One of my biggest struggles is fitting everything into the 24 hours of the day now that I am back to working full time since the arrival of my little lady. I’m learning to make the most of free time whenever it presents itself. It’s hard to find the balance with all that I want to do and all the roles that I play. (keep the house tidy, stay up on laundry, exercise, blog, creating content, building connections & Instagram followers, working 9-5, quality time with my husband and kids, family adventures, date with my husband, showering..)
While I love a hard workout, my goal lately has been just to MOVE every day. Setting this intention the last two months has changed my mindset. I have a calendar on my phone to keep track of what I do for exercise and in the last two months I’ve only had 5 rest days! Not every workout is equal to the next but I’ve also learned that I’ve got to take a little easier on my expectations and go with the flow. Today I’m sharing a few tips that has helped me stay on track!
1. BE FLEXIBLE: this one is hard for me because I like structure and routine and to me, flexible indirectly translates to not important. Daily exercise is extremely important to me; it goes much deeper than fitting into my favorite skinny jeans. To be flexible with my workout routine means that maybe I’m not working out in the morning, but at lunch or after work. Or maybe it means time is tight and I have to throw out the 30 minute strength session I was going to do for a 10 minute ab routine. Putting my mind to just MOVE has helped me be flexible. I’ve probably said it before and I’ll probably say it a thousand more times but a 10 minute workout is better than no workout.
2. BREAK IT UP: along the same lines of being flexible comes the idea to break it up. If you’ve ever done a Tone It Up workout, you know that they typically have a Cardio + toning scheduled for their daily workouts. Somedays for me this looks like knocking out the toning circuit before work and then doing the cardio session at lunch by taking a walk. Or maybe I’ll do 10 minutes before work, 10 minutes on my lunch and 10 minutes after work. I read an article a few years ago that short but frequent workouts can produce the same health benefits as one lengthy session. Truth be told, I don’t mind a day when I break it up, but its better if it’s done on day that I can wear workout clothes all day! If only I could live in workout leggings and fun tops!
3. BE KIND: to yourself, because it’s crucial. Shannon over at Itsy Bitsy Indulgences shared on a Wellness Wednesday post about her avoidance to the word “should” and I tell you what her words really put some perspective in my mind. So now when I catch myself thinking “that should have been longer, I should have pushed harder” I tell my thoughts to be quiet. Did I MOVE today? Did I put a little bit of time aside for myself, my health and my future? There’s no reason to be mean or hard on myself. Life’s way too short for all that negativity.
4. HIIT IT: If I want to go hard but I don’t have a ton of time, I know a high intensity interval training workout is going to be clutch. Not only do HIIT workouts scorch calories but they also leave your body burning more calories after the workout is finished. If your knees can handle it, HIIT is amazing. It’s 100% how I lost all my baby weight with my first pregnancy. BONUS- here’s a quick HIIT workout for you to keep in your back pocket:
5. FAMILY AFFAIR: my last solid tip is to include the family in your workout routine if your day is too busy for even 10 minutes of just you time. Take a walk or bike ride with the kids, participate in tummy time with the infant because we all can benefit from core work or put on some music and have a dance party with your 4 year old. Exercise does not have to look like treadmills and weights, exercise can look like chasing soccer balls in the yard after dinner. While that may not give you chiseled features, it’s still going to burn more calories than just sitting there watching the kids play soccer.
Do you have any tips for how you keep yourself active with a busy schedule? Leave a comment because I’d love to hear! I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient with my time!
