February 11, 2013

How can I start a quick home exercise routine that will keep me healthy without taking up too much time? What is a back workout routine I can do to help with aches and pains? How can I exercise without equipment?

I know you are thinking, Cassidy, you have no idea what life as a mom is like, you don’t have kids! That is true, but unfortunately I do know a lot about having a busy schedule. I currently shoot part time for Plain Paper Box, work on this awesome blog with Kirstylee, post on my succulent blog, am working on starting a digital scanning business with my husband, and take care of meals, laundry, cleaning and other household duties. So… I don’t really have a lot of time for exercise.

I’m not the type of person that loves going to the gym. I am always up for athletic activities, especially volleyball, and enjoy playing dance games on the Wii or Kinect. But, that doesn’t really happen everyday. I’m pretty much at a computer or behind the camera 24/7. I don’t need to lose weight but I have been getting back pains and sore muscles from lack of exercise. I want to exercise but up until a few weeks ago I hadn’t found anything that I was committed to doing everyday.

I also don’t really have any exercise equipment so if I do an exercise program at home, the routine can’t involve anything that requires additional equipment. But, I have discovered that there are a lot of exercise plans for women out there that you can do at home without equipment.

So, my goal for the new year is to exercise at least 5 minutes everyday. Simple enough right? That may not seem like enough to do any good but I will tell you that it is. Plus, I figure if I can consistently do 5 minutes I can work my way up to more. I think it’s a good way to start for beginners like me.

I saw a pin on Pinterest a few weeks ago (I didn’t like the picture or website associated with it so I didn’t pin it) that had the following suggestion for exercising:

“Do this routine before every shower: 50 jumping jacks, 5 pushups, 20 crunches, 20 mountain climbers, and 30 second plank.”

 

I have been doing this for the last few weeks every time I shower, or first thing when I wake up in the morning. I also added this exercise to help improve posture. The whole routine takes 5-10 minutes and has really helped with my tense shoulders and back pains. I’m sure as I do it more I should add a few more reps of each thing, but that would be easy to do. (PS: In these photos I’m not wearing exercise clothes because I don’t usually! I’m usually in PJs or normal clothes)

Another thing I’ve done, and this was a year or two ago, was a program called 100 Pushups, 200 Sit Ups, and 200 squats. They’ve since added 150 dips and 25 pullups. I finished the whole program and could do over 100, 200 and 200 (respectively). I felt really good when I was doing that.

Kirstylee mentioned to me that she does a lot of the exercises on this website too. It is a very similar idea.

So, my advice, is to find something that works for you that you can do for just a few minutes a day before you shower. Even if I’m in a hurry I can squeeze in a few minutes of exercise before showering. If you have a certain area you want to work on, check google or pinterest for ideas of how to work that area. Then do that for a few minutes a day, everyday. I promise your body will feel so much better!

In case you missed it, another great post about being healthy is our 40 Healthy Meal and Snack Ideas for Moms!

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Tags: exercise, mom stuff, routine, workout