Any busy person (and honestly, who isn’t these days?) can relate to the feeling that there just aren’t enough hours in the day for everything you want to accomplish and, a lot of times, exercise ends up being put in the “hopefully I’ll have time tomorrow” category day in and day out. This pattern can then spiral into a ripple effect where your lack of movement and self-care leads to unhealthy eating habits, lack of sleep, and resentment towards whatever or whoever is causing your overwhelmed and stressed feelings. However, regardless of these detrimental effects, it doesn’t change the fact that some of us need to work 60+ hours a week, take care of our children, study for those seemingly endless exams, spend time with our family and friends, maintain the upkeep of our houses, etc, etc, etc!! I hear ya and I feel ya! Since being cleared to resume working out after having Emory, it’s been very challenging to find a solid 60, 45 or even 30 minute block of time throughout my day in between feedings, changings, playing with Fred, attempting to clean and do laundry and working on my blog and PT programs to squeeze in some movement and exercise.
So what can we do to incorporate movement while still maintaining our never ending to do lists and responsibilities?
The key is finding little pockets of time throughout your day to squeeze it in. I’m talking, 30 seconds while waiting for your 4 hour cold coffee to warm in the microwave, 5 minutes while your toddler is entertained by the latest trendy toy, 10 minutes while your rambunctious newborn decides to actually take a “nap”…if you sprinkle exercise in during all these windows of opportunity, it’ll all add up eventually, you will feel like you actually did something for YOU at the end of the day and you’ll get a good workout in! Believe me, I’ve tested them out!
So this is for all of you who are tirelessly working to provide for those around you and just can’t seem to catch a break for yourself. I hope this period of time is temporary but, life happens and sometimes you just need to do what you need to do. I hope these workouts below help you find a little piece of yourself throughout the chaos!
If you have….
30 seconds, do 1 set of each exercise for the entire 30 seconds:-Burpees-Jump squats-Push ups (countertop, knee, traditional)-Plank jacks-Mountain climbers -Jumping jacks
1 minute, do 1 set of each exercise for the entire 60 seconds or break them up and do 2 for 30 seconds each-Sumo squat pulses-Straight arm or forearm plank -Lunge pulses (30 seconds each leg)-Pushups (countertop, knees, or traditional)-In and out jump squats -Knee ups (can use a chair, bench, coffee table etc,) if nothing is available, do high knees!
5 minutes, do as many sets as you can of each exercise-25 body weight squats -30 second sumo squat hold with lateral arm pulses (no weights necessary)-15 static lunges (each leg) w/overhead presses -10 burpees -25 reverse tricep pushups -30 flat back toe reaches
10 minutes, do as many rounds of each circuit as you can:
Circuit 1:-15 tuck jumps-50 squat pulses-24 commandos (if you only have hard surfaces available, do 60 second plank of choice)-30 hamstring pulses (each leg)
Circuit 2:-20 pushups -15 knee ups with bicep curls (no weights necessary)-40 russian twists (20 each side)-10 burpees
Circuit 3:-30 second sumo squat hold with lateral arm pulses (no weights necessary)-15 static lunges (each leg) w/overhead presses (no weights necessary)-15 flat back leg lifts (each leg)-30 second mountain climbers or plank jacks
Reach out if you have any questions on any of these moves!
Amanda xoxo