Moms have an amazing superpower: they can build a baby! This also means, once that baby is born, that a moms time is very limited! Assuming you are a mom who wants to continue to workout for you, and your new family’s benefit, here are some things to help you along the way…
How Much Time Do You Actually Need?
You think you are busy until you have kids. I heard this before my wife and I had kids and it seemed like a throwaway comment. Well, you find out the people who told you this were painfully right. You really weren’t that busy before kids.
…frankly, I am not sure what I did with all that time!
A common misconception is that you need 1 to 2 hours to get a good workout in. For a new, or tenured, mother, this time is likely not there.
It’s just not.
In fact, the key to making an effective and efficient use of your time comes down to a couple of different things: 1. Doing only the things which give you the most bang for your buck, and 2. Bringing the appropriate relative intensity to the workout.
Boulders, Rocks, Pebbles, Sand, & Water
Most people tend to do the pebbles and sand approach to working out and nutrition. They ask questions like: “what is the best time to eat after a workout,” or, “is it better to do cardio before or after lifting weights,” or, “do you like using this protein supplement or this one?”
Does this stuff matter?
Yes.
Does this stuff matter to someone who is wanting to get back into the shape they were prior to having a child?
No.
In my opinion, a boulders type approach should probably focus on:
- With strength training – heavy and compound [total body] movements
- With bodyweight training – intensity and quality movement
- With HIIT – intensity and total body movements
- With running – challenging yourself with limited time frames
- With CrossFit – moving well with intensity
You might notice a commonality among all of these are intensity and total body movements. This is not a mistake.
Let’s Take A Look At Some Examples
These are not the only workouts you can do. These are simply examples which came to my mind to meet the following criteria:
- Workouts lasting less than 15 minutes
- Workouts which maximize efficiency and effectiveness
- Workouts which run the gamut of no equipment all the way up to all the equipment
1 – Running
This one is one of my favorites because it is so simple, it is stupid…
- Start your stopwatch and run from your house for 7 minutes
- Walk, jog, run in whatever combination that suits you at this time
- At the 7 minute mark, turn around and try to cover the exact same distance before your watch hits the 15 minute mark
- NOTE: There is no written rest. Just turn around and get back to your house
Your job is to challenge yourself on the run out and then try to meet the same intensity on the run back. You will find, however, that the intensity is now higher on the way back.
…plus, you have to get back home after all.
An indoor option if you have a treadmill? Put 15 minutes on the clock and cover as much distance as you can: run, jog, walk, but don’t stop.
2 – Bodyweight Only
Don’t have any gym equipment at home? I got your back!
You have an AMRAP for this one. AMRAP stands for “as many rounds and reps as possible.” This does not mean go with no regard to what it looks like. This means moving consistently [and consistently well] throughout the entire work time.
In the case of the following workout, you are going to repeat these movements, for these reps, and in this order for the entire duration of your 10 minutes.
–
10 minute AMRAP of…
12 Air Squats or Bodyweight Squats
9 Bodybuilders (aka Down Ups, Up Downs, Squat Thrusts)
6 Pushups or Elevated Pushups*
–
*Your pushups can be done from the floor or on some sort of elevated surface. The point is to challenge yourself with your upper body pushing
*A quick note on Elevated Pushups: the higher the elevation, the easier the pushup will be so experiment with different things around your house to find something which challenges you
3 – HIIT [With Some Equipment]
HIIT has become a buzzword in recent years but that does not mean it is not effective.
The following workout is done in a Tabata format. Tabata is 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 8 rounds.
–
Tabata
DB Thrusters
V-Ups or Alternating V-Ups
–
This means you are performing 20 seconds of thrusters, resting for 10 seconds, 20 seconds of v-ups, resting for 10 seconds, and repeating that sequence 4 more times. This comes out to 4 minutes of working out.
Want to level this one up? Repeat this for 8 rounds of each movement for a total of 8 minutes of work.
4 – CrossFit
Technically everything we’ve talked about up to this point is done in CrossFit and qualifies as CrossFit. However, here is one which is inspired by standard rep schemes found in CrossFit workouts:
–
21-15-9
Kettlebell Swings
Burpees
-3min rest-
9-15-21
Kettlebell Swings
Burpees
–
How does this workout go?
- Perform 21 kettlebell swings
- Perform 21 burpees
- Perform 15 kettlebell swings
- Perform 15 burpees
- Perform 9 kettlebell swings
- Perform 9 burpees
- Rest for 3 minutes
- Follow the same protocol but moving up in repetitions instead of down
This, like we talked about above, is total body and compound movements.
5 – Strength Training
This one is debatable on whether or not it will take 15 minutes or less. I believe, if you dive into the movements [at lighter weights] as you warm up, it will absolutely be 15 minutes of work.
–
3 Supersets
A1) Heavy Lunges – 5 reps each side
A2) Bent Over Row – 10 reps
*90 seconds of rest after each superset
–
A superset, in this case, means performing your lunges and immediately performing your bent over rows before resting. It is challenging and time efficient. These movements also cover your entire body and when done with challenging weight, are extremely effective at garnering results.
You could substitute the dumbbells in the videos with kettlebells or a barbell.
Dive In
You do not need to wait until things with your schedule loosen up. You do not need 90 minutes to get a good workout. All you need is 15 minutes [or less] and an attitude of challenging yourself to change.
Pick one of these workouts to do and go!
Make up a workout of your own and go!
Or, come chat with us (HERE) and we will be happy to help you get results with the most efficient use of your time!
