Ambassador Blog by Irene
Irene is a mom of 2 with a full time job in marketing, as well as working as a Les Mills Sh’bam and BodyBalance instructor. She's always on the move and loves to inspire other people to get moving too. Fitgirlcode fuels her with inspiration for work, sports, food and her own blog.
Creating your own #Fitgirlcode for moms
I often get asked: How do you do it? Combining a full time job and a family of 2 boys with 3 hours of instructing group fitness classes, running twice a week and blogging about it. Yup, that's me. What can I say? I am a busy bee. I personally need to do all of those things to stay happy and fun. So let's get this straight: I am not a super mom, in any case not more or less than any other mom. But for those who are wondering how to fit a regular work out in your schedule, I am happy to share some tips!
1. Short, intense and sweet
One of the biggest myths of not being able to work out is the lack of time. Well, here's some good news: 30 minutes is often all you need! Whether it's running, cycling, swimming, cardio or a strength work out, when you use those 30 minutes for interval training (aka HIIT) you do the same or even more than during an moderate 1-hour workout! The other thing is, that making time for your work out leaves MORE time for your other activities? Working out regularly (3 times a week that is) gives your more energy and focus to do all the other stuff. You'll get it done faster and easier, leaving you time for..., well, what ever you like. How great is that?
2. Connecting with your family
If you want your kids to be active, be active yourself. Setting the example for your kids really works. Big Son envied my running shoes and asked me when he would get his own real running shoes. He sometimes joins me on my runs running or riding his bike alongside me. Little Son simply joins me on my runs in the stroller. And my husband got so lonesome on the couch when we were out running, that he finally joined us as well! So now working out isn't always spending time away from my family, but connecting with them.
3. Making the most of it
It seems hard to squeeze in a work out for yourself when putting your kids first. I try and combine as much as I can. Sometimes, I put on my running gear taking the boys to daycare and school. After having dropped them off, I go for a quick interval run. Hell, I even went to a PTA meeting in running gear! When I need to take Big Son to a baseball game, I go and run while he and his team are warming up. And be back in time to cheer him on. At my previous job, I used to go on a quick run during lunch time. Using your commute is another way to change a time thief into a work out opportunity. Leave the car or public transport and go cycling or running! If your commute is too long, do it half way. I can't begin to tell you how rewarding going somewhere instead of going around in circles is.
4. Committing to a schedule
One of the reasons why I work as a group fitness instructor is having a strict work out schedule of my own. I just simply can't ditch and disappoint my participants in my class just because I'm too lazy to? There are of course other ways to commit to a work out
schedule. Go with a friend and become Best Fit Friends Forever. Or join a running crew. Or get a weekly baby sitter so you can work out. The trick is, find out what works best for you.
Another thing that really helped me committing to a schedule was enrolling for a race. And as an extra motivator, I always enroll for a race with my sister as my Best Running Friend Forever. For me, running a race together is THE best way to stay on schedule with my work outs!
