7 Ways to Squeeze in Working Out for Busy Women

I had to face facts. I am no longer at the age where I can rely on genetics to keep me snatched. My metabolism is slowing down, I am not as active as I could be naturally, and I do not have the spare coin to spend on surgery. I have two choices. Work out or get plumper and plumper as the years go by. I choose the latter, but the gag is I have a real hard time pencilling in working out in the midst of my busy schedule mommy-ing, wife-ing (to be), and empire building. That said, I thought and I thought and I thought, and in this post I will provide 7 creative ways you squeeze in working out for busy women.

work out- phrasal verb of work | engage in vigorous physical exercise or training.

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my story.

I’ve been attempting to get my healthy living life together for a while, and I came the closest this past year. I was vegan for months, and used an app to train myself to run a 5k, and I was successful. Girl, my skin was glowing, my tummy was flattening, and all was well. I was happy. I got to the point where exercising was enjoyable and I could not go a few days without it. All was well, until my son’s 1st birthday party. My mom and step-dad prepared the food. Boy! On the menu was a homemade spaghetti bake, fried chicken accompanied by an assortment of sauces, a seafood mac and cheese made with fresh shrimp and crab meat, pasta salad, ribs, and all things not vegan, but charged with southern deliciousness.

Needless to say, I fell off the wagon hard. The next week was my birthday. Me and my almost husbae went to New York City completely unconcerned with the vegan discipline. Then there was Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Now here I am, belly swollen, trouble fitting my high wasted jeans, again, and not happy about it.

All my life I had to fight. I had to fight the temptation to eat fattening foods, meat cravings when I was vegan. I had to fight sheer laziness because my natural inclination is to resist working out at all cost. Most of all, I had to fight my mindset when it comes to exercising.

break it down, B:

I’ll be all the way honest, if I’m not careful I will create a thousand and two very creative excuses as to why I can’t work out. “I don’t have a gym membership.” “I’m tired.” “My insert body part here hurts.” “I’ll start next Monday.” And my personal favorite and the most feasible, “I don’t have the time.”

The funny thing is, I learned all of those excuses could be eliminated with the shift of a mindset. I had to learn to position working out high on my priority list by categorizing working out and eating healthy as a form of self-love and self-care. If I love my self, the natural resolve is to take care of my body.

Working out is a pretty beautiful thing though because once, I began doing it, I realized my mental health was strengthened. I felt better. My mind was less cloudy. I had more energy, and I was more joyful all around.

Shifting my thoughts on working out from burden, to self-love and self-care was good. I got pumped, then the next boulder hit. I questioned, well when and how do I squeeze in the time to work out when I am a work from home stay at home mom, homemaker, applying for law school, and working on my business.

Here is where I got creative. Here is where I developed 7 ways to squeeze in working out for busy women.

7 Ways to Squeeze in Working out for Busy Women

1. Plan around Bed Times. Essentially, working out is a form of self-care. Like most self-care moments, it needs to be planned alone time. That said, plan to work out when the kiddos are sleeping. For instance, if your partner is in the house until a decent time in the morning, take 30 minutes to complete a work out before the children need to be prepped for the day. The same system applies to after the children are in the bed.
2. Walk and Lunch. During lunch breaks, we typically chat up or simply take mental breaks from the job. Consider taking that personal time to prioritize your health. Eat your lunch, then take a walk around the building. If you are unable to walk outside, find creative ways to be active during that time. Anything helps during the pursuit of a healthy body.
3. Dance, Cook and Clean. This one is particularly special to me because it is my favorite. When I am cooking a meal that will take about an hour or so, I put the food in the oven, turn on my twerk music and get going. Dancing becomes exercise, and my exercises soon become more structured. The same instance can apply to cleaning. Saturday mornings or Sunday mornings are typically my time to get the house in order after a long week. While doing so, I put on my music, and in between sweeping and washing, I dance. As stated before, dancing becomes exercise, and exercise becomes more organized.
4. Sign up for Active Competitions. Recently, I signed up for an actually 5k race. Signing up to run the race was an incentive. It gave working out a purpose because I knew I was working toward something. The idea behind signing up was that I would need to take the next few months ahead to prepare for the race. That would require at least a few days of week of working out and timing myself to ensure I wouldn’t at least come in last.
5. Sign up for Intramural Sports. There are teams adults can join. I’ve seen kick ball teams, basketball teams, and running groups. Try putting out some feelers at a local gym, or on Facebook to see what other like minded groups are getting together to become active. You gain many benefits when you join a intramural sports team. The benefits are accountability, meeting new friends, preset scheduling, and a goal oriented purpose–winning.
6. Training apps. There are tons of free training apps out there. I have personally used Couch to 5k. Couch to 5k is an app designed to train you to run a 5k with the assumption you don’t leave the couch. That was me all day long. The app requires you to walk/run at least 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Again, the goal at the end of the course kept me motivated to keep going. Between that app and eating healthier, I lost all my baby weight by the end of the 6 weeks.
7. Set Goals According to Events. I have a bachelorette trip coming up, a wedding, and a honeymoon. Needless to say, I need to get my life together because I am not picture ready for any of those occasions. The beauty of the events approaching is that they serve as motivation for me to get back into the gym. Consider your upcoming moments and set work out goals accordingly.

sum it up.

At the end of the day, I’d like to be here to meet my grandchildren and great grandchildren. I’d like to enjoy the fruits of my labor for many years, most importantly, I’d like to be a huge part of my son’s life without being a burden to him. I’d even like to have the energy, joy, and mental clarity necessary to see my dreams, goals, and ambitious come into fruition. Lastly, I’d like to spend more time taking care of myself and feeling good about it. Working out is the resolve to all of those desires.

In conclusion, taking care of your body is a branch of self love, and I would even go as far to say gratitude for the body and life God blessed you with.(1 Corinthians 6:19-20) That said, I know it’s tough creating the time to work out, and I know it’s even more difficult wrapping your habits around the idea of working out, but it can be done. The outcome is far greater than the excuse. Sure, I’m writing to you, but I’m speaking to myself.

I hope these 7 ways to squeeze in working out for busy women help you embed more self-love and more self-care into your schedules.

Let us get snatched together!

facts.

1. Taking care of your body is a form of self-love and self-care.
2. Exercise is a method to show gratitude.
3. A mindset shift can go a long way.

quotes to carry.

“Exercise is really important to me – it’s therapeutic. So if I’m ever feeling tense or stressed or like I’m about to have a meltdown, I’ll put on my iPod and head to the gym or out on a bike ride along Lake Michigan with the girls.”

Michelle Obama

journal prompt.

What are your work out goals? How can you squeeze in time to achieve them?

comment below.

Tell us some ways you’ve added working out to your schedule.

related reads.

7 Easy Ways to Promote Wellness in Your Life You Can Start Today

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