5 Tips To Keep Workouts In Her Routine

05 Sep, 2012

Written by Heather Riggleman

Come on, you know you want to work out. But then that thing came up and then you had to run child “A “to practice before getting child “B” to piano lessons. By the time you actaully had time to work out, your bed and pillow sounded heavenly! Am I right?

You know I am. Here in the U.S. women have higher stress levels and that’s mainly because of what we carry on our shoulders. Life is more structured for our kids compared to 30 years ago and that means our kids need us more. Not to mention your husband, friends, and deadlines at work! Getting fit and staying fit will help prevent stress from taking its course on our body, in fact, it helps your body combat stress.

If your days are anything like mine, you may just need a tip or two to tweak your schedule and keep you motivated.

1. Do it in the morning–this is the BEST time to work out because there is nothing to prevent you from getting your sweat on. Chances are groceries, deadlines and kids will pop up later. Start out small. If you wake up at 7 A.M., starting waking up at 6:45 and do stretches, as you get used to it, set your clock to 6:00 A.M.

2. Join a gym– I love glaring at Jillian Michaels and Denise Austin in my basement. But I can join them anytime, mainly when it’s raining and I can’t be outside. In order to stay consistent and in a routine, think about a gym membership. Joining a gym helps on several levels, it keeps you motiviated, there’s friendly competition AND accountability. Meeting other gals who have the same health fitness goals are likely to keep you on track with your goals.

3. Find a Fitness Buddy–While you’re at the gym, make friends. Friends help spur us on to our goal and you can encourage hers. Finding a new friend makes it harder to blow off or send a text to. And motivates you to get to the gym because she is counting on you.

4. The 20 Min Burn Zone–If you can’t make it to the gym or you have little ones under foot, set goals of 20 min. When I provided childcare in my home, I wasn’t able to workout at regular intervals, so I would set goals of walking the stairs for 20 min, or walk around the block when my husband came home at lunch. Other ways to get my blood pumping included intervals of jumping jacks, lunges, and kicking boxing moves in sets of three.

5. Keep Track–Literally. My favorite workout program that I rely on heavily in the late spring and summer is Map My Run. I can plug in my address and starting walking, jogging, or biking. When I’m done, I enter my time and the end location. This handy site not only tells me how far I went, but also gives me an idea of my pace, calories burned, hours in a month of working out and so much more. AND if you like a little friendly competition, you can compete with your friends through the site and facebook.