If you are a stay-at-home mom, it can be hard to find time to exercise. You may have a job that you do at home or a small child to take care of. This can restrict the options that you have to stay in shape. However, there are many different ways that you can stay in shape while also tending to your children. The good news is that many of these options don’t cost any money.
Simply Stay Moving
Experts say that the best way to help your body burn fat is to simply keep moving. Even if you move your legs to a different position on the couch, you are helping your body burn fat and calories. Studies have shown that people who twitch and fidget in their seat are generally skinnier than those who do not do so.
If twitching in your seat doesn’t work for you, it could be a good idea to keep certain things on another floor of your home. For example, you could put the vacuum in a closet in the second floor. This forces you to walk up the stairs before you start doing the housework. Of course, it could also cause you to stop doing housework. However, using this principle can help you walk around the house more often during the day.
Taking short walks around the house or the neighborhood can do wonders for your health. You can even take the kids with you when you go for your walks. This will get your kids into an active mindset as well. As a mother, you want to teach your kids healthy habits that they will implement as adults.
Turn Your XBox Into An Exercise Device
There are many exercise programs that you can complete simply by following an instructor on television. These programs allow you to exercise at home at your own pace while never having to leave your children alone. All you need is about $80 and an hour of your day to commit to exercise.
If you don’t have an hour a day to exercise, that is no problem. The point is to commit a consistent amount of time during each day to completing the exercise program. Programs such as p90x and Insanity are among the most popular. However, you can use an old exercise video from 1989 if you want to. No matter what type of program you use, remember that good form is more important that how many repetitions you do.
Using your Xbox Kinect can turn your video game console into an exercise machine. There are a number of games and workout programs that are designed to be used with Kinect. A UFC branded exercise program as well different sports games are available to be used as an exercise program. Your workouts will be both entertaining and confidence building at the same time. If you can complete the same workout as a professional athlete, you are doing alright.
Everyday Items Can Turn Into Exercise Equipment
You don’t need dumbbells or other fancy equipment to get a good workout in. What you do need is something that will provide resistance while allowing you to use your own body weight to make your workouts more difficult.
A chair, stair or small table can be the perfect thing to use to complete a workout. Simple exercises such as squats, lifts, crunches and other basic exercises can be completed whenever you want wherever you are. This means that you get your exercise in quietly while the kids are taking a nap.
This also means that you don’t need to spend a lot of money on exercise equipment that you might not even use. A treadmill can be loud and bulky. It can also be expensive. It will be even more expensive if you use it as a place to hang your laundry. Therefore, spending money on bulky equipment could just stress you out and make you feel guilty about your fitness level.
Instead of making you feel better, it could actually make you feel worse. When people are stressed, they tend to eat more and gain more weight. Therefore, you might want to keep it simple when you are first starting to exercise again. It will be in your best interest to not overwhelm yourself in the beginning.
Remember To Eat Right
Diet is just as important as exercise when it comes to staying fit. Eating a dinner that is full of vegetables can be the equivalent of running for 20 minutes after dinner. In general, your diet will be at least 60 percent of what helps you lose weight. Exercise merely compliments you diet and helps you tone and build muscle.
Your health needs to be your top priority. Therefore, it is important that you are doing whatever it takes to help yourself get fit. Even as a mother who stays in the house, you can take steps to improve your fitness level. There are items right in front of you that can get you started on a fitness routine that will be fun and inspirational for you.