Many people think exercise means 60-90 minutes three times a week, at the gym or in a class. And it can be difficult to break out of that notion; it’s how most of us used to exercise before we had kids. Now, as a parent, you may have adopted an all or nothing mentality: you know it’s impossible to exercise as much as (or in the way) you once did, so you stop altogether.
One of my clients, Alyssa, mother to a two-year-old, struggled with weight and exercise for years. Prior to having a baby, she developed a healthy eating and exercise routine and lost 40 pounds. But once she became a mom — and her gym sessions became sporadic (at best) — she didn’t enjoy working out anymore. She felt defeated before she even began. What was the point of even trying, she wondered, if she knew that she was unlikely to make it back to the gym again until next month?
Here’s the big idea: Exercise still counts if you do it for less than an hour at a time. Live Science reported that 43 percent of people who participated in bouts of 10 minutes or less of physical activity, multiple times a day, met federal guidelines for being active. As it turns out, small increments of time can make a huge difference in your health, and you can fit them into your schedule in multiple ways:
High Intensity Interval Training (a.k.a. HIIT)
Interval training is popular because it trades duration for intensity. According to Dr. Geoffrey Colón,Professor of Health Promotion and Human Performance at Eastern Michigan University, you can convert any form of exercise into HIIT by alternating patterns as you work out. For example, walk, then sprint. In the pool, do a few easy laps of breaststroke, then pick up the pace doing the freestyle. On your bike, cruise at a calm pace, then power push up hill. Focus on the high intensity burst for 1-3 minutes followed by a lower intensity bout of 2-5 minutes. Studies have shown that this type of interval training can help people burn more fat and increase fitness levels even after just fifteen to 20 minutes of exercise.
You can find effective, guided workout routines that you can do from the comfort of your own home, without any equipment. Some fun examples to jumpstart your search include:
FitnessBlender.com, which offers free HIIT workouts that are as short as 5 minutes.
The scientific 7-Minute Workout — complete with a downloadable app
Informal Exercise (a.k.a. Mindful Movement) Informal exercise allows you to build fitness into your life simply by paying attention to your movement throughout the day. It doesn’t have to be “formal” or require you to set aside a big chunk of dedicated time apart from your kids. Try practicing mindful movement:
While walking around during the day
Pay attention to your posture
Walk from your core
Sit and stand mindfully, engaging quads, glutes, and biceps
While doing Errands & Chores
Take the stairs at the mall, your apartment building, the office
Stretch, bend, and squat while cleaning the house
Park in the spot furthest from the grocery store rather than battling to get a spot up front.
While playing with kids
Do deep knee bends or lunges when kneel down to talk to young kids
Race your kids to the bus
Play with your whole body
Make It Social
Lots of people prefer to work out on their own, but for many people, having an accountability partner can be the difference between following through or falling short of your goals.
My client Emma was a new mom who struggled with finding time to workout. For someone who had been committed to fitness before kids and throughout her pregnancy, not having time to regularly move her body was taking a toll on her mood at home and productivity at work. She didn’t feel like herself.
We discussed changing her mindset about what it means to exercise. She put weights and sneakers under the couch in her living room so that all she had to do was move the coffee table to start her workout. A 10 minute workout at home was more realistic than going to the gym to work out every day.
Emma recruited her friend Cindy to be her workout buddy. They organized a schedule of short workouts that they would both follow on Youtube every night between 7-7:30pm. They didn’t workout in the same space — Emma sweats it out in her living room, while Cindy gets active in her basement — but they made sure to text each other when they each finished. Just knowing Cindy is waiting for her text, makes Emma more likely to exercise.
Whether you’re able to find 2, 7, 15, or 30 minutes throughout the day, any level of physical activity is better than taking an all-or-nothing approach. Find a buddy, gather your resources, and walk mindfully toward your fitness goals for a happier, healthier you.