There is nothing I love more than a SNOW DAY! The perfect motivation to get my butt out of the house when the cabin fever has started to set in. Sometimes, we all lack the time or motivation to workout and be active. I have gone through periods in my life when I am really unmotivated and cannot get my butt to the gym. And other times when I WANT to workout but literally do not have the time to squeeze a workout in. Right now, it is the latter. If I had it my way, I would do a class (soul cycle or yoga) 5 days a week with some weight training sprinkled in. But kids + work + life + the flu have been getting in the way, as of late.
I mentioned a couple posts ago that I took a poll on Instagram to see what kinds of posts I should do more of. I was totally surprised that the #1 category you guys wanted to see more of was health + wellness + fitness. So, I am going to make an effort to share more of those kinds of posts! Honestly, I cannot in good conscience share a workout post when January was literally my worst gym month since Blake was born. So, while I get my groove back, I am sharing some hacks I keep in my back pocket when life gets in the way of your workouts!
1
TIMER ARMS
I have a weird thing with arms. If I had to pick one body part to keep in shape, it would be my arms, don’t ask me why. So, on days I cannot get to the gym, I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS do at least one set of arms during the day (but 2-3 sets throughout the day is ideal). All you need is a set of 5 lb weights. If you don’t have free weights, Amazon Prime THESE right.now. They are $10 and worth every penny. Every person should have a set of free weights. I keep mine under my bed and use them each and every day. But when you’re really in a pinch, two cans of heavy soup work too ;). So here’s what I do. I set my alarm for 3 different times throughout the day when I think I will have 4 spare minutes. Yep, I said 4, that is it (first thing in the morning, naptime, and around 8pm work best for me). When the alarm goes off, I pick up my weights, turn on a fast paced song and do curls, shoulder presses, hammer curls, bicep curls, bicep presses (basically any arm exercise I can think of) to the beat of the music for the entire song without any breaks. Soul cycle inspired ;).
2
DENTAL HYGIENE WALL SQUAT
This one is stolen from my mom. Every morning and night, she holds a wall squat while she brushes her teeth and flosses. It is harder than it sounds when I am out of practice! Brushing your teeth is something you have to do, hopefully ;), twice a day. So make this a habit and you’ve got a few minutes of butt burn built into every day.
3
BEDTIME VINYASA
I used to be SOOO good at doing this every night. I am feeling inspired to start it up again. I am a really bad sleeper. I take forever to fall asleep and I wake up at the drop of a pin. Things like yoga, meditation, and reading really help me get a better nights sleep. When I am in a consistent yoga routine, I sleep 1000 times better. When I was pregnant, I did a bedtime vinyasa every single night before I went to sleep (while I was pregnant I was also psycho about keeping my stress levels as low as possible, and yoga helps with that too). Turn on your favorite chill/bedtime playlist and do three flows. If you’re new to yoga, google bedtime vinyasa sequence and so many youtube videos will pop up. Three flows take no time at all but put your mind and body in a better state to go to sleep.
4
CRUNCH CHALLENGE
So abs are probably my least favorite thing ever. I cannot just get on the ground and do a set of abs, I just can’t. But an ab challenge or 30 day abs, I can get on board with. I am very goal oriented. So put an end in sight, and abs become more bearable. Pinterest has about 9 bagillion 30 day ab circuits. I pinned a bunch HERE. Pick your challenge, set a time of day to do it, and get beach bod ready (jk, I will be sporting one pieces this swimsuit season). I do it first thing every morning, or else it’s too easy to skip a day.
5
STAIRS > ELEVATOR
If you take an elevator on a regular basis, give it up for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, it will turn into a habit to take the stairs instead of the elevator and you won’t turn back. If you REALLY want to push yourself, take all stairs two at a time and squeeze your bum as you step up.
6
POWER HOUR SQUATS
I used to do hacks like this when I was working in an office all day. Pick a day of the week (let’s say Tuesday) and that is your squat day. Every hour, on the hour, do 20 squats at your desk. If you don’t have an office to yourself, tell your co-workers what you are doing and try to enlist them to do it with you (better to have a buddy than someone staring at you like you’re a freak as you do squats in your pointy-toe pumps). PS- if Tuesday is your squat day, skip the pumps and pencil skirt that day.
7
SHOWER TRICEP DIPS
Before every shower/bath, do 30 tricep dips on the edge of your bathtub before you get in. If you don’t have a tub, the edge of the couch works too.
8
TRAFFIC ABS
Every time you are in traffic (in Chicago, this is often) do mini ab pulses. Find that tight squeeze in your abs, then pulse up and down. The pulse should be almost imperceptible, it is so small. If you are in traffic for a half hour, thats a good days work ;).
9
GET UP, STAND UP
Get up and stand as much as you can throughout the day. Sitting is the kiss of death. If you take the train to work, stand during your commute. If you can ditch the train and walk, even better. If you work at a desk, take a lap around the office as often as you can. When you need to veg out on the couch and watch a show, get up during commercials. When I am glued to my computer screen all day getting work done, I try to at least get up and walk to the refrigerator every half hour to refill my water.
10
PLAN AN ACTIVE DATE
Whether its with your significant other or BFF or child, plan an active date night or play date. Finding the time to workout can be hard, so combine date night or girls night out with something active. Do a yoga or spin class then grab a (sweaty) drink after. Challenge your significant other to a tennis match or go to a fun boxing class. Working out with a buddy is always better. If you’re a working mom or stay at home mom, plan an active day with your tot! We’ve been sledding twice this week, and dragging a toddler through the snow on a sled DEFINITELY counts as my workout for the day!
Ok, I think I feel sufficiently motivated to get my workout groove back. Hope to share more fitness posts soon! Should I start doing a wellness wednesday series? Let me know your thoughts! xoxo
