We all know that exercise is important to our emotional and overall health. It just seems like we can never find the time to exercise! If we do manage to carve out some time to get moving, inevitably something happens. The dog needs to go out, a diaper needs to be changed, the laundry needs to be done, dinner needs to be started, the car needs gas, a kid gets sick, and yet another plate of food is thrown on the ground which needs cleaning up! So how can you exercise when you have no time to exercise? In this article, you will learn 6 tips to exercise when you have no time to exercise! Let’s dive in!
Tip 1. Stretch While Watching Daniel Tiger
I put this tip into practice this morning with my toddler. She wanted to watch a show, so I put on one of her favorites, Daniel Tiger, and I pulled out my yoga mat and took a few minutes to do some very-much-needed stretches!
I’ll tell you what, those few minutes may not seem like they would do a lot, but they did! For the past 4 years, I have had pain in my tailbone while laying flat on my back on the ground. My therapist told me to try a couple specific stretches that would help relax my pelvic floor muscles that are attached to my tailbone. Guess what? After just 2 days of doing these stretches, I had next to no pain laying flat on my back! Keep in mind this was after experiencing 4 years of pain! Yes I had done stretches before, but not the specific ones that my body needed.
Because I took 5-10 minutes to stretch for two days in a row, my body and my emotional state is happier and healthier! Thank you, Daniel Tiger!
Tip 2. Squat Every Time You Pick Up Your Child
You do it every day several times a day. Why not turn the weight you lift into something that would help you gain strength?
Every time you need to pick up your child, do it as if you were doing a squat. Squat all the way down like you’re sitting in a chair. Engage those glute muscles as you lift your child!
Now keep in mind the weight of your child. Do not do this if your child would hurt your back rather than help you. If your child is too heavy for you to lift as a squat, then every time you need to pick something up off the floor, do a squat.
Basically, whenever you need to go down to the ground, you might as well turn it into a squat! If you can lift some extra weight to help you gain muscle, why not?
Feel Inspired? Pin It!
Tip 3. Do Heel Raises While Doing Dishes
While you’re standing at the sink, your hands might be busy, but what are your legs doing? Use this standing time as an opportunity for you to strengthen and stretch your calves! Perform heel raises while doing a normal, daily activity.
What are heel raises? Heel raises are when you stand on the balls of your feet. Hold this position for a few seconds. Then allow your heels to gently go back to the ground.
For some added fun, you can set a simple goal of doing 10-20 heel raises once per day for a week. Or you can turn it into a game for yourself. Every time you rinse a dish, do a heel raise. That will add up!
Here’s an interesting fact that you may not know about your calves. The nerves in your calf muscles are attached to the nerves that control your bladder! As you perform heel raises, you will be strengthening your calf muscles. Additionally, you’ll also be signaling your bladder to relax. This may be beneficial for those with an over active bladder.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your bladder, be sure to reach out to your primary care doctor!
Tip 4. Lift That Gallon Of Milk Higher!
You may not think of milk as heavy, but one US gallon is over 8lbs! Put those pounds to work while pulling it out of the fridge. Even if your gallon is half full, that’s still 4lbs of weight you can use to do a curl or lift above your head.
How many times do you pull your milk out of the fridge each day? If you’re like me, it’s a lot! Between cereal, tea/coffee, and warming some up for the toddlers, that milk comes out of the fridge several times a day. Take advantage of that time to care for yourself for a few minutes.
Before using your milk, perform 5-10 bicep curls on each arm. This will take literally 2 minutes to do. If you don’t want to do curls, grab the handle with both hands and lift the gallon above your head. Do this 5-10 times before going about your normal routine.
Tip 5. Load The Washer And Touch Your Toes
I don’t know what kind of washing machine you have, but I have a front loader. While putting the laundry in the washer one day, I thought, “I’m basically reaching down to my toes here trying to do laundry. I might as well stretch!”
Personally, I don’t enjoy sticking my face into a pile of dirty, smelly clothes that need to be washed. So I prefer to start the washer first and then touch my toes! However, bending over to load the washer is a reminder for me to stretch.
Touching my toes really helps loosen my lower back. Many mothers suffer from back pain. This can be a result of many things (i.e. diastasis recti, a tight muscle, previous injury, etc.). Stretching by touching your toes for a few minutes a day/week may help relieve a tight muscle that’s causing lower back pain.
Think about it. How many times per week do you wash laundry? If you took 1 minute per load of laundry to touch your toes, you could be spending anywhere from 5-10 minutes per week (or more!) stretching your lower back while doing laundry!
Tip 6. Play With Your Children
Your children are awesome workout partners! They may not know it, and you may not even know it; but have you ever been outside with your child and they want to play tag, kick the soccer ball, do jump rope, or ride their bike with you? Our child loves to run as fast as she can down the sidewalk and challenges us to a race!
What great opportunities to get your heart rate up and get some cardio in your daily routine! This takes NO extra time from your daily routine. You’re busy watching your kid anyways, you might as well get active with them! At the end of the day, you may be surprised how that little activity of kicking the soccer ball back and forth actually worked to strengthen your leg muscles!
Can You Think Of More Tips To Work Out When You Have No Time To Workout?
Everyone has the same 24 hours in the day to live. The tip for mothers to find time to exercise when you have no time to exercise is creativity! If you’re needing to exercise a bit more as a mother, what other tips can you think of to exercise when you have no time to exercise? What other pockets of “free time” do you have in your day that you can creatively use to exercise?
Leave A Comment Below!
If you have other great tips for exercising when you have to time to exercise, share them with us in the comments below! Your ideas may benefit another mother!
Want To Know More?
Want to learn more about emotional health in motherhood? Check out these related articles below!
Accepting Your New Identity As Mom
5 Reasons Why Building Resiliency In Motherhood Is Important, And How To Do It
Top 5 Tips To Reduce Mom Stress
Top 15 Essential Oils To Boost Energy