Being a parent can be tough. Rewarding of course, but with so many responsibilities vying for your attention, it may be difficult to incorporate fitness into your life. It may take some work, but with these tips and a bit of persistence, you can absolutely stay fit, get stronger, and more healthy while balancing family life.
TIP #1 Consistency Trumps Perfection.
This is true for your diet and training. If you maintain a restrictive mindset with these things, you’ll stop enjoying doing them and inevitably fall off the wagon. Try following an 80/20 rule! Make 80% of what you eat a clean, unprocessed diet full of fruits, veggies, lean protein, etc. But 20% of the time you allow yourself something that you know you will crave later. Whether it’s a few crackers with your healthy meat and veggie soup, or a bite of chocolate with your morning coffee, it’s ok to splurge once in a while. Some people prefer to treat themselves by eating a whole meal (you may hear people refer to “cheat meals”), but I don’t like that mentality. I like to incorporate those “treats” into very small amounts throughout the dat, not whole meals.
When it comes to fitness and training, you don’t have to spend 2 hours in a gym to make progress. You can totally make great progress if you commit to just 30-60 minutes 3-5 times/week! Of course you should be training according to your goals, but a well-rounded fitness habit should include strength training & cardiovascular work (which doesn’t have to be running or biking btw). You can workout in a gym or at home and make progress. You may need to adapt to working out at home, but that’s doable! If you need accountability and help with training plans for home, we’ve got you covered – check out our online coaching group – The Strength Society for accountability, coaching and our training plans for at home (and the gym of course).
#2 Set REAL Goals, not just Aesthetics (looks) Goals.
Over and over we see people set just aesthetics goals. Regardless whether they reach them or not, they get burnt out and lose motivation to continue. Typically they end up back where they started because they can’t stick with their fitness routine. Have you been there? This is why you see people take up competitions and challenges because they lack REAL goals that create discipline and keep you motivated. Goals like…
- Moving with less pain
- Feeling more energized
- Being able to smash 10 pull ups
- Squat 1.5x their bodyweight
- Hike up a steep hill without getting out of breath
- Setting a good example for their kids
- Improving bloodwork
- Being able to run a mile nonstop without training for it
The list goes on and is specific to you. But once you stop focusing on the scale weight, how jiggly your belly is, how flabby your arms may be, etc, you’ll really start to create a fit LIFESTYLE instead of a temporary habit!! And that’s where you start to see true, long-lasting results.
THIS internal motivation is the true key to long term results and fitness as you change your mindset, you start really enjoying moving your body and challenging it to perform better! This internal motivation creates the mindset that makes habit building, discipline easier.
#3 Set Your Priorities, but also be Flexible.
Once you’ve truly dug into Tip #2, you’ll clearly see your main priorities. What’s more important? Sleeping in 30 more minutes or getting up to exercise? That’ll be an easy question to answer, and easier to stick to when you are doing it for YOU, not for how society has convinced how you should look!
At the end of the day, there will be times in your life when that extra 30 minutes of sleep is truly needed more than a workout. Or when there are family needs that take precedence. These are times when you should be kind to yourself, try to be as consistent as you can and focus on the things you enjoy about moving your body, not hitting performance goals or staying super rigid in your plan.
I get it! With baby #2 coming very soon, I’ll be there…focused on recovery, sleep and self care, but also mindful to keep moving my body & eating well most of the time because I know I feel better when I do.
It’s all about the long game, not short term thinking.
Need accountability and a great program to follow? Check out our app-based 6 mo training programs OR our online coaching group!
Amelia (& Alberto) @ Level Up Strength Society
For more information on our workout programs, coaching or to schedule a free Clarity Call with us, visit https://www.pdxstrengthsociety.com/.
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