I prefer to do my workouts at the gym and I still go as much as I can. However, now that I’m a new mom I don’t get to go as often as I’d like – so that means I have to squeeze in many of my workouts at home. I always thought babies slept a lot and took many naps – so I figured there would be plenty of time for me to fit in workouts as a new mom. Right? Not quite. My baby takes 2-3 naps a day….but they are never longer than 30 minutes! 30 minutes?! That’s barely enough time for me to warmup, much less melt off this body fat! So, what is a new mom to do? Well, I’ve been working out 30 minutes at a time 2-3 times a day! It kinda sucks getting into the groove and then having to stop and wait another few hours before I can finish, so what I’ve found that works is to break up my workouts into 2 or 3 parts so that I get to finish each section and get a sense of completion and accomplishment. I do lower body, upper body and then core and cardio.
This concept can work great for others that just don’t have enough time to fit in workouts either due to family, your job, travel schedule, etc. You can do these workouts all together too – if you have time. In about 25min (after warming up) you should be able to get in about 3-4 sets of each exercise in the circuit. Here is a sample of my 3 x 30 minute daily workout:
Start each of these with a short warmup (ie. a few jumping jacks, step-touches, jog in place, short brisk walk around the house, etc).
30 Minutes Lower Body (weights optional)
- 30 squats
- 20 elevated lunges on each leg (prop up your back leg on a sturdy chair, step, etc. that is about knee high)
- 20 hamstring bridges on each leg + 30 crunches
- 30 sumo squats (squats with toes pointing outward)
- 1-minute wall sit (keep back up against a flat wall and your legs at 90 degrees with knees over ankles)
*Repeat this circuit as many times as you can in 30 minutes.
30 Minutes Upper Body (2 dumbbells or or a resistance band)
- 20 pushups (or how ever many you can do with good form)
- 20 shoulder presses
- 20 bicep curls
- 20 bent over rows
- 20 overhead triceps extensions with both weights (or you can do kickbacks)
*Repeat this circuit as many times as you can in 30 minutes.
30 Minutes Core & Cardio (no equipment)
- 20 jump squats (land soft with knees bent)
- 20 reverse crunches (legs in the air – lift hips up)
- 20 burpees
- 20 side plank dips on each side
- 30 seconds high knees
*Repeat this circuit as many times as you can in 30 minutes.
If you only have 30 minutes TOTAL – try this workout instead.
