They say if fitness is important to you, you’ll “make time” for workouts. “They” clearly don’t get those young kids don’t always adhere to the schedule you’ve planned for them. During any given workout, you can be climbed on or peed on. You can be interrupted with spills, booboos, siblings fighting, meltdowns over crooked socks...you get the idea.
So how do moms who are incredibly fit do it? Do they have nannies to watch their kids while they go to the gym? Do they have money for liposuction? Sometimes.
Other times, they just really know exercise science.
Instead of trying to bend their work and home responsibilities to accommodate a fitness regimen designed in isolation like a textbook exercise, they choose workouts that get optimal results under the conditions they face. Yes, there are workouts that get optimal results even when - especially when - your kids interrupt you every 30 seconds.
You see, some workouts need to be done back to back in order to get good results. They build on each other. Stopping in the middle ruins the flow.
Other workouts, however, are best done in short bursts with rest in between. This allows you partially or fully recover, so that you can give more power to each set. This isn’t groundbreaking. It’s what you’ll learn in any personal trainer textbook.
The challenge is to adapt these workouts into a home regimen if you don’t have anyone to watch the kids while you’re at the gym. You need to be able to challenge every part of your body at an intensity that tires it out in less than a minute, with equipment that can fit in your home.
There is one regimen that does just that: The Super Busy Mommy Workout. Founder Nicole Cruz uses adjustable dumbbells, which can range from 5-52.5lbs (2.3-23.8kg) or more and fit under most beds in about a square foot of space. Her regimen includes strength, cardio, and mobility in short bursts that can be done throughout the day and rescheduled flexibly when life doesn’t go as planned. It includes unstructured, spontaneous active play to keep your muscles working and blood flowing, reducing the amount of time needed for structured workouts.
Your body responds to exercise very specifically. Change the intensity or recovery periods slightly, and it has a different effect on your body. Different hormones are released. Different cellular adaptations occur. Good trainers know how to manipulate these factors to get faster weight loss, greater strength gains, and higher energy boosts. As consumers, it’s hard to tell the difference and easy to be scammed. When you know the science, however, it’s simple.
Look for programs that are tested. The Super Busy Mommy Workout, for example, was tested with moms around the world before it was launched. Moms got results in an average of two weeks once they implemented the full regimen. Reported results included weight loss, strength gains, increased bonding with their kids, increased cardio capacity, inches lost, increased agility, tighter skin, higher energy levels, and even reduced stretch marks.
If you’re a fitness nerd, focus on HIIT (with plyometrics if you can’t leave the house), hypertrophy training, power, and max strength. Cardiovascular and muscular endurance don’t work well with constant interruptions. Include mobility work for joint health and injury prevention.
Being a mom doesn’t mean you have to lower your fitness standards. Create a regimen around the conditions of your life, or find a fitness program that does it for you. You’ll love the strong and sexy body you build!
