I Have No Time! ~Creative Workouts to Kick Those Excuses in the Butt~

I get it! I'm a mom with 3 kids.  I run a business. My husband travels. My kids are in activities. Like the rest of you, when my life gets busy it is so easy to make excuses and put yourself last. I really get it.

Last year, my husband was on an 18 month deployment. Running the house by myself, working, and running the kids around made it hard to find time to work out. There were times when sick kids, tired, grumpy kids, or just plain old busy days made it impossible for me to get to the gym.   I really only recently got a gym membership, so I spent years coming up with some creative ways to work out.

Pin It


1) If I didn't have a big chunk of time to work out in the day, I would just fit in short bursts work workouts where I could: crunches and push-ups while I waited for the kids to brush their teeth, tricep dips on the stairs, running up and down the stairs a bunch of times, doing bicep curls with gallons of milk or full laundry detergent bottles, walking lunges with full laundry baskets before putting the laundry away. Yes, I look like a big dork, but by the end of the day I have done several forms of exercise.

2) Play Just Dance on the Wii with the kids.  I don't care how good of shape you *think* you are in, that game will make you sweat AND get your heart rate up. It gets me every single time!

3) A friend and I have taken our kids (6 between us) down to the playground so we could work out. While the kids played, we ran sprints, did pull -ups on the monkey bars,  squats, push-ups and whatever else we could think of.

4) I have found that going to the local high school track on weekends or school holidays is a great way to get a workout in.  I load up the minivan with frisbees, balls, bubbles, and such and head to the track with the kids. They play in the center grass area where I can always see them while I run.  My workout at the track looks something like this: run 400m, go to the middle and do 50 push ups, run 400 m, 50 burpees, run 400m, 50 crunches, etc.....While I do my workout in the middle, the kids often join me and try to do the same. It's a great way to spend time with them and get my workout in.

5) Set up a self imposed bootcamp in my backyard.

6) If you have access to a pool (YMCA, Community pool) then pool workouts are a great way to stay cool in the summer, play with your kids, and workout with little impact on your joints.
         My pool workout:
        a) Carry 1, 2, or 3 kids and walk/jog back and forth across the pool.  I usually have one on my front and 2 holding on behind me so I have to drag them. They think this is so fun.
        b) Hold onto the edge of the pool and let your legs float out behind you so you look like Superman in flight.  Have a contest with your kids to see who can create the most splash just by kicking.
        c) Flip over onto your back, hold onto the side and bicycle your legs.  This is a great ab workout.

        d) Find a corner of the pool.  Push yourself up by placing your hands on the edge of the pool. Continue to push yourself up and lower yourself keeping your elbows close to your body. This is great for the triceps.

7) When the kids are playing in the drive way I do sprints up and down our sidewalk by 'racing' them on their bikes or scooters.  Of course, they always win, but they think it's so much fun.

These are just a few of the things I do during the times I do not have a gym membership or on the days I just can't make it out without kids.  I would love to hear some of the ways you workout when you can't get out of the house and I will post more ideas as I remember them.  I will leave out the one where I wake up at 4:45 am to squeeze a workout in....that's the one I hate the most  and do the least  ;)

Have a great day and remember : You have GOT this!

We have a new FB group for this page so you can get blog updates and ask questions:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blood-Sweat-and-Minivans/240639366014884?sk=wall

A Running Start...well, kind of

I hear so many of my friends talking about how discouraged they are when they start to workout. Those who don't know me well will sometimes comment on how "lucky" I am that it comes so "easy" for me. Ha!!! Easy. That makes me giggle a little bit. Let me tell you about the first time I decided to try getting back in shape after my 3rd child was born....
     My friend, neighbor, and elite soccer star Annie had also just had a baby. One morning we were sitting around, nursing babies, changing diapers, and sipping our cold coffee and Annie cheerfully announced "We should start running!"
     My eyes bulged out of my head a little bit and I had to put the baby down so I could cough up the 5 hour old coffee I started choking on. I laughed out loud.  Yeah, *SHE* could run.  *SHE* was a runner.  *SHE* was a brilliant and talented soccer star! *I*, on the other hand, was just a flabby and exhausted mom who couldn't run 100 yards if Mike Meyers was chasing me with a knife.  Well, okay, maybe if he was chasing me with a knife, but for no other reason.
      Annie finally convinced me to do it. I did not buy new running shoes or a jogging stroller because I knew I would hate it.  And you know what? I DID hate it....at first. I made it about 100 yards before I was panting and my lungs were on fire. I told Annie I had to stop and walk.  She was so patient and understanding. We continued this way for 3 miles: run a little bit, walk a little bit, run a little, walk a little. Annie carried on the conversation the entire time because I could not speak, run, and breathe at the same time.  Her patience, encouragement, and hilarious conversation carried me through my first runs.
       I decided I did like this running thing a little bit. Well, maybe not the running part, but the part where I got to speak with another adult....alone....without 3 little people hanging off of me. I LOVE my children with all of my heart, but a person needs a little breathing room. Running gifted me that.  Eventually I started buying running gear...new shoes, running shorts, jogging bras (more on those in a later post) and eventually I even found a double jogging stroller at a consignment shop for $25!!! I would love to say that I was just able to go right out and run 3 whole miles, but that would be lying.  I set tiny goals for myself: "Today I will just run to the stop sign" or "Today I will just run past 2 fire hydrants". I usually ran further than my goal, but I gave myself permission to walk if I needed to. That first time I ran 3 miles pushing 2 babies in a jogging stroller felt so good!!!! I was so proud of myself, but also so humbled by how much work it was. It took a lot of mind games to talk myself through a run.  I'll share some of those in another post.
     I set a goal for myself to run a 5K that year.  That was it.  I was determined to meet that goal.  Well, because of support from my friends and my husband, I ran a 5 k, a 10k, and a half marathon within 8 months of that very first run with Annie. Because of the support I got from amazing people around me, fitness is now a regular, normal part of my life...like brushing my teeth.
     I encourage you to find that support system. I found it helpful to surround myself with people who were 1) more fit than me so that they could encourage and coach me, 2) people who were just like me and struggling to get fit, and eventually 3) people who are just starting out that I could encourage and feel proud of when they met their goals.
    The people you surround yourself with make a big difference in  your health. I hope you can find those positive people in your life to cheer you on....you've already got me:)

Just a Mom...

This is tough, this whole writing about myself thing. I sat here and stared at the blank, white blogger box for a long time. I type, I delete, I type again...repeat. I guess I'll just write what comes to mind...

     I have never considered myself an athlete. I am quite clumsy, my motor skills are horrendous, and before I started becoming truly fit, I had the endurance of a sloth. I'm sure this gives you, the reader, so much confidence in anything fitness related that I have to say, right?
     I worked out regularly between college and having kids, but never really had to work at it. I could do the step aerobics classes and Tae-Bo or whatever new trend was popular at the time. I went mountain biking with my husband and did okay at that too. I thought I was in okay shape until he took me running. It was brutal.  I panted. I wheezed. My legs itched like mad. I could feel every jiggle in my body. It was the toughest 8 minutes and 17 seconds of my life...and I had only gone 1/4 of a mile. After that I was discouraged and decided to never run again. I thought I was just too weak.
    A year or so later, our baby girl came along.  So did 65 extra pounds. She only weighed 6 lbs.  Oh, and did I mention that I am only 5 ft tall? I wasn't too worried about it. From everything I saw on TV and in the news, the weight seemed to just fall right off all of the people I admired within 2 months. How naive I was. It didn't fall off, but it didn't bother very much me because we knew we wanted another baby right away.
     After 6 years, 2 c-sections, & 3 kids, I was not that healthy. I had forgotten all about myself and became caught up in the day to day trappings of motherhood. Between lack of sleep, diapers, and laundry, who had time for exercise?  If they were napping, I just wanted to lay down and stare at the wall. Nutrition was not a top priority either. I didn't feel like I had time to fix healthy meals. My meals consisted of eating what the 3 kids did not eat. My meals consisted of rushing around and eating chicken nuggets right off the baking sheet, spoons full of mac and cheese right from the pot, and eating the scraps off of their plates as I cleared the table.
     So here I was: very unfit,  saggy tummy, back-fat rolling over my bra straps, depressed, anxious, and exhausted. Sound familiar? I think many women can relate to this.  It is so easy to get caught up in jobs, motherhood, school, and put ourselves last.  Over the past 5 years, with the help of supportive friends, discipline, and hard work,  I have created a healthier lifestyle, which also became a happier lifestyle.
     Although I have run a few half marathons, participated in many 5 and 10k races, and ran in trail runs, I would never consider myself to be an athlete (although my triathlete friend generously calls me that) nor would I ever say that I am an expert in nutrition. I would consider myself an average, middle of the pack kind of runner. I am not the fittest mom around and sometimes I eat like crap.  I'm just a mom who enjoys learning about fitness and nutrition as a hobby. I hope that you can become a regular to this blog and that my stories can help motivate you. I also hope that by writing this blog, you can motivate me and hold me accountable for keeping up with my health and fitness.  Thanks for stopping by . I am honored that you would take time out of your day to read and I cannot wait to share stories, workouts, tips, and recipes  with you.