Many would say that being a mom is a full-time job with much more responsibility than your standard 9-5 office work. And those people would be absolutely correct – while taking care of children is always a special time in a parent’s life, it’s no secret that it’s also exhausting work that literally never stops; you have to be “on call” 24/7, especially if you’re a busy mom that’s trying to balance a career with family life.
The great thing about exercise is that it doesn’t only help us lose weight or look better, it’s also extremely beneficial for our mental health as it allows us to forget the daily stress and instead focus on just performing different types of movements – a kind of rest that most moms need after taking care of the home, the children and doing some extra work.
In this short article, we will show you a simple but effective strength training workout that’s perfect for busy moms and will help you maintain physical activity while not taking up much time.
The Best Strength Training Workout for Busy Moms
Any food strength training workout should consist of basic yet effective movements that challenge the main muscle groups in the body, and ours is no different. We will be performing squats (use 7mm sleeves if you’re having knee issues), hip thrusts, lunges, planks, and push-ups, but we will do all that in a combined cross-training style workout that gets the heart going and your lungs struggling.
The great thing about this workout is that it can be done both at home with minimal weights and also at the gym with increased weight for more difficulty – that way, you can choose which variation to do, depending on how much free time you have and whether you can go to a fitness center.
This is a circuit workout, and your goal will be to perform four full circuits as quickly as possible without compromising proper form and technique. The order of the exercises is as follows:
10-12 Squats
The squat is an incredibly effective lower body exercise that trains all muscle groups of the legs – you should aim to perform it with proper form, keeping the heels firmly on the ground and lowering as if you’re trying to sit in a chair with you back neutral, chest upright and core activated. Once you’re down, you must push through your heels and extend to the starting stance, squeezing your glutes as you reach the top.
15-20 Supermans
A challenging exercise for your entire posterior chain (the muscles in the back of your body), Superman is a great way to build strength in the back, glutes, and hamstrings. To perform them, you have to lay down on the mat with your arms extended and elbows bent at 90 degrees – from there. You should lift your body from the floor, squeezing as you lift and relaxing as you lay back down.
16 Walking Lunges
Another effective exercise for the lower body that targets the glutes and the hamstrings. You can add extra weight by taking two dumbbells or opt for body weight when you don’t want that big of a challenge. To perform a proper lunge, you must stand with feet hip distance apart, take one step forward until your ankle is bent at a 90-degree angle, bend down, get back up, and take a step with the other leg, repeating the same movement.
10-12 Push-Ups
A must-do upper body exercise that forces you to work the chest and arms while maintaining an engaged core. You start by placing your palms on the floor, below your shoulders, body in a neutral position – a straight line from head to heel, much like a high plank. Then, you bend at the elbows to lower the chest toward the ground while keeping your elbows tight to your torso. Press your hands into the ground as you push up to the starting position.
15-20 Sit-Ups
Let’s work the core by laying on the mat with our feet bent at the knees and our backs firmly placed on the ground. From here, you want to raise the upper half of your body until you reach the knees and then slowly lower down.
1 Minute Plank
To finish the circuit, let’s do one minute of the good old plank. Place your palms beneath your elbows and press down on the floor, maintaining a neutral body position and keeping the heels together. Hold for one minute. (to make it more challenging, go down on your elbows).
Strength Training Workout: In Conclusion
As you can see, it’s possible to get a good strength training workout in, even as a busy mom – our proposal won’t last more than 30-40 minutes, and it doesn’t require any additional equipment, so you can do it both at home or in the gym depending on which option you have the time for.