Monday, May 11, 2020

Not Just A Mom... My Workout Routine

Good morning friends and happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day, whether you are a mom yourself or you were celebrating your mom/the other important women in your life. We had a very low key day at home (obviously!) and it was WONDERFUL. 

Today marks the second Monday of the month which means it is time for our Not Just a Mom link up! The theme of the month is our workout routine and as a fitness junkie, I am here for this! I can NOT wait to read about all of your fitness routines!
Second grade me! Why on earth were pictures scheduled for AFTER practice instead of before? Only a dad would do that! 😂 I can assure you my mom did not send me to picture day with hair that wild. 

I have always been an active person. I played soccer, basketball and volleyball for years through school and in recreational leagues but I also dabbled in gymnastics, golf, and swimming. 
Channeling my inner Mia Hamm in 4th grade!

The one exercise I hated and couldn't get behind was running, which is so funny to me now that I have two full marathons under my belt and several half marathons.
Dev and I running the Disney Marathon in 2019

I am always changing up my exercise routine because I easily get bored. The exercises I always find myself making my way back to are:
- Running
- Walking/Hiking
- Yoga
- Strength Training (through the BBG app or group exercise classes at our local Y)

In this current season of life, when I can't get to a gym but definitely need to keep working out (in order to stay sane), I've had to get a little creative.

When our stay at home order started I was initially all gung-ho about "I'm going to workout everyday, I'll have so much time!" and "What else am I going to do?". Except quarantine life with two young kids is a lot harder than I anticipated! I usually get my workouts in before the kids wake up, but that's at a gym. At home, I'm too nervous I will wake somebody up. I don't want to go for a run then because it's still dark outside or too cold (it was 39 degrees here this morning-- I'm not leaving my cozy bed for THAT!). 

So, I've had to get crafty. My current routine is:
I love this picture of the two kiddos holding hands while out for our walk. 😍
-Walk/Run 2 miles-- I've been trying to walk or run at least 2 miles every day. This works for us because I can strap the kiddos into the stroller and we can make it about 2 miles before the "I want to get up!!" whining begins. We have a Double BOB stroller and we love it! With both kiddos inside I'm pushing an extra 80+ pounds, which is no joke! Especially when we're going uphill!

-Focused Strength Training Exercises-- I got so used to knocking out a quick 30 minute strength training workout in the gym that when I wasn't able to do it during quarantine, I missed it badly. With distance teaching part time and simultaneously being on full-time kid duty, finding a solid 30 minutes to workout wasn't happening unless I did it at 5 am or 8 pm, and I just don't have the energy for that right now. 

I decided to set a goal to do 100 of a particular exercise for 10 days, then, if I'm able to, add another 100. So for example I'm doing 100 leg lifts per day for the first 10 days of May. I am noticing my legs are regaining some of their muscle tone and this is do-able for me since I break it up into small chunks. The kids are playing contently? Do 10 leg lifts on each side real quick. The dryer still has 2 more minutes before the laundry is done? Do 10 more leg lifts. Waiting on the water to boil for dinner? 10 more leg lifts. It was actually pretty easy to get 100 in! Now for May 10th-20th my goal is to do 200 leg lifts per day. So far I've been able to keep up with it! It's been nice because I can do it whenever I have a spare minute or 2. I don't have to set aside a big chunk of time.
- Stay Active While Outside With the Kids-- Would it be nice to park my butt on a chair and watch the kids play by themselves in the backyard? Absolutely, and sometimes I do that. But as long as the kids are safe and happy, I'm usually going to try to stay up and busy. I can go pull some weeds, check on the garden, or water the plants by watering can (an added bonus is that Lily Grace LOVES to help with this-- we get our exercise in walking back and forth to fill up the watering can). Our current favorite is playing baseball in the backyard as a family (Liam gets to represent the crowd 😉). I help Lily Grace hit the ball and run the bases with her. She has a blast and gets her energy out while I'm also getting some exercise in. 

So that's pretty much what my workout routine looks like these days, but if you're interested in any of my other fitness posts you can check these out:

Don't forget to link up with us if you have a fitness post! I'd love to read it! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

Be sure to mark on your calendars for next month when we share our "fun facts"!


  1. I'm missing the classes at the gym for sure.

  2. I started this post a few times and ultimately decided not to link up because I don't feel like I really have a workout routine. I try to establish one every few months and keep up with it for a week or so at a time and then I drop it again because I actually HATE working out, I HATE sweating, and I literally only workout so I can eat and stay healthy. LOL

  3. I feel you on I am going to do so much that I am home 24/7. Kids make things a lot harder. But we are staying active most days chasing them around.

  4. Okay, don't go read my post, you will be embarrassed for me, hahaha!!! I love how you fit fitness into your life, even with two kids. Doing little exercises throughout the day is so smart!