20 Tips for Working Mothers to Sneak in Exercise
1. Create your own Winter/Summer Olympics
Have relays, sack races, and shoot hoops with your kids set up like an Olympics. Every one competes and there is one winner at the end of each game.
2. Take a walk after dinner.
Instead of loafing on the couch and watching T.V., take a stroll around the neighborhood. Walking is one of the easiest and best exercises for your body. It is also a great time for bonding with your loved ones and friends.
3. Wake up Ã?½ hour early, even if it’s only once or twice per week. Do a work out video, walk, or do Yoga or Tai Chi. You will feel more refreshed all morning long and you will have more energy all day.
4. Work Outside
Plant a garden, rake leaves, or shovel snow. Bending, stretching, and carrying things while working outside all help your body remain strong. Have you ever noticed a man that physically works every day? Their muscles are well defined and they almost never have extra fat. Find a reason to go outside and do something. Raking leaves will at least break a sweat, and shoveling snow will build your muscles stronger.
5. Find reasons to walk in your neighborhood.
Stop by and admire your neighbor’s gardens, hand deliver Christmas and birthday cards, or just stop and say hello around you neighborhood. Find a reason to go for a walk. Instead of driving to the post office only two blocks away, walk there and back. Your body will greatly benefit from the simple exercise.
6. Swim during your lunch break.
If you have a membership to the local YMCA, indoor pool, or gym pool swim for 20 minutes during your lunch break. Most people have at least an hour for lunch so it’s easy to get in a quick swim. Yes, you will have wet hair and at first everyone is going to want to know why, but in only 1 hour you can swim, eat lunch, get dressed, and be back at work on time. If your gym is far away from your job you should think about getting a membership somewhere closer to where you work.
7. Play with your kids.
Activity can calm your mood while helping you build muscle. Take your children to the park and play with them. Go down the slide, play chase or “you’re it”, scale the monkey bars, and push your kids on the swings. The next day you will really “feel the burn”. We don’t stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing.
8. Walk/Run/Race for Charity.
Join a team that spotlights physical activity to raise money. For example, the Relay for Life Organization hosts walks to raise money to find a cure for cancer, but there are many organizations that you can walk for and hundreds of different causes. Invite your family and friends to join your team to make the experience fun.
9. Sign up for a new active hobby.
Sign up for the local golf club, or even yachting or sailing. Taking on any new challenges will be invigorating for not only the mind, but the body. Join a hiking group or become a Girl Scout den mother. There are many things that you can do to become active while interacting with your children.
10. Be inefficient when doing housework.
Forget things when you are cleaning around the house so that you have to make multiple trips when you are going up and down stairs or in and out of the house to the car. If you have young children, give them laundry basket rides to help build up your strength and endurance.
11. Get out of the house on nice days.
Instead of sleeping in and watching T.V. get out of the house when the sun is shining and it is warm. It’s much easier to be active when it is nice out. Even if it is snowing you can still get out of the house and go sledding with your kids or build a snowman.
12. Run up and down the stairs.
Can’t get out of the house today because you’ve got a sick kid and there is no way you are going to the gym? Run up and down the stairs until you can’t do it anymore (about 20 minutes for me) and then lift gallons of milk or water to build muscle mass. You can also do a workout video while they are napping.
13. Squeeze your buttocks when just sitting.
Whether you are at work, home, church, the library, or anywhere you can still get great buns! If you are just sitting at your desk or reading clench your buttocks together for about 2 seconds and release. Repeat this for several minutes, and whenever you are sitting to start seeing results within weeks. If you are doing it right, it will appear as if you are bobbing up and down a little bit.
14. Take the stairs.
Instead of taking the elevator or escalator take the stairs. A little cardio exercise never killed anybody and will do your body good.
15. Walk briskly while shopping.
Instead of mulling through the grocery store isles, prepare a list beforehand of the things you need and when you get to the store go straight to them. Carry the list and check the things off as you go. Think of it as a race to the end of the list. The faster you get the list checked off the better. Plus, you will save a lot of time and money.
16. Set goals for yourself.
Set exercise goals that you intend to reach and specify by what date. When you reach a goal on time reward yourself with some shopping or a special outing. Don’t reward yourself if you do not reach the goal within the time specified, and don’t reward yourself with sweets or snacks, and things of that nature.
17. Walk at work.
Instead of just sitting all day, find some reason to walk around or take a break every hour to take a quick walk. Just like at home, be inefficient so that you have to make multiple trips to the copy machine and fax. Plus, it will look like you are working extra hard if you are constantly getting up and doing things.
18. Be ready for anything.
Wear comfortable clothes when you have days off or are away from work. You never know when you might get the chance to run with your kids or move freely. Like at the grocery store; one of kid’s favorite grocery store activities is to have a fast cart ride to the car. If you are wearing heels there is no way you are running to the car comfortably.
19. Exercise with friends or join a class.
Sometimes exercising alone is great and you feel like you can tackle the world. Other days it might not be such a happy tale. If you exercise with a few friends or join a class you will have motivation from other sources other than from within. Just wanting to be in shape should be enough to keep going, but it can be so hard if you are tired or just don’t feel like it. Let your friends encourage and challenge you.
20. Plan activities for family get-together’s.
This plan is only really good for spring and summer get-together’s with your family. Plan a game of touch football (not just for the guys), and obstacle course, or some kind of race. Summer parties are the best times to race all the kids in the pool. You will probably win most of them, and get some great exercise at the same time.
