10 Exercise Hacks for Busy Moms: How to Get Fit in Less Time

We all know how great exercise is for us, and we really do want to be fit. But we feel like there’s just not enough time in the day. From kids and household to work and other responsibilities, we already have really busy schedules. However, getting fit doesn’t have to take all day. These 10 exercise hacks for busy moms will help you get the most out of your workout time. These hacks will help you get fit in less time.

This information is provided for educational purposes only. Please talk with a physician before beginning or changing any exercise habits. Lovin’ Life with Littles is not responsible for the effects of any information shared.

Every time we set goals or evaluate our lives, “I want to get more fit” ends up on the list. We make plans for getting to the gym and implementing a new diet. However, two weeks later, we’re back in our old habits, exercise is squeezed out of our busy schedule, and nothing really changes.

Worse yet, sometimes we give up before we even start, believing it’s a losing battle. “I just don’t have time for exercise right now.”

And it’s true. Most of us don’t have a lot of time to exercise. There are so many good things on our list, it’s really hard to carve out a big chunk of time to workout, especially if we don’t particularly love to exercise.

But, there’s some great news…we don’t have to spend a ton of time in order to get fit.

Workout smarter and we will feel results faster. There are simple changes we can make to get results in less time. These exercise hacks for busy moms are a great place to start.

Being a Fit Mom

Before diving into these practical tips, we need to be on the same page about two important things:

1. Being fit is a feeling, not a body type.

These tips will not actually help you change your body type because nothing can do that. Unmet expectations are the root of a lot of our unhappiness. We each were born with a unique set of DNA. So if we expect to be able to change our body type or try to be or look like someone else, we’ll end up unhappy.

The amazing thing though is that real fitness is a feeling. It is the feeling of energy, health, and physical well-being. Any body type can be fit.

2. There’s No Going Back

So often I hear new moms talk about getting their pre-baby body back. A little word of wisdom here: there’s no going back.

Besides, why would you want to? Having a baby is the most incredible thing that a human body can do. Honestly, you made another human! Then you got that human out of you all in one piece! AMAZING!!

The body that has done that ought to be empowered. That body can do anything.

That is the body we want moving forward, with all its experience, strength, and even battle scars.

You are beautiful, and it’s time you believe it.

And that beautiful You can be fit going forward. It’s time for a new norm.

10 Exercise Hacks for Busy Moms

There are countless ways to fit exercise into our busy schedules. For more on scheduling for busy families, check out the post Organize Your Time.

The tips in this post will help us make the most of the limited time we have for workouts. The tips are simple, practical, and can be applied right away to our next workout. These exercise hacks for busy moms will help us feel results faster so that we’re motivated to stick with our fitness goals.

1. Set Motivating Goals

In order to spend our time well in each workout, we want to know what the goal is for that time. For example, if my goal is to sweat, I can hop on the treadmill, run fast, and be done quickly. If my goal is to spend 20 minutes lifting weights, I can quickly move from exercise to exercise, without pausing to wonder if I should spend time doing jumping jacks or if I should be done for the day.

In general, choose goals that are a realistic stretch. If they’re too easy they probably are a waste of time (although anything is better than nothing). If the goals are unattainable, they won’t motivate but rather discourage. Choose goals that will motivate because they push you but not kill you.

There are two steps to being clear about your fitness goals.

First, decide your overall fitness goal. Your goal might be something specific like “Run a 5K in three months,” or it could be very general such as, “Maintain my fitness level.”

While specific goals are often more measureable, perhaps checklists and measuring results aren’t for this season. You decide.

Second, determine what steps will get you to your overall fitness goal. Do you need workouts three times a week? Will you need help of some kind?

Each of your workouts will be a part of those steps that you determined. Before starting your exercise, be clear with yourself what your goal is for that time.

If you have questions about what kinds of steps you should include to reach your goal, put them in the comments section.

Real Example:

My Overall Fitness Goal: Maintain my fitness level.

Steps to Accomplish that Goal: 3 workouts of 20+ minutes per week. At least 2 of those are intense, one is whatever happens that day (often done with kids).

2. Choose the Right Kind of Exercise

Different exercises have different benefits. For example, muscle tissue and fat tissue are two different things. So if I spend hours doing crunches, I might build the muscle tissue in my abdominal area. However, if there’s a layer of fat tissue over those muscles, you might not notice a change. Aerobic exercise will help us burn that fat more effectively.

Similarly, aerobic exercise will benefit our heart, while weight bearing exercise more will effectively strengthen our bones and increase our resting metabolism.

Rather than doing one exercise for a long time (like running) to try to get all the benefits, we’ll be more effective if we run to help our heart and lift to build our muscles.

This usually means varying what exercises we do throughout the week. It might look like two days of aerobics and one day lifting weights or ten minutes of push-ups, crunches, and triceps dips after each cardio session.

Including variation in our workouts will also keep things interesting.

3. Slow Down

It might seem counterintuitive, but we can get more done by slowing down.

This hack applies to all exercises intended to strengthen muscles such as push-ups, crunches, and weight lifting.

For example, with bicep curls (whether it’s with weights or milk cartons doesn’t matter), lift up slowly and let down slowly. This will make our muscles work through the full range of motion, instead of allowing gravity or momentum to do the work on the way down.

We can maximize our effort by working our muscles slowly through their full range of motion.

4. Involve your Brain

Research shows that we can get more out of our workout simply by exerting more mental effort.

One study split participants into three groups: high mental effort, low mental effort, and control. While each group participated in the same level of physical intensity, the high mental effort group resulted in about 20% more strength gain.

While we do push-ups, think about our muscles straining through the movement and lifting our bodies. Concentrate on the abdominal tummy muscles pulling in while we slowly move back down toward the floor.

So while sometimes it’s fun to listen to music and distract ourselves with an audiobook, if we want to get the most out of the workout, we’ll involve our brain in our exercise.

5. Go Just a Little Bit Harder

If we’re going to put some time into exercise, good for us! And as long as we’re doing it, we might as well go hard. So, push yourself to go a little harder or a little faster than you usually do.

One famous research study compared continuous, moderate-intensity exercise with intermittent, (work hard, then rest) very intense exercise. They found that 60 minutes of continuous exercise brought results similar to the more intense version for four minutes. Four minutes!

This is where High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or Tabata workouts came from. Here is an example of a 4-minute beginner Tabata workout if you want to try it.

While we might need more than four-minute workouts to reach our goals, we can remember that even if we don’t have a lot of time, we can work hard and reap benefits.

6. Implement Smart Stretching

Feel free to ditch the pre-workout stretch. Instead, warm-up with a mild form of whatever exercise you’re about to do.

Stretching is most helpful and productive when done after the workout.

Additionally, different kinds of stretching are more productive than others. Research is showing that the best kind of stretching for increasing range of motion and flexibility is proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF).

That’s a long name, but it’s worth doing! One way of doing PNF is to hold a stretch, contract the muscle, relax, then stretch again. The second stretch will be deeper than the first.

This article has some great tips and techniques for PNF.

Flexibility is an important part of injury prevention, mobility, and overall fitness. Using smart stretching techniques can help us make the most of our stretching time.

7. Exercise at Home

If we don’t have a lot of time to workout, we can skip the drive time to the gym.

There are so many options for working out at home. Exercise to a free video (try Jessica Smith or POPSUGAR Fitness), jog in the morning or push a stroller, set a timer and make-up your own routine, invest in workout equipment, or have a dance party.

8. Shower Once

Rather than showering once in the morning and again after your workout, buddy up your workout with your shower. Even if you’re low maintenance in your shower and prep routine, this will still save you time.

Helpful side note: According to dermatologists and other authorities, most people don’t need to shower daily.

9. Eat Smart

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news (or good news if you love broccoli and leafy greens), but what we eat matters.

For a concrete example, if you buy a Snickers Original 2 to Go candy bar and eat both bars, that’s a quick 440 calories. It takes the average person about four and a half miles of running to burn that many calories.

Remember, a calorie is a measure of energy. That energy comes from fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. If we take energy in, we need to either use it (move, exercise) or store it (in the form of fat).

Beyond caloric considerations, the food we eat needs to supply our body with the nutrients it needs to function well. We need some fat, as well as carbs, protein, minerals, vitamins, and water.

While good nutrition is a thick topic, we can choose one simple way right now to improve our dietary habits. Maybe we’ll limit treats, eat an extra serving of vegetables each day, avoid specific processed foods, or drink more water.

Small steps can lead to big results. And those results matter because in a way, we really are what we eat.

10. Clarify Your Why

Exercise has countless physical benefits from decreasing disease risks to increasing energy. People who exercise generally sleep better and think clearer.

Additionally, exercise has incredible mental benefits. It is proven to decrease depression and anxiety. In fact, several studies have found that for many individuals, exercise is as effective in treating depression as antidepressants.

We want these benefits for ourselves, but exercising is not a purely selfish act either.

All these benefits help us have more health and energy for our children. Furthermore, research shows that when mothers are more active, so are their young children. Additionally, teenage involvement in sports is related to parental exercise habits.

We want the best for ourselves and our families. Exercise is a concrete lifestyle habit that can lead to greater health and happiness for both.

So here’s the big why: Love.

Rather than fear, comparison, or another motive, let’s allow love for self and love for family to be our inspiration to be fit. As we do that, we’ll find it’s easier to find both the time and energy to make healthy choices. When we’re mentally committed and into our workouts, we’ll get more out of them.

While that’s the end of our exercise hacks for busy moms, there’s one more really important point to remember.

Related: Fun Rainy Day Fitness Game and Activities for Kids

Above All, Remember This

I just finished snuggling one of my kids and having a heart-to-heart. This child is working really hard toward a specific goal, yet success seems unattainable right now.

I wholeheartedly shared how proud I am of the effort put into this endeavor and explained how even if the goal isn’t reached, all these steps in that direction are a benefit.

The same goes for each of us and our efforts to be fit.

We may or may not reach all of our fitness goals. We can get more from this time as we use these exercise hacks for busy moms, but this season of life might not be the one that allows us to focus as much time as we’d like on workouts.

However, whatever efforts we make will be a benefit for us and our families.

Most importantly, as you work toward your fitness goals remember that no amount of exercise or healthy eating can change your worth. You are enough, just as you are.

What fitness questions do you have? What other exercise hacks for busy moms do you have? Please share in the comments.

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How to Get the Most Out of Your Workout: 10 Exercise Hacks for Busy Moms

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