You have to wake up early, shower, dress up, make breakfast for the kids, check their homework, dress them up, feed them, and still drive them to school. The life of a busy mom can be overwhelming sometimes and this is one of the reasons why a lot of mothers struggle with keeping fit. There are always a million things to do at any given moment. How on Earth can a mom find time to workout?
The mere thought of changing into your workout clothes can drive a busy mother insane. Then you have to drive down to the gym, look for a machine that is free, or find some weights before you begin a workout in a room where the smell of sweat can be nauseating.
The truth is you don’t have to go to the gym to exercise. Yes, gyms offer various workout equipment and can be helpful, but you can work on different areas of your body from home without any equipment or presence of space. You’re not trying to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger – you just need to stay toned and fit!
Running
Running is usually the first exercise most people think about. Running a few miles is amazing for your body – it gets the heart rate up, burns lots of calories, strengthens your leg muscles so that you can chase your kids if you need to, and improves your lungs. Seriously, that is a LOT of benefits!
While most people focus on long distance running (a few miles at a time), you can often get more bang for your buck and more tone if you focus on high intensity training. Rather than running at the same speed for 30 minutes, you can focus on a set of sprints at various speeds which can get you more results in a faster time, and really help you get toned and fit.
One of the biggest cons about running is that it can be hard on your joints – particularly your knees even if you have the right equipment. If you’re doing long distance running than a treadmill is perfect and much easier on the joints than pounding pavement. However, if you’re going to do high intensity training with sprints then try doing it on the grass or dirt in your yards. Buy cleats if you need the grip (this is helpful if your yard is on the smaller side). It may not be the intended purpose of cleats, but nobody will judge you 3 months later when they see how toned you’ve become!
Squats
One of the best exercises you can do as a busy mom are squats. According to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning research, squats are especially great for strengthening the quadriceps and glutes. Squats are even important for bodybuilders, as the exercise targets various muscle groups.
If you have bad knees as well, squats can help reduce the pressure on your knees while strengthening the muscles surrounding it without causing further damage to your joints.
Most people who squat regularly without results are not doing it properly. To get the right results from squats, you need to do the following:
- Place your feet hip-width apart from one another;
- Bring the left and right arms forward, hinge them at the waist while sitting back as if you want to reach for a chair that is moving further away from you. At this stage, check to be sure your knees are not moving forward away from your toes. Also, check to be sure your legs are parallel to the floor;
- Return to the standing position as you push on your heels while lifting your chest.
That’s how you perform a proper squat that gets results which can not only burn fat, but also tone your muscles and can help you get a nicer butt! How’s that for a confidence booster?
Push ups & Modified Push ups
Another multipurpose exercise that will strengthen many muscles in your body (arms, chest, legs, abs and glutes) all at once. To get results from push ups as a busy mom, follow these steps:
- Get on your hands and knees;
- Place your hands wider than your shoulders while your knees should be behind your hips;
- Get into a starting position by curling your toes and lifting your knees off the floor;
- Then, bend your elbows and lower your hips and chest simultaneous so your elbows can be at a 90-degree angle;
- Finally, focus on your hands so you can lift your chest and hips back into the starting position.
You can modify this position as you wish by leaving the knees on the floor for your starting position (called modified push ups) if you’re unable to do the regular push ups. The most important thing is to ensure the chest and hips remain aligned as you lower your body and bring it back up. Correctly done push ups are helpful for most of your body. The best part is you won’t get big muscles that you probably don’t want – like the other exercises you’ll just get toned – leaving you to look sexy and fit. For a push up progression workout, check our push up challenge.
Conclusion
These are the 3 exercises we recommend for a well-rounded, toned body. You have some cardio together with 2 compound exercises that should workout the main muscle groups. There are a number of other exercises as well, including various planks and Pilates that we encourage you to look at for a little mix-up of the routine. However, these 3 exercises are great starting points for you to get a great workout for a hot mom bod!
