8 Tips for Back-To-School Fitness Success

bACK TO SCHOOL FITNESSThe dog days of summer are slowly coming to an end and the backpacks and school supplies are right around the corner. In one sense, it’s a relief. The kids will be in school and there will be quiet around the house again (unless you have toddlers or babies at home like I do).  But we all know it’s not that easy. With the school year comes the added stress of homework, extracurricular activities, making lunches, and waking up early.

For some of us this might also be time to get back into the swing of a workout routine that we strayed from during the summer.  As a mom, it’s hard enough to keep up with exercise without all the added stress thrown in.  Here are eight tips to help you stay on track and maintain your sanity throughout the craziness of back-to-school season.

1. Plan Ahead to Stick to that Exercise Routine

It’s important that you are prepared for your workouts. If not you’ll find it’s really easy to end up skipping them. The first step is to take a look at your schedule and see where you can squeeze those workouts into your day. By choosing a time to work out, you’ll be more likely to stick to your workout program. And remember an effective workout can be done in 30 minutes or less.

2. Lay your workout clothes out the night before

This saves you time and is an awesome reminder before you leave the house to make sure you work out. You can also have a gym bag in the car as a constant reminder.

3. Use Fast Effective Workouts

Be sure to get the most out of your workouts by using circuit training, compound movements, and interval training, which will all help you save time in the long run.


4. Find Something You Enjoy

If you pick a form of exercise and you absolutely hate it, chances are you won’t stick with it. On the other hand, if you find an activity you enjoy you’ll be a little more excited about working up a sweat. So if you hate running, don’t do it. There’s plenty of other ways to get in cardio such as biking, swimming, or taking a fitness class. Also, by participating in a variety of different activities it will help keep you from getting bored.

5. Wear a Pedometer or Fitness Tracker

A pedometer or fitness tracker is a great way to be more active every day. Most experts recommend getting 10,000 steps each day.  By having a goal, such as reaching those 10,000 steps, it’ll motivate you to walk more.

6. Make exercise your “Me time”

Sometimes parents forget to take time out for themselves. Exercising is the perfect opportunity to focus on “you,” because it sends endorphins throughout the body while relieving stress.   You wouldn’t skip out on a massage, so why not give exercise that same priority?

7. Consider Hiring a Personal Trainer or Accountability Coach

If you still have problems getting in a workout  you could consider hiring a personal trainer.  However the reality is that personal training is expensive and most of us cannot afford it. Instead consider an Accountability Coach.  What is that you ask??  Basically a coach that supports and motivates while providing exercise and diet guidance virtually for a quarter of the price of a personal trainer. Interested, shoot me a message, let’s talk accountability! 😉

8. Include Your Kids

Watching TV and playing video games shouldn’t be the typical family activities.  Instead, get up and move around. It could be practicing a sport, going for a bike ride together, or playing on the playground, whatever activity you choose, be sure to include the whole family.

Remember,

Don’t let Facebook and Instagram photos or updates of perfect moms fool you. Taking care of kids and keeping up with exercise is not easy or glamorous. There are days when the last thing I want to do is put on my running shoes or pick up a weight.

The key is to remember its not just about fitness or loosing weight,  it’s about a healthy lifestyle.  It’s about being an active role model for our kids, because  they are going to copy us …so we should be worth imitating.

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53 thoughts on “8 Tips for Back-To-School Fitness Success

  1. hal says:

    i always lay out my stuff the night before – if i don’t work out early in the morning i can’t do it at all & every little bit helps when you get up that early – i also like to sign up for classes so that theres a level of accountability – if you don’t go you still get charged so it’s an incentive for me to drag myself out of bed!

    • VenusFitness-Shannon says:

      I was a early morning exerciser too until my babe came. I’ll be back at it one day. Yes class are great for accountability. That could be tip #9!

  2. sian says:

    YES! We often forget that it is more about the healthy lifestyle than losing the lbs. Making healthy habits for life is far better than short term plans.

  3. Ashley says:

    I always lay my clothes out the night before. If I don’t I won’t work out. And I love the tip about including your kids into your program. I don’t have kids, but I do try to use the accountability part with my boyfriend, instead of including kids I include him.

  4. the sophia diaries says:

    I’ve become a gym rat, and i found the reason it is is because I consider it me-time as a time to destress and forget about everything around me! these are great tips for sure!

  5. Natasha says:

    So many great tips! I will definitely be incorporating a lot of them to help me get back on the right track for my fitness routine.

  6. Charmaine says:

    I agree with you about making the “me time” for having an exercise. At least you won’t have any excuses at all. 🙂 But hopefully, it will work for me. Thanks for the tips.

    • VenusFitness-Shannon says:

      It really is. I find getting up 30min early until your use to it then adding another 15-30 until you are comfortable with your desired wake up time

  7. Shell says:

    I really like your idea to get a fitness tracker… I think it will definitely keep me on the right track of getting more exercise on a daily basis….

  8. Elizabeth O says:

    Nice. It is very important that we are aware of the things we do. Our kids are watching us. They are going to emulate our good examples and it will build them to become a good person in the future.

    • VenusFitness-Shannon says:

      Congrats how exciting! Don’t rush getting back into shape too much use those first months to recover and bond with your babe. The fitness will come in time.

  9. Shell says:

    Including your kiddos and exercising as a family is wonderful! I walk 30 min with my little boy daily and we also swim 4-6 times a week.

  10. Maria says:

    I’d love to work out in the morning, but I’m just not a morning person. Thanks so much for the tips, I really needed to read all this once again even though I already knew it.

  11. Tita Pacita says:

    Haha I love the final tip about not getting carried away with seemingly perfect IG moms! I also find quick exercise routines effective, easier to maintain on a regular basis 🙂 Keep the tips coming!

    • VenusFitness-Shannon says:

      It’s so true about not getting caught up comparing yourself to those Instagram moms. My girlfriend recently put me on blast for this regarding my latest blog post, because my images were too Pinteresty. I had to post what my real fruit rollup look like. check it out on my Facebook page. ?http://ow.ly/TOoS30eB4vF

  12. Helen says:

    Great tips! I wear my Fitbit every day, helps me track my steps, sleep (quality sleep is important) and calories. That plus sticking to a mostly high protein diet does the trick for me 🙂

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