Daily Workout – How do I find the time?????

Sometimes I wonder if there is a mother out there who isn’t stretched to the breaking point with commitments. How do we find time for exercise? Yet we do, and we must if we want to stay healthy. These tips make finding the time and getting the workouts a lot easier.

• Break It Up Let’s face it: finding a whole open hour in the schedule doesn’t happen every day. For most of my workouts, I can chop it into pieces. While getting a consistent period of cardio is better, it’s not leaps and bounds better. Four chunks of 15-minute workouts is almost as good, and it’s way healthier than an hour on the couch. For example, if I know that I’ll be going for a walk in the midday or evening, I’ll just get up a little earlier and doing some resistance training or calisthenics to add to it.

• Weekend Date There is a time when I might be able to get a longer workout or¬¬gasp–an open 90 minutes to go to the gym. It’s called the weekend. Everyone else is off on those days, so that’s my time to be on. I leave the kids with my spouse, family or friends, and hammer out a detailed workout. Sometimes I go for a long, meditative run. Other times, I’ll hit the gym and use every type of machine they have. It’s more fun when I know I don’t have to play beat-the-clock with the gym daycare.

• Off-hour workouts: The gyms are usually buzzing after 5pm, when the work crowd punches the clock but, for most mom’s that the time for soccer practice, homework and dinner. So try to wake up and hour before your have to get the kids ready for school or even during your lunch hour to try to get in a quick workout.

• Workout as a family: If you cant fit a solo routine into your schedule, why not choose a fitness program or sport that you can do with your children. There are several sports that welcome families like karate and tennis. Not a sports person, trying bicycling, running, or rollerblading as a family. The kids will think your are the coolest mom!
• Tap into your support system: When all else fails, hire a babysitter, nanny, or after school care to assist you with the children while you take time for yourself.  You can also link with other busy moms and create a schedule for one to watch the children while the other works out.