The Busy Mom Workout

Written by Elsie Velazquez Cert. Personal Trainer Prescription Fitness

While being a mom has many rewards, extra hours in a day is not one of them.  You know the story…wake up early to shower, get the kids ready, make breakfast, pack lunches, get yourself ready for work, attend school functions, cook dinner…the list goes on and on and on. A schedule this hectic can be overwhelming and can seem like a legitimate reason to skip the workout.  When you are tired, it seems like a good decision but before you know it, you have packed on unwanted pounds.  The awful truth is that the stress of being a busy mom combined with those “few extra pounds”, can and will ultimately lead to serious health risks. If the thought of heading to a gym is adding more stress and inconvenience to your day, I have good news for you…you can actually get a good workout at home, and you don’t even need to comb your hair or put on lip gloss!

Below, I’ve put together three exercises and three sample routines that will work out multiple body parts, burns a good amount of calories all without the need for equipment and space.

Squats

Squats are one of the best exercises to strengthen and tone the quadriceps and glutes, two huge muscle groups. The great thing about squats is that they also strengthen the abdominal muscles

Even if you have bad knees, squats can be done.  If done with proper form, squats will alleviate knee pressure by strengthening the surrounding muscles without any unnecessary impact on the joint. Here’s how to perform a proper squat:

• Place your feet hip-width apart.
• Bring your arms forward, hinge at the waist and sit back as if reaching for a chair that someone is pulling away. Be sure that your knees do not move forward but stay behind your toes while you go as deep as possible until the top of your legs are parallel to the floor.
• Return to the standing position by pushing on your heels and lifting your chest.

Push-ups

Push-ups are another great exercise that strengthen your arms, chest, back, abs and glutes all at once. Try and go for a regular push-up. Here’s how:

• Start on your hands and knees.
• Place your hands wider than your shoulders and your knees should be behind your hips.
• Next, bend your elbows and lower your chest and hips simultaneously until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.
• Finally, push on your hands to lift your chest and hips back into the starting position.

To modify this exercise, simply leave the knees on the floor for your starting position, but your knees should be behind the hips. Make sure to keep the chest and hips aligned as you lower in order to strengthen the entire core.

Tricep Dips

The triceps are a small muscle of the upper arm, opposite the biceps that seem to be a concern for many women. Tricep Dips also engage the core and can affect the lower body with simple variations. To perform tricep dips:

• First, sit on the floor and place your hands on the floor behind your hips and directly below your shoulders.
• Bend your knees, place your feet under the knees and lift your hips off the floor; this is your starting position.
• Bend your elbows and lower your upper body, just before the hips touch the floor.
• Extend your arms and push on your heels to return to the starting position.

To make this exercise harder and to add more emphasis to the core, grab a chair, place your hands at the front edge of the chair and repeat the same process.

Below are suggestions on how to put the above 3 moves into action.  Repeat 3-8 rounds:

Combo 1:

1. First, do 10 slow, deep squats
2. Jog in place for 2 minutes
3. Do 10 push-ups
4. Jog in place for 2 minutes
5. Do 10 tricep dips
6. Rest for 1 minute

Combo 2:

1. Do 15 squats
2. Jog in place for 90 seconds
3. Do 15 push-ups
4. Jog in place for 90 seconds
5. Do 15 tricep dips
6. Rest for 1 minute

Combo 3:

1. Do 20 squats
2. Jog in place for 1 minute
3. Do 20 push-ups
4. Jog in place for 1 minute
5. Do 20 tricep dips.