With days full of kids and work, it can be difficult to find time and the energy to exercise. However, self-care for busy moms is very important, and exercise is one way to look and feel great about yourself. Besides, exercise can be an energy booster, which spills over to other aspects of your life. You become better at parenting, at your work, and even marriage. Exercise is also good for your mental health. It can help you sleep better and fight symptoms of anxiety and depression. If you want to feel better mentally and physically, you need to be deliberate about incorporating exercise into your busy schedule. Here, we discuss 6 exercises that are simple and effective and are easy to squeeze into your schedule.
- Squats & Lunges
Squats and lunges are great for building your lower body strength. These exercises work the inner thighs, abductor muscles, and hip adductors. The good thing about these exercises is that you can get creative with them. Lunges, for instance, have various variations that include lateral lunge shifts, forward lunges, and reverse lunges. For squats, you can do a normal squat or sumo squats. What’s more, you can incorporate jumps or lift weights to make them more challenging.
- Free weights exercises
Free weight exercises refer to exercises that you can do using objects that are ‘free’, which means that they are not attached to anything. These objects include kettlebells, resistance bands, barbells, and dumbbells to strengthen the body and tone the muscles. The good thing is that they are inexpensive, so you can easily add them to your home gym. If you aren’t in a position to own some, you can get creative and improvise weights with things such as bottles filled with water and the like. Some free weight exercises include single-arm row, dumbbell chest press, seated shoulder press, split squats, and weighted sit-ups among others.
- Couch potato exercises
These exercises are great for the busiest of moms out there. You actually don’t have to create a lot of time to do these exercises. A few minutes between your favorite TV show, or when your food is simmering is enough to do them. One example of couch potato exercises is sitting-to-standing exercise. This involves standing up from the couch and then sitting back down. You can make it challenging by increasing the speed at which you do the standing and the sitting. This exercise works at building your thigh and buttocks strength and increasing the heart rate for your cardiovascular health.
- Jump rope
Jumping rope might appear simple, but it is one of the best cardio exercises that you can do. It is very effective in strengthening leg muscles, reflexes, and your heart. This makes it a great exercise for improving muscle coordination and strength as well as the cardiovascular system. The good thing about jumping rope is that it is not complicated. You only need a jump rope with handles and five minutes out of your busy schedule.
- Dancing
Sometimes working out isn’t as appealing, especially when you have to squeeze it into a busy schedule or you don’t have the energy for it. The good thing about dancing is that it is an exercise that doesn’t really look like a workout routine. You will be having fun throughout the session and you can do it with your kids without the fear of injuring them. In addition, dancing is very effective in burning calories and it is great for mental health such as improving memory and focus.
- Yoga
When you are having so much on your plate, mental exercises are equally important as physical exercises. The good thing about yoga is that it benefits the body, soul, and mind. You can get in shape with all the stretching that is involved. The meditation part works the mind, making you more aware of your present and fighting symptoms of mental illness. You can sign up for an online class or follow YouTube tutorials to learn about poses and sequences. Invest in a mat if you can, or improvise with a towel or blanket.
Conclusion
Exercising for busy moms who are working doesn’t have to be too daunting. Keep in mind that you need it for optimal performance in your tasks. This way, you will see a need to create time for it. In addition, you don’t have to be too hard on yourself. Easy and simple exercises that don’t take too much of your time are equally effective.
Related
Source: Vietnam Insider