The day of a stay-at-home mom is no joke, we don’t have it all easy as some may think. Taking care of the kids, household chores, and all the things in between, often very little motivation is left for us to exercise.
I am not going to lie, fitting a workout routine in my life was much easier before I became a mom. Even when I worked full-time I would hit the gym at the end of my day three or four times a week.
Since motherhood, things stopped being so simple… I didn’t have the same energy levels either. As much as I wanted to start moving my body, I couldn’t find the drive to start, until last December.
I know I’m not alone on this and I believe these simple steps can help you too! Keep reading to be a fitness stay-at-home mom in 5 achievable steps.
First step: Decide to start!
No one is going to come into your life and change things for you, that’s your choice. The decision is only yours. So if you want to start exercising, you have to do it.
Sounds like tough love, and maybe it is, but I’m saying that from my experience… I lost way too much time wanting to start but never really taking the initiative to do it. And I regret it.
Second step: have a plan!
You will need a bulletproof plan to help you keep showing up for yourself day after day.
Try working out at different times of the day, this way you can find which part of your day fits it better. I pick mornings after breakfast when Ian is ready to pass the next hour playing by himself and I can focus.
Another important part of your plan is the workout routine itself. Knowing exactly which exercises you’re going to do, how are they done, and how many repetitions.
Youtube has thousands of workout classes for beginners, with and without equipment, for full-body or specific muscle groups. Here are two of my favorite channels:
- MadFit Maddie has so many types of workouts, with and without weights, from easy to hard, definitely worth checking out. Also, her body is goals!
- Eric Roberts Fitness is a really great channel to follow too. Eric shows all kinds of exercise executions with weights and explains them in an easy way. He also talks about calorie count, what’s very interesting if you want to manage your weight.
WikiMuscle is an amazing website with exercise examples categorized by muscles. You click on the muscle and it opens a page with the demonstration of the exercises that will work for that muscle. It’s pretty awesome.
Third step: set yourself for success
Starting the day with the right mindset is the key. On my workout days, I wake up and change into gym clothes right away. If you can do that when the time to start comes you will be ready to start and less will be the chances to use any excuse to not exercise.
If your kid is old enough to stay in their room playing by herself, it will be really good for you but if not, don’t think that would be a problem. Leave your kid around and give them toys or books, or even some screen time (if you do that). They will be entertained and you focused on executing the moves the right way, you don’t want to end up hurt.
Fourth step: respect your body limits!
Start with beginner-level exercises, light to no weight, and warm-up before you start.
This is one of my fave warm-ups by the way. Another good and fun way to warm up is dancing and Youtube has tons of dance along.
Know that in the first week your muscles are going to feel sore. That is totally normal and happens because of the muscle contractions that are new to your body, it will go away in 24 to 48 hours.
What brings us to rest! And before you tell me “I am a mom, I wish I could rest”, I am right there with you.
Giving time to the muscles to recuperate is the best you can do for your performance and progress. I am talking about the time between sets and between workout days. Professionals suggest at least two minutes between sets and 2 days for muscle groups to recuperate.
Fifth step: be kind to yourself!
If you made it until here, chances are you are getting ready to start your fitness journey and I’m so proud of you!
This is your journey and there’s no wrong way to do it. If can only do 10 minutes of exercise a day, know that 10 minutes of exercise is better than no exercise.
Be patient and don’t get caught up in the comparison trap. People’s bodies are different and react in different ways. If you are going to compare yourself, compare yourself to who you were yesterday.
Summary
Being a mom is physically and mentally tiring, we moms all can agree on that. Exercising is a simple change that will improve your life in many ways.
Ultimately the decision to start moving your body is yours, having the right plan will help you not only start but also keep you consistent. And if you are thinking about starting a Detox to reset your body before, or during the beginning of your fitness journey, here you can find a review that will definitely help you!
I hope these steps can help you build your new bullet prof workout routine and keep you on top of it.
Do you have any other tips that you have tried and had helped you? Share with me, I will love to know!
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