Fit Friday: Workout Tips for the Busy Mom
9:00 AM
Guest Post By: Dani Ramage
It's Friday morning, and instead of being excited, I am stressing over all the things I need to get done TODAY. We will be out of town watching big sis play volleyball for the next three days, and Monday I am leading a 21 day group to start eating clean and exercising daily. So all of the grocery shopping, prepping, and packing for us and two babies had to happen TODAY. Plus getting my group prepared with a meal plan and shopping list for the next week. Mommy needed a timeout, and that timeout was a 15 minute HIIT workout that I streamed through BOD while the babies played. I also put the dishes away during my 30 second “rests”. A mom never really rests!
I am fortunate enough to be at home with my 10 month old twins. That being said, I have to be creative when it comes to exercise. I don't have the opportunity to go to the gym, and quite frankly I would probably feel guilty driving 20 minutes and spending an hour working out, all while my mind is still at home worrying about my babies. Before I had kids I was at the gym 5-6 days a week, especially during my competition days. Now I make it a priority to fit in at least 15 minutes of exercise every day, from the comfort of my home.
Here are my tips for the busy mom to make exercise a part of her day.
Do mini workouts throughout the day
- You can get a full body workout with no equipment.
- You can do wall sits and squats while you are brushing your teeth, at your desk, or holding a baby!
- Workouts online! I love the thousands of options I have on BOD. Most of the time I choose my workout based on how much time I have. In this photo I am streaming my workout in a hotel room while out of town.
Include your kids
- Walk to the park, or run. I've used the playground to do pull ups, step ups, box jumps, etc.
- Do pushups, squats, lunges, burpees while they are are playing or in their high chairs. Because I workout at home I normally have to stop multiple times to help them or get them out of something, step over them, or they might be crawling on me, but I can get the majority of a workout in.
- Wear a baby, or use them as your “weights”. I have done lunges wearing one baby and holding the other at the same time, squats wearing or holding a baby, chest presses with a baby, shoulder raises, and they think it’s fun (most of the time).
- You are setting a good example being active and having a good attitude about exercise. Make it fun for them, and do it together.
- Write down everything you do in your typical day
- Is there room to adjust, even by 10 minutes?
- Are there things you do that you didn't realize are time suckers?
- Can you put exercise in your calendar at specific times of the day, and set an alarm to eliminate distractions?
- Can you replace at least one thing in your day with exercise? (watching TV, grabbing coffee, checking social media, going out to eat)
- Can your significant other feed the kiddos a meal while you workout?
- Can you invite a friend to go for a walk, with or without kids, for extra accountability?
- Fueling your body with the right nutrition will give you more energy, and will make you want to exercise
- As a parent, we will never get enough sleep, however we can get try bed at a decent time.
- Turn off electronics an hour before bed to get GOOD sleep.
- Getting up a little earlier to start our day with exercise. I know that even on the nights I don't get enough sleep, my day is not affected if I exercise first thing.
- I know, I know, this one is silly. But is it? Cute shoes always give us confidence. How many times do we make an excuse or don't feel like working out because we don't feel good about ourselves? This is why I love working out at home. I can still be a hot mess and it doesn’t matter what I look like!
We all are busy. We all have endless to do lists. As moms we are the nurturers. We take care of everyone and everything first. I know that I can only be a better wife and mom if I take care of myself too. This is why I make exercise a priority everyday. It's not about how long or how much you do. It's about doing it. I also know that I get a lot more done during the day when I exercise. The laundry can wait.
Bio
Dani is an ex-gym addict who dabbled in figure competitions before her 5 year journey of hope to have babies. She is currently a health and fitness coach and is passionate about helping other women become the healthiest versions of themselves by being real in a mostly sugar coated world that we try to live up to. She hopes her life experiences of being a wife and a mom to her 12 year old stepdaughter, and her 11 month old twins empowers other women to see that we can’t do it all, but we can do what we do well. By taking care of ourselves, we can take care of those most important to us. Find Dani on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and her blog Faithfully Fit.
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