This is what happened at my house last night:
Hubs: “I’m going to take Dani (the dog) down to the park.”
Me: “Ok, I have to finish up work. I’ll stay here.”
Upon return. . .
Me: “How was the walk?”
Hubs: “Good. But we got tired before we got the park. So, we stopped for a milkshake at Red Mill.”
Needless to say, the hubs likes exercise about as much as I like Star Trek, which is to say: Not. At. All. I was actually quite impressed he was going to go to the park without my coaxing. I would like to think had I been there he wouldn’t have fallen victim to summer treats. Yes, it happens. The sun comes out and we have a million new excuses why workouts don’t happen and somehow ice cream finds it’s way to our mouth quite innocently.
Ask most personal trainers about their summer schedule and they’ll tell you it’s pretty light. This is the time of year we tend to lose clients for a couple months. I’ve had clients who summer after summer tell me they’re going to “workout at home” or “run in the sun” when the summer months roll into town. This is usually code for, “I have the best intentions of working out on my own, but, really, I won’t workout all summer. Then I’ll feel horrible come September and sign up for personal training again and spend three months trying to get back the body I spent all spring sweating for.”
I have to say I have been SO impressed this summer, as I am working with a ton of Fit Healthy Moms who know themselves well enough to NOT stop training over the summer. They are in it to win it and that means they are getting up for 6am workouts all summer long because they WILL NOT stand for a Fall Fattie Freakout. Way to go ladies, I’m so proud of you!!!
It is incredibly easy to fall out of your workout routine over the summer. You stop scheduled workouts because of schedule changes with the kids out of school. You go on a couple long weekend vacations that further throw off your routine. (Anyone else still recovering from the 4th of July weekend?!?!) You think you can get by by being active gardening, playing at the beach and running around the park with the kiddos.
Don’t get me wrong active family time ROCKS!! It is a great way to burn a few extra cals and show your kids that exercise can be fun. But it is not the same as a serious sweat sesh. Don’t fool yourself.
If you are a mom trying to lose weight or tone up this, take note. Here are 10 things you can do this summer to lose baby weight, shape your post baby body and find your fitness.
1. Schedule workouts with a friend. Join a class together or walk/run together. Anytime you have an accountability partner, your chances of actually getting the work done goes up exponentially.
2. Put some money on the line. When people pay me up front for services they are way more committed. So, decide what you want to do and pay for it, so you make the mental connection that you are COMMITTED!
3. Get in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts. These workouts can often be done in 20 minutes and they light your metabolism on FIRE for the day! Click Here for a super fab HIIT workout I made for you.
4. When you workout do FULL BODY moves. If you want to keep your workout time to a minimun, so you can keep your summer fun to a maximum, you want to choose exercises that use as many muscles as possible at the SAME time. Click Here for a killer workout made up of full body moves.
5. Keep up with your weight training. You want to maintain as much muscle mass as possible all summer, as that is what keeps your metabolism on fire and keeps you burning more calories around the clock. So if you have to skip a workout, skip your cardio. Make sure your getting your strength sessions in each week. And when you lift, lift heavy. Challenge yourself with weight (keeping safety in mind, of course).
6. Be a smarty pants and make your weight training sesh double as a cardio sesh by minimizing rest periods. If you’re lifting a decent amount of weight and taking little to no rest, your heart rate will be through the roof! Alternatively, at the end of your weight training sesh, add in 1-2 Tabatas (4 minutes each) to crank up the heart rate.
7. Get workouts in first thing. If you workout first thing in the morning, you are WAY more likely to actually get the job done. I cannot say this loudly enough. I think this is the Golden Rule of Hot Mama fitness. My moms who workout at 6 am (or earlier, for some) get in the most workouts on a regular basis and meet and exceed their fitness goals at a significantly higher rate than my moms who try to squeeze workouts in later in the day. Plus, in the summer, it’s light early, which makes crack o’ dawn workouts much easier.
8. Burn bonus calories! These are calories burned being active, but not necessarily in a full fledged workout (think family activities like swimming, family bike rides, walks, Freeze Tag in the backyard, roller blading, etc.) I call them bonus calories, as they are just a little bump in your total output for the day, but they are not a replacement for your regular workouts. I mean, be honest, you’re probably having some “bonus” treats this summer (drinks, ice cream, s’mores???) so bonus calorie burning can be quite helpful!
9. Wear tank tops and shorts that keep you mindful of how you want to look. Wear clothes that show of your muscles you are most proud of. If you are wearing clothes that show off your body, you will be be more likely to sweat often and eat less to maintain your physique.
10. COMMIT. Make your fitness non-negotiable. Get up. Get it done. Get on with your day.
What are you doing to stay fit this summer? Leave a comment here to share with us and inspire other moms.
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