5 Great Fitness Tips for Busy Parents

Having kids often means a busy, hectic lifestyle. When your children are very small, it seems you are changing diapers every few minutes. When they are older, you are running them here and there, acting as their personal taxi service. At home and at work, children make for very little free time for parents.

Even so, you need to understand how important it is to stay physically active. The mental and physical rewards from regular exercise are many, and when you stay active you also set a healthy example for your children. Practice the following 5 fitness tips for busy parents, and you will always have time for health and wellness in your family.

1. Prioritize Physical Fitness

You must make exercise a priority, especially when you are busy all the time. As a parent, you are constantly "putting out fires" and dealing with problems that arise. That means that if you simply wait for spare time to appear, it may never happen. You have to prioritize being healthy, making it a part of your daily and weekly schedule.

2. When You Fail to Plan You Plan to Fail

If you have taken the mental step of prioritizing exercise in your busy life, good for you. Now you have to consciously make it a part of your family life. This includes planning physical activity for your kids as well. Don't just do this mentally. Write down a weekly and monthly exercise plan and stick to it.

3. Stop Thinking of Exercise Traditionally

(Image courtesy of Naypong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

Any moderately intense to intense physical activity is a form of exercise. You don't have to head to the gym or health club to be benefiting from exercise. Carrying around a small child all day is definitely a form of exercise, as is spending 30 or 40 minutes running around outside with your kids enjoying their favorite playtime activities! Gardening, cleaning, and even cooking can provide moderate exercise as well. Try to find ways to incorporate more physical activity into your daily routine, rather than trying to carve out an extra hour somewhere to devote to just working out.

4. Spread out Your Efforts

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. You don't need to experience long, drawn-out exercise sessions. Many noted health authorities recommend 2.5 to 3.0 hours of moderately intense aerobic activity each week. The rewards of exercise are cumulative, meaning you can enjoy that exercise in 10 workout sessions that are 15 minutes long each, or 5 sessions which are 30 minutes in duration. Check this blog often for inspiration - we post great weekly workouts that are often less than 20 minutes long!

5. Get Your Kids Involved

Why not schedule exercise activities the whole family can enjoy together? This ensures you get the workout you need, your children develop healthy exercise habits, and you strengthen your family bond, all at the same time!

Check back Thursday for a quick, fun workout that you can do with your kids...