January 1st hits and BAM, you decide you are on the road to a new beginning, a new way of life, and new health goals.
But where do you begin? Do you pick an exercise to start doing every day, like sit-ups? Do you pull out the yoga mat and stretch it out? How about P90x, now that sounds like fun, right? All of these options are great, but sometimes very costly on your body and your wallet. No matter what your health goals are, the first step is to make a conscious effort to prioritize change in some area of your health and stick to it, especially when kids, family and work are pulling at your time. But how can you make that happen as a busy mom?
DO IT BY YOURSELF, FOR YOURSELF
It’s great to have people in your corner to support you, whether it’s your husband or partner, work buddy, or even a coach. But the only person you can count on to reach your health goals is YOU. You alone decide what part of your health, body, or mind needs to change and you alone can set the time to do it or not do it. I am not saying don’t work out with your husband (if you can get him to, because who are we kidding that can be a challenge), but do what makes you feel good and prioritize YOU. You certainly create more change in all areas of life by your own actions! Maybe your hubby or work buddy will soon follow suit after seeing your dedication and the action steps you take to become a healthier version of you.
WHERE TO BEGIN?
You need to start slow. We all want to jump right in and get to the gym 7 days a week after January 1st, but if you haven’t been there in years, you need to break yourself in and break yourself of old habits. As a chiropractor, I have come across more new injuries in anyone that decides to begin a new workout routine, even at any age.
As with any new workout that comes out and is the top-rated, “best to reduce body fat fast”, these are the workouts that get us; the ones that tend to take us down! Injuries can be minimal and heal quickly, but they can also be detrimental and take months to recover from. As moms, we don’t have time for that.
If you have no idea where to start, ask around or join a local gym. Hit up the parks with your kids, or ask other moms in your community. There will be someone in a similar predicament or life shift as you, so take advantage of other women and work to build each other up. Maybe they can babysit your kids while you walk for an hour, or you can start by walking together with your kids in tow.
USE YOUR KIDS TO INSPIRE EXERCISE
Utilize your kids! This depends upon their age of course, but kids have so much energy so be active with them. They want a dance party? Turn on Baby Shark on repeat and do the dance! They want to play in the snow? Dig out those old snow pants and chase them around. Find an indoor play area to go to and run around. My favorite is the Rustad Red Center, where they have an indoor park for the kids and a walking track for adults. These simple steps, especially being a mom, can get that heart pumping and blood flowing without major injury and without breaking the bank.
Have an infant or toddler? Get on the floor and do what they do! Army crawl, roll over, and arch the back. Use them to do arm curls or press-ups. Even squatting while holding our littles gives you just enough extra resistance.
No matter how you go about getting into a new you with health goals, always remember that what you look or feel like now didn’t happen overnight. Whether you had 2 kids in 3 years or 6 kids in 8 years, it still took time, different weight gains, different pregnancies, different births, and most certainly different activity levels to get you where you are now. In order to change, KNOW and UNDERSTAND that it is going to take time to change how you look and feel. Get that set in your mind right away or else you may be setting yourself up for disappointment and failure.
Begin with an end goal in mind: maybe to lose 25 pounds, or to be able to lift kids without pain in the low back. Then have mini-goals in between, like lose two pounds each month or work on core strengthening with a 30-second plank exercise (on your knees and elbows to begin, of course, to reduce back pain each day).
I know all you moms can do it, I know we all have it in us to be healthy and to stay there. I know we all will be strong. You are amazing in the fact that you brought children into this world, and that you can do anything. It just might not happen overnight! Take your time to be well in health and find the courage to stay there!
