Being a stay-at-home mom can oftentimes seem like a full-time gig, and then some.
With the kids screaming and running around the house from dawn till dusk along with numerous chores that befall a mother while the hubby is at work, it can be near impossible to find time to devote to your personal health and fitness.
However, if you want to get in shape and change your life for the better, there is no way around it, you will have to cram regular exercise into your schedule. Here are the five essential fitness tips that will make fitness an inextricable part of your lifestyle.
Make Exercising a Habit
First things first, sticking with your newly-established resolutions is more difficult than simply saying you’re going to exercise come Monday.
Nope, you need to make fitness a habit. But before you do, you’ll need to determine the best time of day for working out based on your schedule.
Is it before the kids get up in the morning? Is it after lunch during their afternoon nap? Or perhaps in the evening after dinner?
Once you have established the perfect time of day for exercising, you can proceed to make it a habit you’ll enjoy. Typically, it takes 21 days for an activity to become a habit, so if you can make it to that 22nd day, there will be nothing standing in the way of your fitness goals in the future.
Follow a Structured Program
No matter if you’re going to a commercial gym, or working out at home, you need to follow a structured training program in order to avoid fatigue and injury, and make long-term progress. You can base your fitness approach according to your goals and aspirations.
Are you looking to lose weight?
Are you looking to get stronger and build lean muscle? Or are you after cardiovascular endurance to help you survive those long play sessions with the kids?
Your program should help you achieve these goals, so make sure you incorporate weight training and cardio routines into your weekly schedule.
Grab the necessary tools
Naturally, you can’t expect to keep making progress on a weekly basis by doing the same exercises over and over again using the same rep ranges, the same resistance, and the same rest intervals. Something needs to change in order to keep making gains or lose fat.
To achieve this, we can turn our attention to the Land Down Under.
Australians have popularized the workout-at-home concept in recent years, with the trend gaining extreme popularity among stay-at-home moms looking to get fit while leading busy lifestyles.
The cornerstone of this trend is the availability and practicality of equipment for fitness in Australia, making it easier to change up your routine and increase the intensity whenever you feel like it.
If you are looking to optimize your training sessions, be sure you follow this trend and grab the tools necessary to get the job done.
Learn the Art of Meal Prep
Fitness and nutrition are two sides of a single coin, they simply can’t exist without each other.
Training burns calories and creates microscopic tears in your muscle fibers that your body needs to fix in order to become stronger, toned, and ultimately sculpted. And you need to eat healthy to make all of that happen.
Enter, the art of meal prepping. Not only does meal preparation save precious time you would otherwise spend slaving in the kitchen, but it’s also easier on the wallet, and it ensures you’re on track with your calorie intake.
By prepping your meals in advance, you will be able to stay on top of your nutrition and avoid reaching for unhealthy substitutes.
Make Fitness Fun and Rewarding
Finally, in order for all of this to work, you need to love working out.
Fitness needs to become one of the things you truly look forward to, and in order for that to happen, you need to enjoy it. Now, that doesn’t mean that you’re not going to sweat, ache, and fight for air during those extra hard sessions, but it’s exactly the type of relationship that forges unbreakable friendships.
So, make sure you pick the exercises you love doing, make sure you make them difficult and challenging, and for the sake of your well-being and that sculpted behind you’re after, don’t even think about quitting!
It’s not easy being a stay-at-home mom, having to take care of the household and raise children at the same time.
But that doesn’t mean that you should let your health and your future fall by the wayside. Be sure to use these essential tips to make fitness an inextricable part of your everyday life.
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