Whether you’re a single parent who is tackling work and child rearing by yourself, or you’re married and juggling the busy demands of a growing family, working out while handling your kid’s schedule isn’t an easy one (we won’t even pretend it is!) That’s why when it comes to fitness, you’ve got to give yourself an extra motivational push. Here’s three of them to get you running, lunging and squatting—allowing you to achieve your best healthy state yet!
Make Breakfast Time Exercise Time
Whether you have one very active child (or four!), your life is all about multitasking. If you can rock a baby while talking to your mother-in-law on the phone, or cook dinner while you help your kids with their homework, you can fit exercise into your busy life—because you’re you! After your kids sit down the oatmeal, cereal or scrambled eggs you’ve made for them, do something good for yourself. Skip while your coffee finishes brewing, or do some lunges in the hallway while your kids enjoy their breakfast.
Incorporate a Living Room Workout
Living room workouts are the perfect way to keep up the motivation and the physical exertion for a daily workout program. Feeling stressed by the constant demands of your preschooler or teen? Then head to the living room (or if that’s where they play, go somewhere else in the house where you can be in peace), and breath. Turn on your favorite workout video and spend 45 minutes while your kids nap, or play. Stretch your limbs, do a few rounds of squats, then head down to the floor for push-ups, bench presses, bicep curls (on your back) and crunches.
Office Aerobics (No Matter How Many Deadlines You’ve Got!)
If you’re a working mom and you’re struggling to find time to exercise (but the day simply goes by too fast), why not bring your workout to your desk? When you’re typing emails, contract your abdominal muscles, and once every 90 minutes, take a brisk walk around the office. Refuse to take any shortcuts you normally would, so instead of taking the elevator, climb the stairs, or instead of parking in the spot closest to the entrance doors, pick the spot furthest way (to get some extra steps in).
No matter how hectic your life may be (and we know it is) there’s always time for a workout, even with a hectic kids schedule to deal with. After all, you’re no good to anyone else if you’re not taking adequate care of yourself.
