4 Quick Exercise Programs For Moms On The Go

You have no time, no energy, no gym membership and your motivation to workout comes and goes as quickly as naptime. Life as a busy mom is no cakewalk. All of your attention is devoted to little monsters (or angels) and the time you spend on yourself is limited. But don’t let your hectic lifestyle prevent you from being happy and healthy. Taking time to workout and take care of yourself is absolutely necessary, and, with these quick routines, it doesn’t have to take forever. Read on for a few simple workout programs that you can do at home when you have a few well-earned minutes to yourself

Tabata

Tabata workouts are the definition of “on the go.” This high intensity interval training is named for Japanese scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata from Tokyo’s National Institute of Fitness and Sports. Seriously, when you’re doing a tabata workout you rarely stop moving. These high-intensity workouts can be done pretty much anywhere you have enough room and in as little as 15 minutes. They’re perfect for moms trying to get the most bang for their exercise buck. Here’s how it works.

Shape Magazine calls tabata the “four-minute miracle fat burner.” Intrigued? Absolutely. To get started, pick one cardio move, like jumping rope or running in place, or one exercise, like mountain climbers or the dreaded burpee, and perform that activity at maximum intensity for 20 second periods, resting for 10 seconds between exertions. Repeat seven times. Yep. Seven times. You can develop other workouts by mixing your moves, but keep to the 20 second bursts with 10 seconds rest pattern.

In just a few minutes, you’ll have your heart rate up and it’s guaranteed you’ll be sweating. It seems so simple, but it’s effective, quick and there’s no limit to the number of ways you can change it up to meet your needs. Just make sure you’re warming up and cooling down when you do a tabata workout. Ease into it as a beginner and don’t push yourself too hard until you know your limits.

Squats, Push Ups, Tricep Dips

Squats, push ups and tricep dips make a quick, effective workout you can do anywhere with any time you have. Plain and simple. These are three basic exercises that don’t require any equipment – just time and energy. Basic they may be, but, when done right, they can help transform your body and your fitness level without having to spend hours in the gym. This is a slow and steady approach to fitness.

The American Heart Association says that a combination of these three exercises will keep busy moms moving, staving off the dangerous side effects of a sedentary lifestyle. The Association suggests compiling all three into a 30 to 45 minute routine broken down into three sets for total body health. In Set One, start with 10 deep, slow squats, then jog in place for two minutes. Do 10 push ups, then jog in place for two more minutes. Do 10 tricep dips and rest for one minute.

Set Two switches up the reps and duration of jogging in place a bit, starting with 15 squats and 90 seconds of jogging in place. Do 15 push ups and jog in place for another 90 seconds. Are you seeing a pattern here? Do 15 tricep dips and rest for one minute. Set Three amps it up to 20 reps of squats, push ups and tricep dips, with one minute of jogging in place in between.

Running Stairs

It doesn’t sound like much fun, but running stairs is one of the best ways to get your heart pumping and your legs burning. Men’s Fitness cites a study conducted by exercise scientists at McMaster University in Canada, testing how much work you need to put in to see a health benefit from climbing stairs.

In one trial, subjects worked their hardest, plugging away on either a StairMaster or a stationary bike for three sessions of 20 seconds each. In the second experiment, participants went all out on one or two flights of stairs over three 60-second periods. Both experiments yielded an increased oxygen uptake of 12 percent in the first and 7 percent in the second. This means, according to Men’s Fitness, that stair climbing improved cardiovascular fitness in just 30 minutes each week.

Hopefully, despite the busyness, motivated moms can find 30 minutes in a week to dedicate to climbing stairs as hard as possible. Hit the stairs in your home or, better yet, get outside and run some flights while your kids are on the playground. Your lungs will burn and your legs will feel like jelly, in a good way.

Kettlebells

Busy moms love the kettlebell. Why? It’s easy, effective, inexpensive and can give you something to do at home besides the typical body weight workout. Kettlebells can be incorporated into a total body workout, hitting multiple muscle groups in a single move, that you can blow through in about 30 minutes. Here are a couple of basic kettlebell moves, courtesy of Women’s Health, that you can string together to make a killer workout.

Start out with a goblet squat by holding the kettlebell by the handle at chest height. With your feet shoulder-width apart, lower yourself into a squat, keeping your hips back and your chest up, letting your elbows graze the inside of your knees. Hold for two seconds, then engage those glutes, press through your heels and stand up.

After the goblet squat, give the reverse halo lunge a try. It’s another thigh buster. Hold the kettlebell at your chest like you did for the goblet squat. Step your right foot back and lift the weight up and behind your head in a circle as you lower into a lunge. Press through your left heel and circle the weight back down to your chest as you stand up. Switch sides.

Ah, the classic kettlebell swing. Performed by many, done correctly by few. Here’s how to execute the move right. Stand with your feet wider apart than your shoulders with a kettlebell on the floor in front of you. Push your hips back, bend your knees and grab the handle of the kettlebell. Pull it between your legs then thrust your hips forward as you stand to swing the kettlebell up to chest height. Reverse and put the kettlebell down.

Here’s a kettlebell move to help you build some serious upper body strength. Get into a plank position with your hands on a bench (or couch or window sill or Fisher Price art table) and your feet on the floor. Grab a kettlebell with your right hand, letting it hang down directly under your shoulder. Pull the bell up to the side of your chest in a row motion without rotating your hips and making sure to keep your core engaged. Lower it down and repeat on the other side.