5 Simple Ways To Make Time For Exercise

One of the biggest complaints that I hear from other moms is that they don’t have time to work out. Juggling kids, home life and work can always get in the way – whether it’s finding the time or even having the energy to exercise. Working out doesn’t have to take more than an hour of your day, which is why I love CrossFit. It’s powerful, effective and extremely efficient. Here are five simple ways to make time for exercise, even if you work full time outside of the home…

1. Make an appointment with yourself! Just as you would schedule any other appointments, meetings or play dates into your day, schedule your workouts for the week and make plans around it. The only time that I have to workout is first thing in the morning after I train clients and before my kids wake up, so no matter what, I know that between 6 and 7 a.m. is my time to get my wod done. If I don’t workout first thing in the morning, I try to schedule it during nap time, but as the day goes on, things get busy and it makes it harder to get my workout done.

2. Get up and move! When I worked for the corporate world before and shortly after I had Keenan, I used to have “walking meetings” with my staff, unless our meeting required us to be in front of a computer or at my desk. Most of the time we would go for a brisk walk and talk, which I found more productive then sitting down. If you work outside of the home, go for brisk walks during your breaks, eat a quick lunch and go for a walk the rest of your lunch break, take the stairs and park farther away from your office. Now that I’m at home, I jog Keenan to preschool on most mornings in our BOB stroller and I try to walk instead of drive to run local errands, such as the post office, library and pharmacy to fit in some additional exercise into my day.

3. Make fitness a family affair. I love to include Keenan in my workouts if I didn’t get a chance to workout first thing in the morning. He loves to come out to our garage gym and use the rower, do burpees, bear crawls and play on the rings while I do my wod. He feels like he is “working out” with me while I get my wod done, and as an added bonus, he sees me modeling healthy habits and taking care of my health. Take the whole family for a brisk walk or go for a bike ride in the afternoon, or after dinner if you work outside of the home. Or, while the kids are playing outside, do some simple, but fun home wods and involve them.

4. Don’t be shy to check out fitness DVDs. Before I got into CrossFit, I used to use some fitness DVDs on the days I couldn’t make it to the gym. It made things easier to be able to do a workout from home (since I didn’t really have much equipment), hop in the shower and get ready for work. There are tons of great fitness DVDs out there and if you are not the gym type, check out some at your library or online. Get up a little earlier, pop one into your DVD player or computer and workout before your kids wake up or after they go to bed at night.

5. Pets can be your best workout partners. My dogs love to go running with me in the mornings for my part of my warm up and/or during my wod. They are always so excited as soon as they see the leashes and once they are on, they are ready to go! If you have a dog, set a goal of taking them for a walk (or run) at least once a day either first thing in the morning, after the kids are in bed or during the day with your kids (if you stay at home). Dogs need exercise, too, so use them as an excuse to get moving!

Questions:

How do you fit exercise into your day?

What is your favorite way to workout?