One of the main complaints I’ve heard from moms is their lack of ability to work out with any regularity. Maybe for 2 months they can get into the gym, but then there’s a schedule change, another activity added, someone is teething… It seems like a wrench gets thrown into workout plans a lot. Working out is something easy to drop when one needs to attend to other responsibilities.
Today I decided that since I can’t guarantee I’ll ever get to the gym I’m going to change it up. I’ve started a program for myself that I’m calling, “Stop! Give me 10!” I’ve set my phone alarm clock to go off every 30 minutes during my guaranteed waking hours. Between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. my phone will buzz every half hour and I’ll have to stop and do 10 of some exercise. It doesn’t matter where I am, walking, the store, in the living room, wherever.
Because of my time spent in the military I’m reasonably confident that no equipment will be necessary. We just did things like push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, jumping jacks, and other exercises without any weights for an hour daily and were in pretty great shape. At least as a kick starter toward my post-baby goals, a daily total of 280 various repetitions of exercises should work out very well. I can increase the number of repetitions in a step pattern as I plateau. For the easier exercises, like the military press, I will stick with a military 4 count cadence to reach my 10 reps.
In addition to these exercises I intend to do some cardio activity every day. It might be a long walk to the park, cruising… *Alarm! Just did 10 military approved push-ups. All the way up and all the way down.* …up and down the hills in the neighborhood. If it’s rainy I can take the jump rope into the garage for 15 – 30 minutes during a baby nap. We’ll see, but I’m going to make this work.
I’ve made little tweaks to work around issues that may arise. 1. The alarms are on vibrate so that the sound won’t wake the baby if I’m just getting her down for a nap. 2. If I’m nursing I’ll hit snooze until I’m done and do the 10 repetitions afterward.
I’m taking photos of my body and I will post about progress if there is any. I’m not posting one right now though. 🙂 I’m publishing this today, because if folks have read it maybe I’ll feel more accountable to actually do it.
This might be a ridiculous fail. It might not work at all. All I know is that it’s 280 more exercises a day than I’m doing right now and every little bit helps.
Wish me luck!
callmequirky 