don't be alarmed if the old you asks for space as well. He'll still ask to play poker with the guys now and then, watch the ballgame by himself and, most of all, get a good sweat on a semi-regular basis.

Why not make your partner and your baby part of that routine? Here are some ways you can integrate your fitness needs with the needs of your partner or baby, while having some fun in the process.

Regular routines help infants develop good sleep habits, and gentle movements help in particular. Use this to your advantage. During my son Julian's first few months of life, I developed a routine that sent him off to dreamland without fail: three sets of 15 overhead raises, followed by three sets of 20 squats. Then, with my shoulders and thighs burning nicely, I'd slowly lower him into the crib in a back-and-forth motion (as though he were a leaf swaying to the ground), a great finishing movement for my arms. My reward was watching him in silence for the next half-hour.

Your baby is like a dumbbell that automatically commits you to progressive overload, since he can't help but get bigger over time. Holding your newborn on one forearm, do 15 biceps curls. Then, do 15 on the other arm. Do this every few days, and as your baby grows, watch your arms grow, too. (In fact, if you notice around your baby's first birthday that your wife's arms are looking exceptionally toned, don't be surprised – it's from carrying the baby around all the time!)

Push-ups are a great exercise because they can be done anywhere – you don't need any equipment to do them, and they don't take undue time. But the best thing about push-ups for the new father is that they can easily be made to involve your partner and/or baby. Here are some ideas:

• Simply do your push-ups as you normally would while your baby plays around you. He'll be thoroughly amused at the image of Daddy lifting himself up and down off the floor, especially if you make funny faces or clap at the top of every push-up.
• During your 30- or 60-second rest between sets, do something funny, like mock-chasing your baby or rolling one of his toys along your limbs. If you do the same thing between each set, he'll enjoy it even more.
• Lying on your back, use your baby as the barbell. He'll love the feeling of flying up and down in Daddy's trusted hands.
• Have your partner hold your baby on your back as you do the push-ups. This might be even more fun for the baby than being the barbell, since it involves holding onto your body.
• Use your partner as the barbell, or if that's too much to handle, have her lie on your back as you do the push-ups. Your baby will think this is a riot.

Many of today's strollers are tailor-made for the fitness-conscious parent, with streamlined shapes designed specifically for jogging. It might take you a few tries to become accustomed to the form required for jogging while pushing a stroller simultaneously, but you'll become a pro before long. If you and your partner both like to jog, you can take turns pushing. And if you thought the daily or weekly run was enjoyable before, just wait until it's accompanied by the sound of your baby's laughter!

Your baby will love being swung up and down in a spinning, swooping motion (i.e. you twirling around slowly while alternately lifting and lowering him). This is also a great exercise for your back. Just make sure you keep your knees bent. It's even more fun for your baby if both you and your partner are involved, "tossing" him back and forth between you.

From early on in Julian's life, I would greet him at the end of the workday by saying, "Should we go for a run?" and then taking off with him in my arms. He laughed all the way to the end of the street and back, so of course I kept doing it. Now, when he sees me at the end of the day, he's already laughing in anticipation. The daily run, though short, still helps my fitness (it resembles all those suicide drills my basketball coach made me do in high school, but it's A LOT more fun), and carrying a weight that gets bigger all the time makes me work increasingly hard. (In fact, the only drawback is that now, when I arrive back on the driveway and say, "That was great!" Julian thrusts his arm back in the direction of the street and says, "Adeh!" which means "Again!") He finds it even funnier when my wife gets involved, intercepting us when he isn't expecting it.

This truth is immutable: Your baby will be entertained more by your antics than by anything else. So, if all else fails, just goof around for a half-hour: Sing, dance, run in circles, do jumping jacks, play hide-and-seek or do a spontaneous performance piece about how much you love him. There's no limit to what you can do. (For example, though I'm embarrassed to admit it, Julian positively cracks up when my wife and I do ballet jumps past each other.) Nothing will please your baby more than your attempts to amuse him. And you might just end up surprised at how much energy you expend.

One of the undeniable challenges of shared parenthood is finding quality time for each other. It's easy – and addictive – to focus on your baby all day, every day. After a while you might look up and realize you haven't had an hour to cuddle, watch sitcoms or just talk with each other in a long while. Kill two birds with one stone by renting some simple workout videos, like yoga, Pilates, Tae-Bo or even oldies but goodies like Buns of Steel, and doing them together. You'll feel good about yourself for exercising, and you'll feel even better about sharing the activity with the first person in the family with whom you fell in love.

Content on this site is not a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment, and may not be used for such purposes. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical question or condition. Reliance on information presented on this site is at your own risk. This site contains the opinions and views of other users. Given the interactive nature of this site, we cannot endorse, guarantee, or be responsible for the accuracy, efficacy, or veracity of any content generated by our users.