As I’ve mentioned in the past, my focus lately has been on movement, motherhood and strength training. This means that most of my early-morning workout time is dedicated to strength training but I do not discount regular movement from walks, playtime with the boys and motherhood. Mom life is an active life even if it’s not jam-packed with traditional workouts. Over the course of the past two weeks, I think I’ve done a total of four workouts in our garage gym thanks to travel, time constraints and — you guessed it — mom life!
Week of Workouts: February 2022
Monday: Off
I opted to sleep in on Monday and skipped the workout I initially had planned for the day. After spending the long weekend away in Colorado with Ryan, I was tired and knew sleep was more important for my body than working out.
Tuesday: Biceps/Triceps/Shoulders Workout
I completed this throwback PBF workout on Tuesday before the boys were up for the day and it felt good to get my muscles burning again after nearly a week off of any real strength training.
Wednesday: Leg/Glute Workout + 10 Minute Booty Workout Video
Wednesday morning’s garage workout focused on the lower body and targeted my legs and glutes. It had been a hot second since I did a lower body workout (I opted out the previous week since I knew we’d be skiing and didn’t want to be sore) and figured I’d ease back into things with this strength-based workout. I wrapped it up with a throwback 10 minute booty workout video from Jessica Valant’s Pilates YouTube channel that I used to do all the time when I was pregnant and in the postpartum period of my life.
Thursday: Off
No workout on Thursday! It was a travel day for our family as we headed off to West Virginia!
Friday: Skiing
Friday was our first foray into skiing with the boys! I’ll share more about our trip when I have time to put everything together in a more organized way but we spent the first two hours on the slopes running up and down the kiddie slopes with Chase and Ryder which quickly taught us that ski school is worth every last cent. Ha! I was able to get a few runs in on my own when Ryder hung back with Rhett and Ryder and Chase attended ski school later that afternoon.
Saturday: Sledding/Snow Playtime
Saturday didn’t include any traditional workouts but we still moved a bunch on our vacation. Between sledding and playing in the snow with the boys, it’s safe to say we moved a lot!
Sunday: Off
Sunday was another travel day as we made the 6-hour drive back home.
Question of the Day
Do you work out when you travel?
I used to genuinely enjoy incorporating some workouts into my routine when I would travel but now, with kids in the mix, that feels like more stress than its worth and I simply enjoy our vacation and time away. If you’re ever looking for quick travel workouts, this post has some of my favorites: 10 At Home + Travel-Friendly Workouts
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Julie – I am always impressed how you have managed to incorporate exercise into your busy life. Do you have any suggestions for people who maybe have been on a total hiatus on how to motivate oneself to get back into it? Are there any apps you have heard of, any words of encouragement? I was doing really well with daily walking and then winter hit here and it has just been so cold and I have used it as an excuse to not do anything. I just can’t seem to gather the motivation. I know that if I do something I do feel better but yet I just can’t seem to start. Also, I can’t wait to read more about your ski vacation with the boys – the photos you shared are adorable! Have a great day!
I totally get this — workout motivation can majorly ebb and flow! A few things that help me: 1. Schedule something fitness-related with a friend (a walk at park, an exercise class you both love, etc.) — doing something with another person always keeps me accountable! 2. Look for a program to follow. For me personally, my excitement around working out can sometimes increase if I have a program to follow that takes any of the planning/guesswork out of the workouts. (This could be ANYTHING — a strength training program, a couch-to-5k run/walk program, etc. — whatever excites you!) 3. Check out a new online workout/YouTube workout video — some of my favorites: Caroline Girvan, Nicole Pearce, Nourish Move Love, Burn Boot Camp. I truly hope this helps!! And if it makes you feel any better, winter is always the time I feel my workout motivation take a dip, too. 🙂
Thank you so much for the great suggestions Julie! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. I am going to set up a time to meet with a friend to exercise together -I think that will really help me. Again – thank you so much!!!
Are you no longer at BBC? If not will you go back eventually? I recently paused my membership thinking I can do it at home but I find working out at home super challenging and for me the workout isn’t as good plus when I work out I want to do just that and not have to talk about Thomas the Train while I’m gasping for breath! I regret pausing my membership a bit but I did feel like it was a lot for my body too. I’m very torn! Any suggestions?
I am still a member! I actually use their online workouts quite often (just didn’t last week!) so it’s still worth it to me. I love it so much and will absolutely go back in person when I feel more comfortable with that option. I miss the in-person camps so much!! And I totally get what you’re saying about it being too much for your body sometimes — I found a sweet spot with 3x a week. That felt more manageable to me and less intense! I also pick and choose the BBC workouts that appeal to me (I love their strength days — not as big on the intense cardio days) so I think that helps, too!
Thank you!! Yesss! Running is so much less stress on my body than the cardio days it seems! But it’s also hard to stay away. My location is super competitive and it’s very hard not to get caught up in it! Glad I’m not crazy!