SAHM fitness

I do my workouts when my little guys are taking a nap. I have to make ME time- I think it's very important for us stay at home moms. When my husband is able to watch our boys for an hour, I'll walk outside. Last night it was 30 something degrees, but I put on a thick sweater and walked for 40 minutes.

When my children were little (littler, my oldest is in 2nd grade) I used to exercise when they were taking naps. Now I spend my whole day on the run, driving kids to preschool or dance or speech therapy, etc ... I recently bought a mini stepper at Walmart and have been doing it for just 15 minutes every morning (it is tough). I also try to jump on it for a few minutes at a time throughout my day. I squeeze wourkouts in whenever and wherever I am: I walk laps around my kitchen island with my kids and we pretend we're racing horses, while I'm filling my gas tank I do step ups on the little curb that the pump sits on, I walk up and down the hall while my daughter is in speech therapy (when she had eye surgery last month, I got in 4 miles walking the halls instead of sitting in the waiting room), while one daughter is in dance I take the other to Walmart and "try out" their elliptical, I do squats and lunges while I dry my hair, if I'm cleaning and a good song comes on the ipod I jump on the exercise bike (I have a gate around it so my 20 month old can't get to it) and peddle as fast as I can until the song ends, etc . . . Good Luck!:flowerforyou:

I have 4 boys, 3 are 3 and under so I am very very busy all day. I started with fitting it in when they were napping then slowly I started doing some during the day and they have now gotten use to me working out. I'm not saying I get through the whole workout without having to stop but I am able to get a little more done each week without having to stop! I put on pbs for the 3 and 1 year old in their room so they can play & be distracted, it is a treat for them so they get excited & will stay in there for atleast 30 minutes now. Then I put the baby in the pack n play or just the last few days the walker & have him right next to me so I can still talk to him, make silly faces at him or whatever distracts him for the moment while I workout. I just desided that they need to get use to knowing that mommy is going to workout almost everyday & they are going to have to let me! My 3 year old will try to workout sometimes with me & the 1 year old will just sit on the couch & watch me sometimes or other times they are playing practically under foot but I have managed to get it done. And when one of them has a day where they are just not letting it happen I either go back to waiting until nap time or just don't beat myself up for not getting it all in that day! Letting them see that you are working out is a good thing for them too, knowing mommy wants to be healthy & exercise is how you do it! It took me awhile to get to realize that they will learn to entertain themselves for a short period of time but they caught on. You can do it!!

I think the biggest think to remember is that what works for one person will not necessarily work for another. Be flexible and keep your eyes open for opportunities. Don't get discouraged! You have definately got your hands full. Just do your best!:flowerforyou: