5 Tips For Fitting Fitness Into Your Busy Mom Schedule

One of the first things I talk about with clients is what barriers they face when it comes to fitness. The top reason for not hitting personal goals is consistent across the board.

Time.

Not only does this go for moms, but dads as well. Fitting fitness into your life before having a family is much easier than post-kids. Not only is it more difficult to find the time to exercise after having children, but finding time where you have energy (and no guilt) can sometimes feel like a struggle.

Fitness Is Crucial To Your Health

I know it can seem impossible to find time to workout, but it is vital to your health and longevity that you make it happen. Not only will you feel better as an individual, but you will have more energy as a parent. Additionally, you will be setting a positive example of health for the little ones you are raising. You should never feel guilty for taking time out of your day to work out, even if it is an hour a day.

Yet you don’t have to workout an hour a day to see significant results. Here are some ways to incorporate fitness into your busy mom schedule.

Fitness snippits

The biggest thing I want you to take from this post is this:

Exercise does not have to be all or nothing.

While it would be amazing to have the time to put on your (clean) athletic gear, grab your ear buds, head to the gym, warm up for 15 minutes, workout out for an uninterrupted hour, cool down for 10 minutes, and come home to take a nice refreshing shower, it just is not reality anymore. Even if you get an hour to yourself it is likely that you are thinking of a million other things you can do. Well I am here to tell you, it is not necessary to spend hours at the gym to get the body you want. You may have heard this before because it is true.

Instead of forcing a long workout in, incorporate little “fitness snippits” into your day. Whether this means 10 squats as you load the dishwasher or calf raises while you brush your teeth, there is always a way to incorporate more activity into every day tasks. Tonight my kiddo was feeling icky so I gave him a bath. While he was in the tub I did planks on the tub, squats, calf raises, and lunges. It may seem silly but it WORKS! I even came up with a crazy idea at work to have people do 10 lunges while they wash their hands. I like to call them “washing lunges”. I figured this would get people to clean their hands longer, killing two birds with one stone. Well it hasn’t caught on (yet), but I myself do it. All of these little snippits add up over the day to BIG results.

Ask yourself, is it more than you are doing now? Then it will make a difference. Trust me.

Incorporate the kids

If you follow me on Instagram you will likely see my kids in many of the videos I have posted. I used to workout while they were napping, however I am now in a Masters program so I need that down time to study. Instead of booting my workouts I instead changed them up to involve my kids. They love to join in on the fun from time to time which is great because they are learning good habits. Our workout area is in the toy room so they kids completely demolish the entire basement will I workout, then we clean up after. It is fun! However, this leads me to my next tip…

Let go of the mess

This is probably one of the hardest things for a mom. Before we had children our things were in place where WE put them, rooms were in order, beds stayed made, the house was clean and cozy. Then comes the demolition derby of filthy hands, food dropping, toy spreading monsters. After one kid it was still pretty easy to clean up. Two kids, a little more challenging, but doable. With three, forget it. Trust me. It took me a LONG time to get here (and my husband helps me with this) but the mess will always be there.

That said, workout first. Next, clean up. I pretty much have toys chucked at my head frequently in the middle of my workouts but I throw them away from my clean space bubble (I do have one of those I can’t get over), and move on. So whatever you need to do to push the mess out of your head or focus on something else, do it. Get out of the house if you can, head into a room that you feel good about exercising in, or do what I do and let the chaos be chaos. You can (and will) always clean it up later.

Lean before clean!

Hit it early

If you can make it happen, get your workout in during the morning hours. The longer you wait the harder it can be because, well, your tired! That said, for many working moms (including myself) a morning workout is not an option.

If this is the case for you at least try to get outside between the hours of 7am-10am. Studies have shown this early sunlight exposure to help with sleep patterns. If you are tired you are less likely to workout. A.M sunlight stimulates the release of cortisol at a time it should be released which helps control proper melatonin release to be higher at night, helping you sleep. Getting outside even if for a 5 minute walk, helps get your blood flowing and puts you in the mood for exercise.

Again, don’t think of this as an all or nothing. A 5 minute walk around your neighborhood block is enough to get these physiological processes in place, boost your mood and metabolism!

Have Fun!

Lastly – have fun with it! Exercise should NOT be a chore. If it is, you have not found what works for you. Truly. Maybe the first few weeks of a boot camp type class or first few classes of yoga are a struggle. After this initial hump it ALWAYS gets easier. However, if it has been a few weeks or months and you hate working out, you have not found a program that works for you. Find the fun! My kids and I often dance downstairs for quite a long time. Usually we bust out some Zumba moves (my very favorite cardio exercise). If you have hit a wall, try a new activity or sport. Ask a friend to join you, or your spouse. Make fitness something you enjoy and you will make it a lifelong habit!