For my next 6 posts or so, I’ll be focusing on habits I established in order to get healthy after my last pregnancy. It’s been a long journey – about 18 months so far – and it’s not over yet! Most will focus on food, but today’s is obviously about exercising. 🙂
As a person who doesn’t love exercise, I’ve had to adapt to make sure I’ll actually do it. I like it more than I used to, though, and even do it for reasons other than obligation sometimes.
Why?
It took me a while as a stay-at-home mom to really get into the habit of exercising. I can’t believe that I didn’t before! Now that we’re in the middle of a pandemic, it’s even more important for me to exercise for stress relief. On days when I sleep in and skip it, I really miss it. For me, this is the #1 benefit of exercise.
Over time, I’ve started seeing exercise as a way to get stronger and more flexible, not as a punishment for eating food. Progress in that direction is very slow, though, so I often don’t appreciate it. One workout doesn’t seem to make a difference, but 100 definitely do.
During my pregnancies, exercise helped me manage my pain. It wasn’t a perfect fix, but it certainly helped.
Where?
For me, exercise happens at home. I haven’t worked out at an official gym since college, and I’m okay with that. For my current situation, it just works better to be at home. With Covid-19 going on, I’d have to exercise at home now anyway, so it’s nice that I don’t have to change my routine.
When?
To make sure I actually do it, I have a set time to work out. It’s 8:00 A.M., give or take 10 minutes, Monday through Saturday. I aim for 30 minutes each day and use Fitness Blender’s free videos. By creating a free account, I was able to set up a calendar with my workouts for the month. It makes me feel more accountable when I have something scheduled that I have to get done!
How?
Though I’m currently using Fitness Blender, I’ve cycled through a lot of different things: DVD’s, Wii Fit, Just Dance, etc. I get bored after a while and have to try something new. I don’t consider that a flaw in my system, just a challenge to make things different.
I’ve found that I gravitate toward exercises using weights. It’s better for me to exercise in a way I like than not to do it at all because I dread it. For this reason, I don’t run or do HIIT workouts. I’ve tried to like both, but it’s just not going to happen. Any exercise is better than sitting on the couch all day!
Just Do It!
When I got back into exercising, I was really weak and had barely any endurance. 2 pregnancies in a row had really taken a toll on my body.
Now, I’ve established a good habit that has helped me get back to a healthy size. I love working out at home. It’s easy to get started, I can wear whatever I want (no shoes!), and I don’t have to worry about weather conditions. I don’t have to worry that anyone will see me except for my kids, and they don’t usually laugh at me. Not having to pay for a gym is a blessing, too. Since we’re all safe at home, you have nothing to lose by starting today. Exercising will change your life one step at a time: literally!