Finding time is one of the biggest struggles I have as a busy mom and it is really finding time for anything! Can you relate? I know I’m not alone in this. Whenever I’m talking about either meal prepping or planning or how I workout 5-6 days a week, I am always asked how I get it done. Were you wondering the same thing? Well I’m here to share with you four of my key tips for finding time to exercise. These are things I do all the time to help me make time for fitness! I understand having a busy schedule because I have one also. I also have spent years trying to be creative with my time to make it all work and I am so excited to be able to share that with you now! Let’s jump in.
Workout At Home
When I first started really focusing on my health it was after the birth of my first son. I started going to the crossfit gym my husband was going to. I absolutely loved it. I brought my son to the gym with me when I went and he sat in his little infant carrier while I worked out. We all used to just laugh that the banging of the weights used to put him to sleep, also probably one of the reasons he is such a good sleeper still to this day haha. It was perfect really. I had a good friend at the gym who was pregnant with me and we would both sit them by the rower as we did the workout. Our coach would even hold them on Sunday’s if they got fussy in the middle of the workout. It was a fantastic experience, and it worked.
Then came son number 2 which also meant my oldest was close to being 2 and he was on the move. Having them both come to the gym with me wasn’t working anymore and so I needed other people to watch them so I could go to the gym. I spent about 2 years juggling babysitters to be able to get to the gym and was so thankful the grandparents were close by to help but spending 30 minutes commuting and an hour at the gym was starting to take its toll and I started doing more and more workouts at home. The hour and a half I needed to set aside to get in a workout slowly turned into 45 minutes or less by working out at home plus it was a whole lot easier to fit it in because I no longer needed someone to watch my kids.
I know working out at home isn’t ideal for everyone. I totally get needing the vibe of the gym to push you harder but when you are faced with the option of not working out or making it work at home you do what needs to get done. If you are struggling to find time to get to the gym try doing workouts from your house. Maybe this answer will help you like it helped me!
Let Go Of Expectations
Setting high expectations are great for goals and dreams but I find when I set high expectations for my day or how I plan things to turn out, it usually comes up short. Now I’m not trying to be negative here, expectations are a wonderful thing but they have to be realistic. This same idea applies to our workout goals. Since I workout at home I have to anticipate running into issues during my workout and I learned to let go of having the expectation of being able to just have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time.
This was incredibly frustrating in the beginning but as time went on I slowly adjusted my expectations. My goal was to workout. Some days I would be able to push harder than others and some days I was lucky to just be moving and I had to be ok with that, and I am now! I actually did a workout yesterday that ended up being 17 minutes and 33 seconds long. In that 17 minutes and 33 seconds I was interrupted 12 times. Yes, 12 times. Was it frustrating? Yep! Was I able to give that workout all I had? Nope! But my overall goal is to move my body and exercise and that I did.
Involve Your Kids
Once your kids get a little older and great tip for finding time is to include them! Give them a workout to do while you do yours! My kids LOVE when I do this. They just want to be involved and honestly getting them moving is just as important as getting yourself to move so it is an all around win.
This definitely goes back to the expectation section because you are for sure going to have to lower yours but you are still exercising and that is what matters! I remember doing a workout in my driveway and my youngest son found a stick and used that as his dumbbell and copied all of my movements. I mean how fantastic is that! Encourage your kids to move with you!
Be Creative With Your Time
Being a busy parent is no joke my friends, especially as your kids are getting older. The older they get they more activities they are involved in, which means the more activities you are involved it. This makes your time limited and if you want to fit in workouts you are going to have to be creative.
I know so many people who wake up insanely early to get their workout in, in the morning. I give them so much credit because that is just something that would not work for me. I am not a morning person to begin with and there is no way I’m getting up at 4 am to throw weights over my head. It is just something that wouldn’t work for me but if it works for you than fantastic! You could also workout after your kids go to bed!
For me, I plan my workouts each week and when I do I sit down with my calendar and find the days that are the busiest and choose 2 of those to be my rest days. That helps to eliminate some of the stress of fitting it all in. After that, if the nights are still really busy I find a workout I can do at their game or practice. I usually do a workout while my kids do jiu jitsu and have walked to the side and got a workout in during baseball practice. I know you are thinking people are going to look at you funny, and they will but at the end of the day my goal is to workout and sometimes this is my only choice!
There you have it my friends, 4 ways to help fit in exercise with a busy schedule. I know time is valuable and most likely in short supply but that doesn’t mean you can’t still work towards your goals while helping your kids reach theirs!
Exercise isn’t the only thing hard to fit in when you are really busy. Finding time to make healthy meals can be a struggle also! I put together this Meal Planning Guide to help you be successful in that area also! Enter your name and email below and I’ll see you on the inside!
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