Keeping Up Exercise the Right Way as a Busy Parent

Keeping up exercise often feels good in your head when you are winding down at night and getting ready for the next day. But the reality isn’t always as enthusiastic as a busy parent, and you never really get around to that early morning run you always think about. However, exercise as a mother or father can be easier than you think with some readjustment. From exercise through habit stacking to using the right apps, here are some ideas to help get you started.

Make Time for Morning Recovery

Recovery after working out is one of the most important things that some people overlook. Like stretching, recovery helps your body in many ways, including dealing with stiffness and soreness. However, as a busy parent, time for yourself isn’t always abundant. So make the most of the mornings for relaxing muscles or getting some extra sleep. You can also use the best shoulder brace and back support aids if you are having trouble with specific muscle groups.

Keeping Up Exercise with Habit Stacking

It can be hard to even begin an exercise routine, especially if you aren’t an active person. However, one of the most effective tricks is habit stacking. This is where you combine activities so they become an automatic part of your routine. Here’s how to begin for more exercise:

• Start with something simple, such as 20 squats while your coffee machine is working.
• If you work from home, immediately go for a run after turning off your computer.
• Don’t overwhelm yourself by keeping exercises between 1 to 2 minutes long.

Schedule Workouts Like Appointments

Calendars are among the most useful tools a parent has, and they are vital when keeping up with appointments for the kids. As such, you can easily forget about or miss things that aren’t in your favourite calendar app, scrawled in your diary or written on the fridge calendar whiteboard. So it makes sense to schedule workouts in your calendar. This way, they are slotted when you know you have the time, you can prepare for them coming up, and you’re less likely to forget.

Make Play Time More Active

Playing with the kids can be exhausting as it is, so it is a perfect opportunity to increase your physical activity. No one is suggesting handling dumbbells while playing tag, but moving quicker, climbing and lifting the children would all count as exercise if you play for an extended period. By doing this, the time passes by quickly, the children get much-needed family time, and you burn off a few extra calories. As an added bonus, the kids are also likely to be a little burned out.

Keeping Up Exercise with Vigorous Chores

Chores are sometimes the most mundane things you can do, but they can be extra useful for exercise. Depending on what you are doing, you can burn between 100 and 300 calories per hour from simple chores, but you can easily double this by making them more vigorous:

Moving more when cleaning

When doing chores such as vacuuming or mopping, add in some lunges, or bend over multiple times instead of one when picking up the kids’ toys. Just a few more movements can add up.

Finding a playlist

You can feel silly doing exercises when competing chores, but you might find it more encouraging if you have a playlist of music that you can almost dance to when cleaning up.

Chores as a routine

If you are short on time and can’t pencil in an exercise routine, then your chores can become the exercise you need, making fitness activities a part of your existing household routine.

The 4-3-2-1 Method

There are tons of little rules and hacks for things like productivity and exercise. Of course, not all are suitable for every lifestyle and situation, but there is one that is pretty effective for most parents. The 4-3-2-1 rule is an easier rule to begin and keep up with because it aims to reduce how overwhelmed you are. It states to aim for 4 workouts per week (of less than thirty minutes), three healthy meals per week, two days of 10,000 steps and one minute of stretching per day.

Use Micro-Workouts When You Can

Being a busy parent, it can seem like you never have time for yourself, but there is actually a lot of time that most people don’t use. Between chores, after school runs, and even sitting on the couch are all opportunities for more movement. Micro-workouts can be done almost anywhere at almost any time. For example, you might have five minutes here and there, and these can be great for lunges and stretches, while you can even do butt clenches while watching TV!

Keeping Up Exercise with Apps

It is safe to assume you have a smartphone, but did you know there is much more to it than Candy Crush? There are apps for almost everything today, and some of the best-selling apps are in the health and fitness category, and some come with tools for maximising workout time:

• Nike Training Club has thousands of free short workouts from light yoga to HIIT.
• Fitbod can create a routine based on the available time and equipment you have.
• SweatApp features targeted programs such as PWR express with 20-minute workouts.

Don’t Take It So Seriously

It’s always a good thing when someone wants to improve their health, as parents especially can fall into a slump. However, you can lose your enthusiasm almost as soon as you begin if you are too hard on yourself. You need to manage your wellbeing as a busy parent, and it begins by knowing your thresholds. You might want to aim for 30 minutes of running per day, but don’t beat yourself up if you can only do 15. The key is to enjoy exercise and do it when you can.

Summary

Making time for morning recovery will make a massive difference when keeping up exercise when you’re busy, as it allows your muscles to heal properly. If you are short on time, you can include exercise in your chores, but don’t force a routine and overwhelm yourself with activity.

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Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.