TLTR: Integrate physical activity in small 5-10 minute micro bursts throughout your day while performing other activities (playing/watching your children, cooking dinner, during TV commercials/in between streaming episodes, etc.) Working out doesn’t need to be in a gym where you have 1-1.5 hrs to dedicate to an elliptical machine.
Every busy parent has been there. Between project deadlines, meetings, work trips, spending time with your child, social obligations, and housework, you’ve stopped working out. You’ve snacked a little bit more than you should and you’ve sat at a desk a lot more than you should. Your metabolism is slowing down as you enter your 30s (and beyond) and you’ve settled into the dreaded ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ bod. I’m all for having a positive body image but I don’t know about you, I want to make sure I am healthy enough to live a nice long life to be able to be there for my kids and (hopefully someday in the distant future) grand kids. I want to be able to run, lift, and play with my kids for as long as humanly possible. I want to be able to have a nice long retirement where I am active enough to get down on the floor and play with those future grand kids. I only want to see the inside of a hospital if it’s for the only joyful reason to be in a hospital: meeting a new member of the family. If we’re being really honest, losing a few pounds will probably improve our sex lives with our partners ;). The simplest ways are typically to divide and conquer with your partner (one has the kids while the other works out a couple times a week) or to work out during your lunch break. But what if you don’t want to miss those precious few hours each with your kids or have even less time in a post Covid19 world. What if you are feeling squeezed for time, overworked and underappreciated – how are you supposed to fit in time for the gym? Who in this crazy over-scheduled world has time to fit in hours and hours each week to dedicate specifically to exercise?
How Much Activity do I Need?
Most experts say that you need to have ~ 150 minutes of aerobic activity and perform a couple days a week of strength training. That’s over 3-4 hours per week of dedicated exercise time! Our motivated, childless peers can dedicate workout time at set points throughout the week while you feel like you are working 14-16 hrs. per day without a chance to hit the gym.
Most of us are conditioned to think that exercise only takes place inside a sweaty gym or dedicated time to just run (or walk, bike, swim, etc.) We are conditioned to think that because advertisements for the latest workout equipment or the fanciest gym membership tell us that exercise has to be separate from the rest of our life (and charge us $49.99/mo. for the privilege). Well we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way. The simple secret: integrate working out with other tasks throughout the day and do micro bursts of activity.
How to Optimize your Physical Activity with Kids
Take this scenario for example:
Your children are running wild all over a public playground. Maybe (pre-Covid) they make fast friends with other random children and are fully engaged giving the average parent a few minutes to take a break, sit down on a bench and check your socials or get out that one last email before you have to go home and make dinner.
Instead, take a few minutes and do some pushups, pull ups (yes … on the pull up bar integrated into the playground) or do some lunges or squats. Maybe instead you play tag with your child running all around the playset. By choosing to be physical while your kids are being physical, you kill two birds with one stone. You are choosing to truly multitask: watching/playing with your kids AND working out.
But what about the embarrassment from other parents judging you? Who cares if it means you are healthier and happier in both the short and long term. If someone shoots you a weird glance or makes a comment, a quick “it’s the only time I have to workout today/this week” is all that’s needed.
How about this one:
You are cooking dinner. Your kids are playing with your partner/homework/reading/playing (or watching TV). You’ve already prepped the meal, the chicken is in the oven, table set, the veggies are cut/cooked, and the rice is simmering. You have 5 or 10 minutes before everything is cooked and the family is called for dinner. What do you do? Do you spend 5 or 10 minutes on your phone? Do you just zone out as you watch the evening news? Instead, try doing some squats in front of the stove while you are stirring whatever is for dinner. Or maybe you do a wall sit for 45 seconds. Or you do some planks for a few minutes. I guarantee that you can get your quads/core burning from body weight exercises before that chicken is fully cooked.
Or this one:
If your young children are playing ‘pretend’, how about you pretend to be a horse and have then get on your back. After a minute of crawling around on the carpet, do 5-20 pushups with them holding on to your neck/back. If they are anything like my kids they’ll love it as they bob up and down on your back. If you have a toddler, you could also play sit up peak-a-boo where they sit/stand on your feet/legs and when you complete a sit up you uncover your face with a ‘peak-a-boo’. Or if the weather is nice, race your child so you can get some sprints in. Even get into the habit of a family walk a few times per week. Threes also the option that when your older child is practicing for his/her sport, you practice with them and perform similar drills for yourself.
Or my favorite:
Disable the auto streaming feature on Netflix/Amazon/Disney+ etc. and get off the couch to do a set or reps of your favorite exercise (pushups, sit ups, squats, curls, whatever) before you click ‘Play next Episode’.
Lastly:
You are at work. Instead of taking that conference call sitting down, if you can, put in the earbuds and pace around your room/office. Get the blood flowing by walking vs. just sitting. Or when you have that 5 minute break between meetings, do some squats in your office with the door shut or, if you are working remote, have a set of weights right next to your desk and do a quick set.
Catch the idea? The trick is to find activities that you can truly multitask and get some physical activity in while you can, even if it’s only a few minutes at a time. You don’t need to dedicate hours each day to drive to the gym in special workout clothes only to miss your kid’s dance recital or big game (back pre-covid when that was a thing). Just pick some basic exercises or activities you learned to do as a kid and start doing them again. Is doing all these micro exercises throughout the week going to get you a six pack or have you win a body building contest? Probably not. But they will help you lose those 5 (or 10) pounds without sacrificing hours of your week that you don’t have to give. Even if you don’t shed that mom/dad-bod, you will be stronger and healthier to be there for the people who matter the most: yourself and your family.