Beginning a fitness routine can be a struggle for anyone, but is especially hard if you are a single parent. Not only are you the sole provider, but you must also be the mama and the daddy for the children you love. Between work, school, carpools, extracurricular activities, and the trials of cleaning the house, it’s hard to squeeze any type of an exercise routine into your already busy day.
The best solution, of course, would be to have about six hours added to the 24-hour day, we already have. Since adding hours to the day isn’t apt to happen anytime soon, read on below for some tips that single parents can try to find time to exercise without ignoring your kids in the meantime.
Join a Family Friendly Gym
The days when the gym was a place where kids weren’t allowed are long gone. Now, there are fitness centers galore like Fitness 19 that are very kid friendly. Fitness 19 offers an atmosphere that will not only give you the desire to work out and be the fittest you can be, but it also offers a kid’s room for the children while you do. This is the type of place that you want to join when you are looking to get fit and still keep an eye on your children. You can do your exercise routine and still have the kids with you, making it a win-win for everyone involved.
Put it In Your Schedule
Now that you have joined a fitness center, you are going to have to get there to exercise. If you are like most single parents, your day planner is important to your daily life. Instead, of just saying, “I’m going to exercise at some point today,” put it in your planner so that you don’t have a choice. If you write it down, then you are more apt to keep the appointment and do your exercise routine the way you have planned.
Rearrange Your Schedule
Single parents who are determined to start a normal, daily exercise routine don’t normally make time for exercise; they take the time to exercise. So, rearrange your schedule to ensure that you get in that weekly, even daily, trip to your fitness center. Reschedule that lunch with your mom or put that date off for an hour, you would be surprised at just how much can be arranged to fit your exercise schedule when you put your mind to getting it done.
Return Slowly
One word of warning, though you may want to jump right in there and be as active as you were before you had to take your break, it’s not the best idea in the world to go overboard on the fitness routine. You want to start slowly and work your way up to where you used to be in your exercise routine. Remember, you’ve been away for a while. If you hurt yourself exercising, then you are no good to yourself or your children for quite a bit of time.
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
The biggest thing is not to beat yourself up when it comes to getting back on the exercise wheel. There are going to be days where you just can’t make it or where you’re too tired to get to the gym. These days happen, brush yourself off, and make it to your next session. Before you know it, going to the gym will be something that you have to do, and you’ll miss it when you have to miss a day, trust me.
These are just a few of the tips you can follow to get yourself back into a routine where you exercise on a daily, or weekly, basis. Remember, you are important to your kids, which means you have to stay healthy to keep them that way. Get your mojo going and join the fitness center today. You’ll be happy that you did!
