I’ve never asked a mom how she was doing and heard her respond with, “I’m really bored lately.”
Moms are busy.
And many put the needs of every other being in their home ahead of their own.
(Like, even the dog.)
Between their long to-do lists and the energy required to sweat vigorously, it is easy to see why workouts would continually get knocked to the bottom of our list of priorities.
Great news!
You don’t have to profusely sweat & burn and gasp for air, for it to be considered exercise. There is something called zone 2 cardio that is extremely useful and a lot more fun.
Zone 2 Workouts
Zone 2 is about 60-70 percent of your max heart rate. If you’re interested in knowing what your range is specifically, take (208 – your age x .7) x .6 (60%) for the lower range and .7 (70%) for the upper.
There’s no real need to be exact on this however. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, just exert enough effort that you are still able to carry on a conversation, but the breaths between sentences will be noticeable.
Multi-tasking During Workouts
I am one of those busy moms, too, so I’m a huge fan of multi-tasking when it makes sense. My favorite way to get the lower intensity cardio in is on the treadmill or bike while binging a show. (Right now, it’s Bosch.)
Another awesome way to do it though is scheduling a walk with a friend. Or walking the dog. I’m fit enough that if there are no hills, I might have to “wog” (my term for jogging so slowly it looks like a funny walk) here and there. Maybe I wog one block, then walk the next.
This is not as exhausting as higher intensity exercise. You will not be as prone to over-training or injuries either. It’s less intimidating and a lot more fun, so the adherence will also improve, which is in fact, the most important thing.
The higher intensity bouts work, but many are not willing to exert that much effort repeatedly.
Sometimes I look at the time I have available. If I have more time, I go long and slow. If I’m crunched for time, I try to push hard for maybe 30 seconds, then recover a bit for a minute.
Ideally, you mix it up, but truly, as long as you’re getting something in, you are doing great.
