Description

motherhood.

I was not quite sure what this journey would look like. It’s been 11 months since I became a mom, and I can say, getting things done for myself is not easy, but it is certainly not impossible. I often complete tasks one-handed, as I hold my son on my opposing hip. 

I’ve learned that becoming a mom means you develop mom-muscles. You can (and must) carry your child while doing the most preposterous of things. Loading the car, sweeping the floor, cooking a meal, hell even showering, sometimes. But, these ‘mom muscles’ go beyond physical.

mom muscles.

 Motherhood has pushed (maybe even forced) me to tap into my creativity, endurance, and most certainly my patience.

Through trial and error, I have tried time and time again to rev up my fitness. Working out while Dean is awake, asleep, eating, playing. While he would give me time, he didn’t give me much. Not enough for the workouts I anticipated, anyway. 

It took a lot out of me, mentally and physically, to stop mid-workout multiple times to help him. I would get frustrated, impatient, and often find myself anxiously rushing through sets so that I could be done faster. This would carry on for about 3 days, and then I would give up for the rest of the week, only for the cycle to repeat.

regretful rest day

On New Year’s, I decided to try.. again. After about 4 days, I wanted to rest. Dean was *finally* sleeping peacefully on his own (this is hit or miss), and I was sitting around, sore as anything, justifying with my husband why I deserve a rest day. He challenged me to workout daily and.. as I heard myself speaking, I knew I would regret it. I finally had the chance to workout, so why not.

10 sets. 8 minutes. 

 I bargained with myself, saying fine, I will do 10 sets of squats and call it a day. 

10 sets, and 8 minutes later, I was beat. And I was proud. And I raised my eyebrow as I wondered if I had just broke the code to working out daily with a child who requires much attention and a body that fatigues faster than it once did. To add, I could find 10 minutes at any time in my day. First thing in the morning, before bed, during Dean’s nap, as I cook dinner…  

confidence

As I’m writing this, it has been 3 weeks of these workouts. I feel stronger, leaner, and most importantly, incredibly confident. Why? Because I have stuck to my word, working out daily, while also successfully completing these workouts – anxiety free- whether my son is awake or not.

 10 minutes (some days, 20 lol) is all I need. And it works.

10 short minutes 

 I share this story to explain where, and why, I came up with this type of workout program. If you’re reading this, then I know that you have a hunger for self development. You want to feel confident in yourself. You want to reach goals.

All of these things take time. And these days, time can be hard to find. Whether you’re a mom, a student, an employee, entrepreneur, or even all four. At the end of a long day, it’s not easy to find the drive to work out. But if you can give your body just 10 short, hard minutes, you won’t regret it.

 No matter who you are, what’s on your plate, I believe that we can all find these 10 minutes to work on our fitness daily.