How To Incorporate Exercise Into Your Routine When You're A Busy Parent

When you’re a parent, time always seems to be running fast and never enough. With all the things you have to do as a parent, there are days when you don’t even have time for yourself anymore. Despite the roller coaster life that parenthood brings, you should still find some time for yourself.

Exercise is one of the most important things parents must do for themselves. Here are some ways and tips on how to incorporate exercise into your routine when you’re a busy parent.

Make Exercise A Family Activity

One way to include exercise in your everyday routine is to incorporate it into your family activities. Make exercise part of your daily schedule so that you hit two birds with one stone. You get to exercise while bonding and taking care of your family—all while staying in shape.

For instance, if you enjoy yoga, there are many online videos that teach you how to do yoga routines. All you need is a yoga mat and a video, and you can do this exercise with your family. Look for the best yoga mat and start bonding with your family with yoga. You can also play some sports such as basketball or volleyball as a way of exercising with your kids.

Take Advantage Of The Extra Minutes

Exercise doesn’t need to take up much of your time. Nowadays, you can find 7-minute workouts on YouTube that you can easily follow. When you wake up, you can simply watch these videos and follow along.

It’s just a matter of discipline. This discipline might require you to wake up earlier and make it a habit to do little workouts every day. Exercise will only take a few minutes of your time; instead of choosing to get those extra 7 minutes of sleep, take that time to do some exercise during the first minutes of your day.

Incorporate Workouts Into Your Daily Routine

An effective way to have time to exercise is to incorporate it into your chores and daily activities. Chores like folding clothes and going to the supermarket can be opportunities to squeeze in some exercise. In the little things, you can choose to be active instead of taking the easy way.

Here are some ideas on how you can turn a daily activity into a simple workout:

Taking the stairs instead of riding the elevator
Walking to the mall instead of taking the car
Doing leg raises or other exercises while sitting on the couch
Doing squats while doing the laundry
Doing push-ups, running on a treadmill, or indoor cycling while watching TV

What’s more, you can also incorporate fitness into your events or gatherings with friends and family. For instance, when you have gatherings with friends, you can try a fitness activity instead of just a sit-down dinner.

All of these simple activities count. It’s up to you to be creative. Making a conscious decision to do physical activities instead of remaining still is a way to squeeze in time to exercise.

Walk Your Pets

If you have pets at home, this can be an opportunity to get some exercise. Every day, you will need to take your dogs for a walk. Instead of hiring a dog walker, you can just walk your dog yourself. This can be a good exercise for you.

This will allow you to have all the time to yourself while taking a walk and appreciating nature. Aside from being a good breather and break from parenthood, walking takes care of your body as well. Walking may be a simple, everyday activity, but it is still a good way to keep moving. Don’t take it for granted.

Bike or Take Public Transport Instead of Driving

Instead of driving to work or to the supermarket, choose to take public transport or ride a bike. By deciding to choose this alternative, you will be able to move your body more and exercise while on your way to your destination. You won’t need to set aside a separate time to exercise, you just need to change the way you do things.

Conclusion

If you really want to exercise, you can find many ways to incorporate exercise into your routine as a busy parent. There are many ways to overcome the challenges of a busy schedule so you can stay fit. Given the tips above, you can prioritize and squeeze in some time to exercise even while juggling all your responsibilities. Just follow the tips above, and you can still exercise even if you’re a busy parent.