Who has time for cardio?! My almost 8-month old daughter wakes up around 5am for a bottle, we leave the house by 6:45am to drop her off, and I'm at work before 8am. I then work for 10-12 hours, get home to meet my husband and baby girl, eat dinner, and then I'm ready to knock out as soon as she goes to sleep around 7:30pm!! Repeat every weekday. Do these days sound familiar? So how do we find time for cardio?!
Bottomline: you just do. Just like our children are on their specific schedules, we need to train ourselves to adapt to our new schedule, which includes exercise. It will be rough the first week or two, but your body will thank you, and you will actually have more energy!
In the first few months after I had Olivia, I tried exercising in the evenings, just after putting her to bed. This may still work for some of you, but I found that I was either way too tired at the end of my day to get going, or I had way too much energy after an evening workout that I couldn't fall asleep! Once I met up with my personal trainer, I wrote down my typical schedule, and WE FOUND TIME! For the first few weeks, I had to write it down on a calendar, make a note to myself that I WILL get it done. If you have a friend that can meet you at the gym or will be exercising on the same schedule, text each other for accountability. Start with 1 or 2 days, then commit to more. I even sleep in my workout clothes so I have no excuse!
Here is what I do now:
Cardio 50 minutes (GASP!) 4x/week on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. I started off with 40 minutes, and ramped it up. You should aim for at least 20-30 minutes to start. I am typically in the operating room at 7am on Tuesday and Thursday, so those, as well as Monday, are my rest days. If you remember, I need to get out of the house before 7am. On Wednesday and Friday, I get up at 4:30am. I prepare a bottle for Olivia, set it next to a fresh diaper and the wipes, nudge my husband so he knows where that's at, then I head downstairs. On Saturday and Sunday, I get to "sleep in" a bit, and get my cardio done a little later, but I get it done.
So where do YOU fit in? I am well aware that not all moms will have the exact same schedule, and school-age kids in the house are much different than having an infant. What I have found is that, with an infant, it is much easier to have some sort of gym equipment at home to help with getting my cardio in - treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc. This decreases the time spent driving to the gym in the morning, or driving past that exit on the way home...and that means - > more time with the baby. Also, take advantage of employee fitness centers if available. And if you're a die hard gym rat, and you can't work out unless you step into that environment, then find someone to buddy up with you, to make you accountable on those days.
Here are some simple steps to finding time in your busy schedule:
1. Write your daily/weekly schedule down. What time do you leave the house? Are there breaks in your schedule? When do you typically get home?
2. Pick 2 of those days (to start) in this upcoming week to do some cardio, and add that task to your schedule.
3. If you choose mornings, pack things you'll need the night before: lunch, diaper bag, gym bag, etc. This will save you time in the morning if you tend to rush out of the house like we do.
4. If you choose evenings, get food prepped the night before for dinner, ask your spouse or roommate to defrost something for you, etc.
5. THEN JUST GET IT DONE!
Take it from a new mom who works 50-60 hour weeks...if I'm not sleeping, eating, caring for Olivia, or at work, I'm exercising. Good luck!
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