Daddy’s Little Helpers

Baby weight is something you want to lose. But baby weights are something you want to use, says Joshua Levitt, a father of three who recognized that his kids could do double duty as unlikely fitness props.

The naturopathic doc’s “Baby Barbells: The Dad’s Guide to Fitness and Fathering” ($14, Running Press Book Publishers) is a how-to book for bonding with your wee ones through exercise. It goes over muscle groups and explains how you’ll be using them differently now that you’ve procreated.

For example, biceps were “the spot you regrettably tattooed on a drunken college spring break.” Now you’ll need them for “hefting unwieldy car seats and diaper bags all over town.” Levitt walks you through how to work muscles with instructions and diagrams. For the biceps, he suggests a classic curl, cradling the baby instead of a weight and maintaining eye contact and a smile as you lift and lower.

Get an in-person lesson when Levitt visits the D.C. Jewish Community Center (1529 16th St. NW; 202-518-9400) on Sunday at 10 a.m. for a workshop designed just for dads and their newborns to 1-year-olds. It’s $5 for members and $7 for non-members, and includes a day pass to the DCJCC’s fitness center so Mom can get in a solo sweat session at the same time. (For families with two fathers, both are encouraged to attend.)

Attendees will work on moves such as the Precious Cargo Row, in which the baby rests in a car seat while the dad pulls the seat up like a row. There’s also Sit-Up, Not Spit-Up, which works Dad’s abs: Lying on your back with your baby across your shins, lift your knees and chest to kiss the kid’s nose.

This workout redefines burn, baby, burn.