Whether you’re a single mamma, a parent of three, or trying to juggle a career with your personal life and other self-development ideas – it can be quite a struggle to maintain a great body. If you struggle to fit in even a 30-minute jog per day between emails and kids’ homework, you’re not alone. Most busy women end up neglecting their health and fitness goals to devote their time to work, or people who need them.
However, with more effective time management and clever fitness and nutrition hacks, you can find new ways to get the physique you want. After all, your body is a reflection of how well you take care of yourself, so use these ideas in your own routine to reach your goals and have the great body you deserve.
Meal-prepping for a strong diet
The road to that great physique is based on three key ingredients: sleep, exercise, and nutrition. If you get ample rest every night and train on a regular basis, you also need to make sure that your diet is optimal for your goals, no matter what you want to achieve. To save more time and avoid eating fast food during the week, you can start preparing your meals over the weekend. Also, use these freezer tips to make life even easier!
The key to a lean, strong body for any busy woman is to choose nutrient-dense, whole foods that are suitable for your goals. Consider adding lean protein sources such as chicken breast, turkey, fish, but also beans and lentils, paired with leafy greens, cruciferous veggies such as broccoli, and seeds such as quinoa. Use a food scale to measure your portions and calculate your calories, and your diet will work in harmony with your training, getting you a great body in less time than with just exercise alone.
Move while you work
There are ways to get active at the office without looking ridiculous. For instance, you can swap your regular chair for a stability ball, have walk-and-talk meetings in the park instead of traditional conferences, and cycle to work instead of driving.
Your lunch break is good chance to stretch, but you can also add a few body weight moves such as lunges and squats before you start eating. Then again, if you have an office gym, even better – use your lunch break to split the time for a quick HIIT workout and bring your meal-prepped lunch for after.
Start your mornings with some yoga
We all have different morning rituals, and they are a perfect opportunity to “squeeze” in some activity into your day without overwhelming your schedule. For example, you can start doing yoga in the morning to not just improve your flexibility, strength, and balance, but also your overall health and hormones. Your yoga flow can last as little as 10 minutes, or you can devote an entire hour to yoga depending on your agenda for the day, and how well you’ve slept.
Amplify your energy with supplements
If professional athletes rely on supplements to improve their performance, motivation, and nutrition, why shouldn’t you? This is especially useful for every busy woman out there who don’t have the time for a full meal immediately after a workout. Instead of feeling drained during your morning workout, or after it for that matter, you can use pre-workout supplements for a little energy boost. Just do your research first and make sure you buy a clean version without artificial dyes and sugars. You can also choose whether your supplement supplies its boost with caffeine, green tea, Ashwaganda, beetroot, and several other non-caffeinated options.
Plan out your snacks thoroughly
Not everyone is looking to lose weight. Some women want to build lean muscle mass, others want to tone their body, while some are eager to improve their stamina. No matter what you want to achieve, how you treat your nutrition can make or break all of your other efforts. If you’ve already started meal-prepping, you should try planning your snacks, too.
This helps reduce sugar cravings, binge-eating when you’re tired, or reaching for an unhealthy candy bar. When you have pre-measured nuts and seeds waiting for you in your desk drawer, you’ll reach for those instead. A fresh fruit salad is another great way to add more healthy fiber, vitamins, and minerals into your diet without breaking the calorie bank for your daily food intake. It also satisfies a sweet tooth naturally. Just select berries and other lower-carb fruits, and pair it was some protein and fat, like a handful of nuts to slow the glycemic response.
Have alternative workouts ready
The thing about routine is that it easily gets, well, routine. There’s no need to treat your workouts like a chore. Instead, you can find, or even create, your own selection of workouts to alternate when you feel you’re fed up with that aerobics class. A surfing session, a quick HIIT workout, a dance class, or a yoga flow at home can all make a difference without forcing you to constantly stick to your gym routine.
If you’re ready to invest in your journey a little bit, you can get a few pieces of gym equipment to use them at home whenever you feel your schedule is too packed, or you simply prefer some privacy. The sheer selection of free workout videos on YouTube is enough to get you going even on the slowest days.
Find your incentive
There are women out there always eager to hit the gym or head to their Zumba class, even early in the morning. If you’re not one of them, you might need a little “nudge” to stick to your plan when you’d rather stay home. Treat yourself to something you genuinely want and enjoy every time you follow through with your workout plan, such as a cup of your favorite coffee, a brand-new pair of jeans, a new book, or tickets to a show you’ve been meaning to see.
Get active when you socialize
Some of us have friends who insist on sedentary coffee dates or lounging at a spa. As wonderful as both of those options can be, you can certainly use the opportunity to work towards your fitness goals when you spend time with people you love. For example, why not invite your friend for a walk in the park, and get your favorite cup of java to go?
You can also organize a picnic with your family, play volleyball in the park, or cycle there together. Depending on the weather, you can choose indoor activities such as dancing and swimming, or go for a hike in a nearby nature reserve.
Life can get quite hectic for any woman out there, but that’s no reason to neglect your fitness routine or your well-being. It takes time to transform a behavior into a proper habit, so use these tips to infuse your routine with motivation and strategic thinking, and you’ll quickly be able to work towards your goals without feeling exhausted.
