Tips For Making Exercise Part of Your Daily Routine

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For many of us, starting and sticking to an exercise routine can be a monumental task. We have time constraints as well as other commitments that we prioritize over exercise and fitness. But I have never found it harder to stick to an exercise routine than since becoming a mom. In the early days, how can you find time to workout when you can’t even go to the bathroom without someone tagging along? Plus, there are always a million things to do instead of working out.

There are so many benefits to exercise, both mental and physical, and since I've been consistently exercising since the beginning of the year, I've seen firsthand those benefits. Making time to exercise is really important to your overall well-being. If you struggle to find the time, as I did for many, many years, here are a few of the ways that have helped me make exercise part of my daily routine.

Do It First Thing in the Morning

One great way to get exercise in is to do it first thing in the morning. Do it before the day gets underway, and you get exhausted or start thinking of the thousands of excuses to not exercise. Just think of how little energy you have as the day progresses; not very much. So you’ll be less motivated to exercise in the evenings when you are tired. Start by waking up thirty minutes earlier than normal, to fit in fitness. Then start waking up an hour earlier, etc. Doing that each morning will make such a difference and give you energy to take on the day.

Try Something New

Falling into a workout rut is one of the biggest reason people quit exercising. If you do the same old thing at the gym or just go for a run or a cycle, it can get tedious, and you are likely to burnout. You’re likely to get bored with it, and it will probably do very little to actually help change your body as you’ll plateau. So try a new program over the coming weeks. It could be something that you create yourself, something you find online or a program that you can buy, like the BBG program by Kayla Itsines. Changing your routine up every few months will make a difference to your attitude to exercise, as well as make changes to your fitness and weight loss; whatever your goals are.

Schedule It In

I swear by my planner and put every single commitment in it. And that includes workouts. I don’t know many moms that don’t swear by their calendar, whether digital or otherwise. Keep on track of your calendar and jot down your workouts in in just as you would an appointment or a date. If something else crops up, you can move that around. You’re much less likely to rearrange your workout if it is already marked in your planner, right? So take that step, and it will help make those workouts happen.

Exercise Doing What You Normally Do

I used to force myself to run. But then I realized I was starting to dread my daily workout because, guess what, I don't love to run! So I focused on what I love to do (walking, yoga), and since I like to run but don't love it, I do interval training by incorporating short spurts of running into my walking workouts. There are plenty of things that you can do in your everyday life. You can take
a walk with the stroller and jog for a couple of blocks on and off. You could do some light weight lifting in your own home between chores and errands. You could do some squats as you wait for the pasta to boil. They seem like small things, but they’ll make a big difference to how active you are overall and over time.