5 Days of Frugal Fitness

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What would you do if you found out you could miss out on $1 million dollars because of your fitness level (or lack thereof)? You would get off your duff & exercise, right? I was confronted with that fact about 2 years ago, just after discovering I was pregnant. After fighting just to get through my pregnancy and spending a good month recovering from it, we came to the decision that it wasn’t wise to get pregnant again until I was healthy again.

It was like a sucker-punch to the gut to think my baby boy might be my last baby (which is worth way more than $1 million, BTW). And having my back out–again!–for nearly a month was the last straw. It was time to make a change.

I had to make the time. And so do you. I don’t care what your obligations are. I have 3 kids under 6, homeschool, work in our business part-time, write for my blog and contribute to 3 blogs and a magazine. I know what busy is. But you need to MAKE the time.

Let Things Go

I’ve really been changed by Crystal Paine’s book Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. Even my husband mentioned he’s noticed a change in the last 6 months. I’ve worked to eliminate the unnecessary and clear the margins. And now I need to make room for exercise?

Yep. Lots of it. My trainer wants me to aim for strength training 3 times a week. So other things have to go. What’s the easiest thing to let go of in order to be healthy? Well, in my house, it’s cleaning. I eternally struggle with it & hate it. And you know what? Bones is so glad to see me exercising again that he’s picking up some of my slack.

Talk with your husband about freeing up some of your responsibilities either by delegating it to the kids, having him pitch in, or hiring something out. Maybe a curriculum that is a little less teacher-intensive would help. Might an outside class for art or music be helpful? What about a mother’s helper to do light cleaning & watch the youngest a few times a week while you exercise & do your work? How can you relieve your workload to MAKE the time for fitness?

Have some ideas and a plan to pay for it, if necessary. But be open. Many times Bones has had an idea that sounded ridiculous & impossible until I spent a few days wrapping my brain around it. They usually work out much better than my idea would have.

Anticipate Obstacles

For brief periods, I consider myself a runner. In Michigan, I get to run for about 5 months of the year. Because I take all my kiddos with me, I require that it be at least 55 outside. And I only do it in my non-pregnant summers, so it’s every 3 years.

Knowing that its cold & snowy for 7-9 months a year, I have to anticipate common obstacles.

Weather

While I have an ideal time of day & temperature to exercise outside in, I have often checked to see if it was supposed to get warm or clear up. I might flip-flop my strength training & running days for the week. Or I might opt to wait until hubby gets home so only *I* get cold & wet :). Or hot & sweaty, depending. For winter, my plan involves other cardio (like DVD’s & the wii) because the treadmill makes me dizzy.

Sickness

If it’s me, I wait until I get better. If it’s the kids, it depends how sick & how many :). Sometimes I will wait for hubs or get up early (if I’m not up all night). I may do a 20 minute DVD or even 3 10-minute circuits. Or I may just sit & cuddle my poor little sick babe. That’s a call for you to make.

Pregnancy

Easy. Keep doing what you are doing.

Seriously, if you’ve been doing it, in most cases, there is no reason not to continue. With #2, I strength trained until about 3 weeks before delivery. When she dropped, it was too uncomfortable to continue. Runners can run quite pregnant as well. Check with your midwife/OB, but most times, it’s not a problem. Scale back when you need to, modify when it doesn’t feel right, and work with a professional if it makes you more comfortable.

 

Now that you’ve MADE the time & anticipated obstacles, we will talk about making a plan tomorrow.

 

 

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Check out these 5 Days of… posts from other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew:

Nicole @ Journey to Excellence ~ Missouri
Dusty @ To the Moon and Back ~ Babywearing
Kristi @ The Potter’s Hand Academy ~ Spring Studies
Jennifer @ Royal Little Lambs ~ Essential Oils
Annette @ A Net in Time ~ Science
Meg @ Adventures with Jude ~ Homeschooling from the Kitchen
Lori @ At Home: where life happens ~ Favorite Books
Tauna @ Proverbial Homemaker ~ A Christ-Centered Home

You can see all the posts in the 5 Days of Frugal Fitness series here.   Come back tomorrow to find out about making a well-rounded fitness plan.

Jen S.

 

 

 

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by | 6 Comments

6 Comments on 5 Days of Frugal Fitness – Making the Time

  1. Kristi
    9 April 2014 at 9:30 AM (11 years ago)

    I think making time is frankly the HARDEST thing about fitness. I just learned that my city is in the top 10 in the US for fattest cities… it’s EASY to make excuses when everyone around you is as out of shape as you are. (As an ironic sidenote… I live across the street from a major US Army base. Yeah.) Thanks for this great post!
    Kristi´s last blog post ..5 Days of Spring Studies: Fairies and Gnomes

    [Reply]

    jen Reply:
    April 9th, 2014 at 11:11 AM

    It totally is! In fact, I hired a trainer to make my routines for me because I just don’t have the energy to create the plan AND overcome my obstacles AND make the time.

    Thanks for the comments!!

    [Reply]

  2. Tauna
    7 April 2014 at 10:18 PM (11 years ago)

    Thanks for the tips! This is definitely something I need ideas and inspiration on. Looking forward to following along!

    [Reply]

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