Weight Training for Busy Moms

[crystalkzm]

Any busy moms here that have a tried and true weight training plan? 

 

I'm having a hard time "keeping all the balls in the air" (family, toddler, working from home, meal planning and prep, workout…) Any advice or suggestions would be awesome.

 

I have a gym membership, but I also can sometimes workout outdoors in the morning. It's hard to workout at my house because it is so creaky and old it wakes up my kid. I feel lost and awkward in the gym but want to make it work.

[MyssLyss]

Make yourself a priority. If you have time to Facebook, watch your favorite TV show, etc., you have time to go to the gym. Check Youtube for some videos, there are plenty of examples of moms working out with their kids playing right next to them. Does you gym have childcare? If not, find a gym that does. Does your husband/partner have time to weight train? If so, he needs to share some of that time with you. 

[KayKay]

I can recommend a couple programs/books I've used over the past couple years. If I'm not doing met con group classes, then I prefer to have something to follow on my own -- makes your workout one less thing to think about in a hectic day.

Rachel Cosgrove's Female Body Breakthough. She has a follow up book out, but I've heard the first one was better. I loved it.

The New Rules of Weightlifting for Women.

I also tried Neghar Fonooni's at-home Lean and Lovely kettlebell program, ww.eatliftandbehappy.com, and I sometimes do workouts from Jen Sinkler's Lift Weights Faster program. Both of these are programs you purchase online. Jen's program is great because she offers 10, 20, and 30 minute sessions.

Hope that helps!

[Cath J]

FitYummymummys (or clubfym.com) is quite good...monthly membership gives you follow along video so variety every month. Because it's focused for mums her strength sessions are simply 15min long but very effective

[Mary Carmosino Beougher]

I'll second New Rules. I've just started, but it's really nice having a plan and it's only three days a week. The workout takes me around 45 minutes. I'm a work at home mom, so I get the juggling so many things at once. New Rules works for me because it's 3 hours a week and if I can't make three hours out of 168 in a week, I'm in real trouble.

[KathyV]

You have to stop making excuses and set your mind up to do it.  When my kids were young, I had a full-time job outside the house and did not belong to a gym.  I would wake up before  I would get the kids ready for school and do my work out in the living room with tapes, and we lived in a trailor at that time, and believe me you could hear everything!   The kids did not wake up.  It worked for me and I still keep the early morning w/o schedule to this day.  I don't know how old your children are, but you could do something while they take naps too.  There are a lot of  DVD's out there to choose from to accommodate any situation.

 

Good Luck .

[KayKay]

Also, that "lost and awkward" feeling at the gym goes away quickly. Having a program in hand (bringing a whole book felt odd to me, so I photocopied the pages for each night's workout) will equip you with a plan, make you feel in control and knowledgable. Remember that a lot of people there don't know what the heck they are doing! They'll marvel at the fact that you are following an actual work out and that you appear to know what you're doing -- even if you don't quite feel that way about yourself.

 

Fake it till you make it!

[amy3509]

Eva T has a "pocket workout" book with 30 days of equipment free workouts that can be done wherever. None of them take longer than 10-15 mins. They are metcons so don't fit the weight training question, but will build strength all the same.

I am also trying to fit it all in and prioritize workouts. While I can appreciate the idea that it is important to make time for ourselves and just a matter of priorities, life with your kids can be exhausting and workouts often are sacrificed for sleep in my life.

My plan is to do 3 Eva t workouts per week and fit in short weight training sessions. I do lifting with barbells and a little goes a long way. Squats (front, back, overhead) and shoulder press are my go to lifts. When I lift it only takes 30 mins. A book like "starting strength" or some good you tube videos will teach you basic lifts if you don't already know them.