Fitness Tips for Busy Moms

Make sure to pre-plan your week. It's so easy to be reactive, allowing your day to completely get away from you... at the end of the day you're exhausted and you still haven't accomplished half of what you wanted to! If you catch yourself saying at the end of every day, "Tomorrow I'll make sure to exercise" you need to break out your calendar and write yourself in first.

It may seem selfish, but in the long run it isn't. If you don't make the time each day for your workout you won't have the energy you need to make it through your busy day... every chore, every task will take longer and be harder on you. It's no fun not having enough energy to run and play with your kids. So... sure... be a little selfish. Your husband and kids will benefit in the long run!

If you need exercise ideas, buddies, and motivation, sign up for a free membership to the Team Beachbody Super Gym. In addition to exercise planning and motivation, you get to enter each day's completed workouts for a chance to win prizes or cash from $300-$1000!

Fold your laundry in style... I do mine at the dining room table to have the right height to work at (if your dining room table is too low for this, try a counter)...

As you fold your clothes, gently raise up to the balls of your feet and then lower again slowly to the floor. (Make sure your well balanced with your feet about shoulder length apart.)

Put your laundry basket on the floor and gently squat down to place the folded laundry in the basket..... now, not only is the laundry done, but your legs are toned, too!

For those with dishwashers ... as you take the dishes from the sink to the dishwasher, squat down to put them in the right slot. Not only will you tone your legs, you'll protect your back!

If you're washing dishes by hand, or just pre-rinsing for a less-than-effective dishwasher... raise your right leg up and to the side while you wash or rinse, then lower back down. Do 10 to 15 repetitions and then switch to your left leg!

We're far past the era of Richard Simmons.... while the older style exercise videos certainly got people up and "sweating"... doing the same exercise program over and over not only leads to boredom... it is less effective. As the body gets used to doing the same thing every workout, it adapts and the program becomes far less effective...

Enter the next generation of workout programs... by using a structured plan to "mix up" the types of exercise used, the body doesn't get a chance to adapt... and the exercise program can be far more effective for far longer!

I highly recommend (and use, when I'm not pregnant) ChaLEAN Extreme by instructor Chalene Johnson... While my boys are P90X addicts, I find that this similar program is a lot more fun for me! And Chalene is a blast to work out with! She's kind of like that bubbly girl in high school that you dearly wanted to hate... but just couldn't because she was so nice, she really cared about you as a person, and she was just so much fun to be with!