Busy Mom? Try Working Out From Home

By: Brendan Epps

Um, You Mean Mom, Right?
It’s funny sometimes, hearing “busy mom”--like someone saying “wet water” or “tasty chocolate”--they could save a word and just say “mom.” The busyness of taking care of yourself, work, family, friends, etc. can feel overwhelming.  It can be overwhelming.  The past couple of years forced us to rethink what we consider normal. Things like, “I have to go to the gym to get in shape” was no longer an option for some time. Thankfully, opportunities and resources came about to show us new ways to be. 

A busy mom’s physical fitness, different from physical appearance, is important to navigate life’s obstacle course. Regular exercise can help increase energy to meet the challenges of the day and help reduce stress and wind down at the end of the day…that happens right? 

What Can I do?
YMCA 360 is “Now available to all YMCA members…brings to life the people, places and programs of the Y, and brings membership full-circle.” With the convenience of working out from home, YMCA 360 also keeps YMCA friendships thriving virtually. There’s a series titled, “Quick workouts for Busy Days” with 9- to 33-minute video workouts ranging from a quick spin to focused yoga stretches and poses.

You can also workout with (or using) your kids. Reps of baby bicep curls with kisses at the top could be fun and with Mommy and Me style classes, or take advantage of that ever-fleeting ‘me’ time. Companies like Peloton grew in leaps and bounds offering at-home alternatives when gyms were closed; they continued to thrive as the convenience set in.

Break up the workday with regular walks around the house, or outside, to infuse energy. If you’re calling into a meeting and don’t need your computer, that may be a good time for a walking meeting, and a great way to unplug for a while.  

Safety at Home
Format doesn’t matter, but form does.  When working out at home, be mindful of tripping hazards, toys, household items, hubby’s wet towel…again, that wouldn’t be on the YMCA floor, at least not outside of Child Watch. I’ve stepped on enough Legos to imagine the pain of doing a burpee on them. Also, the temptation to pay less attention to form during an exercise or stretch at home is greater. Additionally, be mindful of distractions, especially, during intense exercises or workouts.

Make Time for You
The past few years have presented busy moms (ok, ok, moms) with options that weren’t previously available or feasible. Virtual access to classes and trainers made home workouts more possible and fun. We were also reminded that we can get exercise in ways other than just going to a gym. At the same time, the work/life/family adjustments have made it even more important to manage your wellness (and your “me time”) to be your best self, and best mom, you can be.

Confession time, I’m a dad. Part of the reason I'm writing this (as a dad) is to model diversity and inclusive thought, not having to be a mom to appreciate the challenges of being busy and filling multiple roles. Certainly there are specifics to being a mom and woman that I can't address, but empathy is the point. The reason for disconnects isn't gender, it's social norms and labels. Stereotypically the assumption is that a busy mom is a traditional “stay-at-home” mom or one who juggles an outside-the-home job while still bearing the bulk of child-raising. But fitness goals and paths are more similar than we think.  We can release stereotypes and social limitations to work together and live healthy lifestyles through understanding.

We can break free of the assumption that moms are busy because they’re the ones taking care of the kids.  Some moms are busy building careers or businesses, which doesn’t take away from them as moms. Many, if not most, who are working traditional jobs are super busy because the expectation is that they work those jobs and still fill the traditional mom roles, which is a challenge on a normal day and even more so if dads aren’t engaged parents. As a society, it is becoming more normal for dads to feel the pressures of, and take a bigger role in, balancing work and family.