5 Really Good Reasons Why Busy Moms Should Workout

Hey my friends at Living the Sweet Wife!

I’m going to be really honest with you. Sometimes my husband works late. And when he does, I get lonely. But I do believe there’s an upside to many things. The upside to my husband working late and me having a restless attitude is that I actually get things done for the blog here! Seriously, when he’s home, I get nothing done. It’s cute, really. When we’re home together, he just wants to spend all our time together. So really, I’m pretty lucky to have some nights of loneliness and others where I can’t break away. I love him.

In other news… 

If you’re subscribed to my email list, you’ll have gotten the announcement that my brand new eBook for engaged and married couples is coming out April 1st! I’ve changed the name from what I called it in my email though. I thought my first ideas was kinda… blah… So now the name for the book will be Repurposed Marriage: your marriage is more than a relationship. I am so excited for this to become available for you guys! Sign up for the mailing list to get a FREE chapter of the book and to get updates on its release! Remember: April 1st!

Anyway,

What I wanted to talk to you guys tonight is why I make time to work out as a working mom, and why I think you should too.

Before we jump in, I would like to make it St. Thomas’s aqua colored water clear (we’re going there in a week, can you tell I’m excited) that I have a huge respect for both working and stay at home mamas! I’ve been in both roles and each one is extremely difficult for its own reasons. Being a stay at home mom, you feel frustration of never being able to fully dedicate your mind to a single task paired with being extremely needed from the hours of 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. (or whenever your kids are up (for those of you feeling frustrated with your kids for never being able to get anything done, read this post by Catherine Clair Larsen, it changed how I view my day of “interruptions”). And working moms struggle with being pulled in what feels like 100 different directions between work, friends, kids, husbands, possibly paired with guilt for not being with their kids during the day (at least that’s how I felt).

Either way, no matter how many directions you’re being pulled in the moment here are several reasons why it’s so so so so important to make time to exercise regularly:

Your health

I could probably think of 27 sub points for why a busy mom’s health could and should motivate her to workout. But I’ll just list a couple…

Because you don’t want to have a heart attack

At the age of 40. Keep the blood pumping through your veins and they’re less likely to get clogged!

To keep up with your kids

And not get tired nearly as often. Kids usually want to be held when you’re already holding something. Or 3 things. Make it a bit easier on yourself by strengthening your muscles so you don’t get worn out as quick.

You’ll pay less for medical bills

Hey, keeping it healthy doesn’t just pay off at the beach. You’ll save time and money avoiding unwanted medical treatments simply by eating well and taking a short time out of your day for exercise.

Endorphins

Here’s a definition I got for the word Endorphins:

“Endorphins are morphine-like chemicals produced by the body that help diminish pain while triggering positive feelings.They’re sometimes referred to as the brain’s “feel-good” chemicals, and are the body’s natural painkillers. Endorphin is a combination of the words “endogenou” (produced within the body) and ‘morphine.’ […] Research suggests that exercise helps to improve mood and may even aid in the treatment of depression.”

In other words…

Me-time

I so so love that more and more gyms are starting to offer childcare these days!! The childcare at the gym we attend is great, I know the workers’ names, they know my son’s name, and he is always happy when I pick him up. He actually gets excited when I tell him we need to get in the car to go play with the kids.

Because I’m able to get an hour away, I really allows me to feel like I’ve gotten some time during the day to myself. Which is especially huge to me, being a big introvert. Even though the gym is full of people, I can easily manage to do my own thing and not have to talk to anyone for that hour if I don’t want to. When we leave the gym, even though my muscles are tired, I feel refreshed and energized and way more willing to give my son the attention that he needs at home.

Confidence

After my son was born, I weighed 40 lbs over my “normal” weight. Although I knew I had a pretty good excuse, I dreaded going in public for the first couple weeks because I didn’t want anyone to ask me, “When’s the baby due?!” I was in a very sensitive place so I probably would have punched them in the face. Anyway, in that time of being heavier I knew I had a pretty good excuse, and I pretty much thought, “Well, the weight is probably going to come off eventually. This is probably as good as it’s going to get right now.”

So with that “It is what it is” attitude, I frumped about for several months, kind of just trying to ignore the extra weight, not really caring enough to do anything about it like (like exercise or eating well), and wearing a little more makeup to try and “feel” pretty. And that was about it. After 6 months or so, I began to realize that my “good excuse” of having a baby wasn’t as relevant as it used to be, and I started to get motivated.

I started off by just running a few days a week. Then I eventually switched over to more weight training, and getting my cardio through that. I started to weigh more, but look way better than I ever had- in my life. (Read why I made the switch from a cardio-only routine to strength training). Along with switching to strength training, Josh and I decided to cut out sugar from our diets (that’s when we really started to notice a difference). We are both so glad we made these lifestyle changes. Although we still have goals, we are finally actually happy with how we look physically. It give us confidence to be able to do more in life, in the gym, wherever!

You’ll actually be MORE productive

We all know and love the Saturdays where we can sleep till 10, enjoy our cup of coffee, and read a good book. Oh yeah, that’s right. We used to before kids. Nowadays I’m up at 7 anyway (if I’m lucky) and I find myself with a choice, groggily allow myself to wake up over the course of an hour, or get my groggy butt in the car and wake up at the gym. I mean, I’m up anyway, might as well put that first hour to work.

Besides getting an amazing jumpstart to your day, getting a workout in in the morning wakes up not just my body, but my mind, and gets me pumped to knock crap off my to do list for that day. It pretty ironic how that works! By setting aside extra time in the day to workout, I actually get myself motivated and ready to do more.

Also read: How to Make Working Out a Habit When You’re too Busy and Unmotivated

That’s it mamas! I hope these reasons give you the motivation you need to start making working out a habit! Do it for yourself, do it for your family. There’s no way you’ll regret it!

What’s your motivation you get to the gym??? What are some #fitnessgoals you have for this year? Let me know in the comments below and share this with your workout partner!

Love you guys!