Time for yourself is nonexistent when you’re a mom. The more children you have, the less me time you have. What I’ve discovered is a workout just isn’t going to happen unless it’s the very first thing you do each day. Mornings are for Mom. If your kids must wake by 7, you must roll out of bed at 6.
Working-out for me is not an option, it is a necessity.
I don’t want to waste one moment of my day with thoughts of self loathing. If you’re anything like me, if you’re not fit and haven’t worked out for the day, your mind fills itself with self loathing thoughts that distract you from living your life to the fullest.
I don’t need anymore distractions in life. I want to be focused and ready to live the life I want to live, thus, working-out for me is a consistent no-brainer routine. I never think about it, I just do it, no matter what (unless I’m sick).
I roll out of bed and put on my barefoot runners and off I go.
Do I ever feel like getting out of my bed in the morning? NO!
If I wait for the day I feel like jumping out of bed in the morning, I’ll never leave the bed.
It’s not about like or dislike. I work out because I have to stay healthy and sane, period. A morning workout is like brushing your teeth:
Don’t think about it, don’t complain about it, just do it! For me, the key is to get up 5 mornings a week (before my kids) and work out for at least a 1/2 hour, I recommend baby steps:
-Get up at least 1/2 hour before your kids on weekdays and do 1/2 hour of an activity that boosts muscle and cardio: hiking, biking, running, Zumba, spinning…whatever you can do.
-Once the routine is set and you’re getting up 5 mornings a week for 1/2h, no matter what, then you can add more baby steps to pump up the workout:
Increase work out time: add 20 minutes of weightlifting after your cardio or add more challenging cardio: run up hills, bike up hills, etc.
Once you’ve accomplished a month of 5 consistent morning workouts, no matter what, your life will be so much more fun–no more time wasted on distracting self-loathing thoughts. You can get busy doing what you want to accomplish in life.
For an example of how I pump up my workout in small ways (for both brain and body), I’ll leave you with a peak at the last part of my run in the mornings. I call it:
Running Meditation With Dogs
I like to challenge myself for about five minutes of my run. I run up the back of my mountain on a nature trail and then I run down the mountain on a road designed for cars. To give
my mind and balance a workout, I hop up on a cement meridian and run along it. It challenges my balance–I must run and hold onto my dogs lead, making sure I am focused and alert for any sudden lunges on the dogs’ part. It challenges my mind–I have to stay alert yet thought free and present 
in the moment or I’ll loose my balance and fall. I call this: my running meditation with dogs 😉
*Remember, if you ever feel unmotivated and that you’re the only fool on earth up running dark mornings through snow and ice, think again...you’re never alone, I’m there (maybe miles away) but I’m another fool working out before the dawn too.
Leave a Reply