I’m always being told that it’s unrealistic and ridiculous to expect busy mothers to have the time to work out five days a week; that “normal” women simply can’t workout like a fitness instructor does.
Yes, it’s my job to teach exercise classes, but those of you who’ve been to my class know that 95 per cent of the time, I don’t get my own workout done. So, although I might be teaching 10 one-hour classes a week, I don’t get 10 hours of exercise in that time.
I have to MAKE TIME for my own workouts, outside of work.
I have two kids and I run a business. I have a house to organise and a never-ending pile of clothes to be washed and put away. My eight-year-old daughter needs to be dropped off and collected from school, swimming, piano, tennis, play dates. My almost two-year-old son only goes to a childminder three days a week – I have him with me on the two other days.
My partner leaves for work at 6am, so getting ready for school and crèche and work in the mornings is all me! Being self-employed means there are no closing hours. I am up at 6.30am and could be still answering emails at 11pm. But because I want to be fit and healthy, I make the time.
Who am I kidding? I want to look good in skinny jeans, so I make the time!
There are so many ways to get a good, quick exercise session in, five times a week. You don’t need an hour, you can get a workout done in 20-30 minutes, tops. Make those 20-30 minutes a priority, one day at a time.
It’s all about utilising your time and burning as many calories as possible in a short amount of time. This is where HIIT, or High Intense Interval Training, comes in. It means short bursts of all-out exercise, followed by a rest, and it will definitely get you sweaty and feeling good.
Here is a great workout that will only take 16 minutes to perform. Make sure to warm up for five minutes and cool down and stretch for 8-10 minutes. There’s a timer called Gymboss, which you can get as a free app on your phone. Use the ‘Tabata’ timer for this one – 20 seconds on/10 seconds off x 8 rounds.
Each block is a 4-minute workout. This type of exercise burns about 16 calories per minute!
Block 1
High Knees
Press Ups
Ab Curl
Plank on the elbows Repeat x 2 = 4 minutes
Block 2
1 big jump forward, 2 jumps back
Squat Jumps
Lunge right leg/then left leg on 2nd time
Tricep Dips Repeat x 2 = 4 minutes
Block 3
Side Plank right side/then left side on 2nd time
Mountain climbers
Alligator Plank
High Knees Repeat x 2 = 4 minutes
Block 4
Press Ups
Ab Twist
Alligator Plank
Burpees Repeat x 2 = 4 minutes
Now, you ask, when the hell am I going to get the time to do this magical workout? Here are some ideas…
• Get up 20 minutes earlier. I know, who wants to do that? Especially with a young baby. I’ve been there, my son went through the first eight months of his life waking seven times every night and I was exhausted. And I was back at work when he was less than three weeks old. But because I was up at 6.30am with him anyway, I thought, I might as well do some exercise. With the bright mornings, it’s easier to get up and get active before you do anything else. Stick the baby in the bouncer and do a few exercises. Put your workout gear on before you come downstairs, or have it ready to go the night before.
• Do a workout at lunch time. The evenings can go so fast – making dinner, spending time with kids, putting them to bed, cleaning up the house, and all those clothes! It could be 10pm by the time you sit down, and the last thing you want to do is work out. But if you exercise earlier in the day, you have that checked off your to-do list. Go for a walk or run at lunch time. If you’re not a runner, try alternate walking and jogging for 30 seconds, or walk 40 seconds, jog 20 seconds. All that matters is that you push your body and get a bit more sweaty than you normally would.
• At night. Yes, I’m contradicting what I’ve just said, but if you can’t exercise in the morning, or at lunch, do it when you get home. Do some household jobs in the morning (when you get up 20 minutes earlier) so there is less to do at night. There are times when my workout is at 9.30pm, when the kids are in bed.
• Involve the kids! At the weekend, when they like to wake up even earlier than normal, I lay out a yoga mat or two and my daughter copies the exercises that I do. I also use the baby in my workout – I lie him on the mat and make him laugh while I do press ups, plank and mountain climbers. I hold him when doing squats, or place him on my tummy when I do sit-ups. He thinks it’s hilarious and my daughter has a great time.
• Get out for a run, or interval walk/jog with the buggy. Easier said than done when you have older kids, but I bring my daughter along on her bike or scooter and she rides along beside me. She loves it, especially when there’s the promise of the playground at the end of the ride.
• Leave 20 minutes early when going somewhere, or walk/jog there. When your older kids are at their swimming or piano class, use that time to get out and run around. There’s no point sitting in the car or local coffee shop on your phone, use that time to exercise!
I know that we all are busy, but it only takes a few minutes, five times a week, to make a big difference to your body and mind!
Steph Sinnott is a prenatal and postnatal fitness trainer. She founded the Baby Body Fit website in 2010 to help women get through the maternity cycle while maintaining a level of fitness and staying healthy. Baby Body Fit is Ireland’s first and leading prenatal and postnatal exercise company. Find out more or book a class HERE.
