I can’t believe I have been a momma for a month now! Crazy right? I am loving every minute of it! True, it has not been easy to get in everything that I normally did in a day, but RJ is such a good baby and is just doing her thing. I am more than ever putting things aside to be with her.
I thought I would share some thoughts on what my “fitness life†has been like now that I am a mom.
I was able to get back at it really early because I didn’t have to let my body recover from child-birth, but I still had a newborn in the house. Also having Hubby home on paternity leave has been a huge blessing. After a couple of weeks into motherhood, my MIL came in to help us for two weeks as well. Needless to say, it hasn’t been too difficult to get in my training rides, runs and GPP workouts.
I have a little over two weeks until my Iron Girl Vegas Olympic Triathlon and one week until my Temecula Half Marathon and then no more races until January. I needed these races to keep me motivated to run and ride, but honestly I just can’t get in the pool!
I know if I only get in the pool one more time before my Tri that I will be fine because I am not trying to win it! My mindset is so much different these days about getting my workouts in. I can’t wait to do these workouts because it really does help refresh my soul, but now I am rushing home so I can be with my baby girl!
After my races are over, I want to continue to get out and move each day. Not just for me… but so that I can be fit, healthy and well enough to be the best Mom and Wife that I can be. That is my Number One Priority.
So let’s talk about reality when the Hubs goes back to work! I am honestly a little scared. I know that everything will be fine, but it will be a huge adjustment.
Fitness was and is a huge priority for me and I knew that as soon as I became a mom that I would have to shift my priorities a lot! I am also training clients five times a week and still keeping my personal training business running. Thank goodness that most of my clients are early mornings and late afternoons so that RJ and I have our time to ourselves during the day.
So where does that leave room for me to get a workout in? How will I balance it all?!
So I decided for me the best thing to do is to get some kind of weekly schedule down for workouts, even if it’s a walk daily with RJ. Now this schedule has all kinds of flexibility and will not always (really probably never) pan out the way I plan it. However, I am such the planner type personality that it will ease some of my anxiety in keeping my priorities in line.
PLAN AND TIPS:
Workout Buddy: I have found that a workout buddy that can do super early mornings with me or later in the afternoons! This will help keep me motivated!
Keep It Simple: After my races are over, I am sticking to doing GPP five times a week because those workouts are short and sweet but still giving me the best workout! I may go running or cycling here and there though.
Keep It Fun: If I can’t get in my planned workout then I will make it a habit to walk RJ daily alone or with a friend. Just need to get out!
Set A Goal: Even though I won’t be running a race after this month or planning on doing any big races until Boston, I will still set a goal to do workouts throughout the week. I think goal setting is a BIG part of success and if I have a goal for the week written down, even when life gets crazy, I can look at my plan and stay focused.
It Takes A Village: Making time for the Hubby and I to get out and bike ride together is something that we used to love to do and plan on still doing. Obviously not as much until RJ can sit in a bike trailer, but we have some pretty amazing friends and family that can’t wait to watch her and help us out when we need it. So we plan on getting in at least one bike ride a month together and letting a friends/family watch her for a couple hours.
Who Cares: Letting go of my expectations is huge in this season of my life. Putting myself third to my husband and daughter is something that I will be challenged with. Fitness is great and it will help me to be a good wife and mother, but I am letting go of some of the expectations I once had in my “fitness lifeâ€. My time is WAY more important now and I don’t want to let working out steal any of it. I want the workout to serve me well in the 30 minutes that I set aside (pushing myself) and then soak up life to the fullest the other 17.5 hours that I am up.
Questions:
What are some of your biggest obstacles trying to balance fitness and your life?
Are they obstacles or excuses?
Comments
9 responses to “Fit Mom: Shifting My Priorities”
I get all my runs during the week in before work (I usually come in at 9:30 so that helps!). I try to go to yoga several times a week after work, too.
YOUR BABY GIRL IS SO CUTE. That picture is beyond adorable! Congrats!
you will do great. short but effective workouts. your priorities shift but it’s for a better cause. Move each day and enjoy your motherhood. i believe in YOU!
Early mornings for me…
Having two kids at two different places, working during the day, finding time to train others because that’s my passion then taking care of my family; it’s a balancing act for sure. You get used to it, you learn to sacrifice little things, you know it’s all worth it when your kids appreciate and love you and you KNOW you’re a good mom. I let my kids workout or be with me if that’s the only option. And guess what? They love it. They are learning good habits early and I get to have my workout time as well. I struggled with it for a looooong time but have learned to adjust and make it work because it is important to take care of myself. If we don’t take care of ourselves how can we take care of others?
Love these great comments by other busy moms!
We have a similar schedule to COCO but it’s flipped–we work out in the morning. We have a 14 month old so we set our alarm for 5:30ish so that we can workout (treadmill or Insanity for me, running outside for my husband) and shower before the baby wakes up at 6:45ish. Once baby is up, my husband dresses him and then takes the dog for a walk. I try to put the finishing touches on getting ready while the baby plays in our room. I take him to school, we both go to work, I pick him up at 5:10 and we’re home by 5:30. Dinner for baby starts at 6, followed by bath and pjs and nighttime story and prayertime. Hubby handles that while I make dinner! Dinner is served at 7pm and we have the night to ourselves before bed at 9:30 (we’re such old people). I also manage to squeeze some workouts in during the day as I teach 2 spin classes a week at work (I work at a University). It’s a balance but those little faces + being a healthy wife and mom makes it all worth it:)
sounds like a great plan! love your attitude about shifting priorities and finding ways to make things work. having a workout buddy for us is key 🙂
I have always had the problem of comparing myself to my husband. He is a sub-elite marathon runner trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials, while I LOVE LOVE LOVE to run I used to always compare myself and his mileage to mine. It has taken me a while, but I have finally come to realize that I’m not going to be like him and that’s OK I can still be an awesome runner without doing as much as him!
Oof. This one is hard. Since hubs and I both work full time, I feel like it’s a constant balancing act. Our typical day looks like this:
6:30- Hubs and baby are up. Feed baby while hubs gets ready for work.
7:00-Hubs leaves and I get ready with baby (hard!).
8:15- leave the house. Drop off baby at daycare
4:30- hubs picks up baby
6:00 I’m off work and I race home to be with family. Baby goes to bed around 7:15 so not a lot of time together. But we make it count.
7:30 baby asleep, make dinner
8:30- dinner settles, have time to do quick workout. Insanity, treadmill running, anything I can do at home.
9:30-10 we’re in bed! It’s hard to make time for everything but I’m learning everyday. I truly see the lack of time as an obstacle, not an excuse. If I want a strong marriage, some other things have to be let go. If I want to fit in working out, a clean house and laundry has to be let go a bit. It’s all a balance but I do wonder what I did with all that free time when I had it!
Need a late night accountability partner? I’m in Yucaipa too! 🙂
COCO I love this! I may hit you up for that late night workout buddy:)
Seriously… my prime working out period is 8:30 – 9:30pm. Sometimes even 9-10pm. Make it work!