5 Tips To Help You Workout

I don’t do it often, but wanted to share another aspect of my life that is very important to me.  Physical fitness! Being a busy working mom I am always left with the puzzling question when will I have time to workout?! This has been a serious struggle lately. I’ve had to get myself together and start consistently working out again.
Earlier this year I ran a full marathon and the year before that I ran a half marathon.  Both of which the training was VERY time consuming.  Running for longer distances in general are tough because it can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours to complete.  I have shared that experience on a previous blog post here. After I completed my last race I needed time to heal.  And honestly, I was just worn out from running so much I took a much needed break.  As you can imagine my weight paid the price! 🙁 These past 4 months have been I would say the toughest to date to get motivated to lose weight and get back to working out. I also think my body went a little bit out of whack. I went from running 25-30 miles a week to about 5, so naturally my body was used to burning a lot more calories. 
I got a reality check when I went to the OB/GYN (my dr. is pretty blunt) and she said there’s been quite a increase of weight from last year! Ugh! She did say that frequently women coming up on 30 often start to see a decline of their metabolism. (NOOOO!!!)  And well I guess I was one of them.  I got another reality check that I needed to get my butt in gear when I realized that I have to fit myself in a bridesmaid dress for a wedding. I have never been a person that obssessed about the scale or what it reflects.  However, as of lately I have noticed that I carrying the added weight doesn’t feel the best, and I have clothes that I need to get back to wearing! 
This has been difficult, because every week I will be like “Ok Taryn this week you are going to start” But then I will be swamped with Cameron’s games and practices, along with everything else, and I slowly will push it to next week. 🙁 
I wanted to share some easy tips that have helped me incorporate working out back into my life consistently. I’ve found that to have the best success with working out I had to follow the below tips. Hopefully this will help you get a workout regime that works best for your life. 
Try an at home workout video: This has always been my saving grace honestly! I have never been a gym person. I always just wandered around trying to figure out how to work some of those crazy machines. ha! I know many people that love it, so if that is you awesome! I started doing at home videos years ago right after having Cameron, I tried the 1st Insanity video and loved it!  I used that video to lose my baby weight from Cameron and Calvin.  What I love about a video at home is the convenience.  If you struggle with having time to get out of the house, or no one to watch the kids this is a great option.  I put on the video when I get home from work, and both boys will work out with me! Or I will do it when I put them to bed.  I personally, have only used Beachbody videos as I feel they give me the best workout. I swear by any Insanity video or T25 (which is only 25 minutes!).  In the past I have also done Turbo Fire and P90X.  Of course, with all of these do it based on what works for your body.  If time or kids is an obstacle, try this as an option!
New workout gear: Honestly, this may seem silly, but in efforts to get me in the zone and excited for this fit journey I bought new workout gear.  I love workout clothes, and sometimes even wear them when I have errands to run.  I wanted to get some cute outfits that actually felt comfortable to work out in.  Typically, I stick with Nike products but wanted to step outside the box to try more affordable clothing. I opted to try Old Navy because they had them for cheap, and they had cute patterns! If you are need of workout clothes but not wanting to break the bank consider ON!  I had great luck finding multiples outfits.  Normally a Nike outfit can cost me close to $80, and I was able to get 3 outfits for that price!!! 
Running or Walking is the most affordable option:  Partially the reason I started training for my past races is because I wanted to get in shape, and not pay for a gym membership or new work out videos.  The easiest way to accomplish this was running. Sometimes, we make obstacles for working out that don’t need to be there.  Nothing gets cheaper to workout than running in your neighborhood or local track.  Also, if running/walking isn’t your thing you can also try Nike’s Training Club app! It will give you workouts to do via there app! So ditch that excuse, because I had too!
Schedule your workout time: I pretty much use my planner for everything in my life, so it’s funny that I never really was scheduling my workout as well.  Every morning I look at my planner for the day and week to mentally prepare myself for upcoming activities.  By adding my scheduled workout day it has allowed me to mentally prepare myself for every workout, and helps with not missing any workouts.  It doesn’t have to be 7 days a week, even if you are working out 2-3 times a week that is great. Another tip: Try working out on the days you are not cooking.  I know for me sometimes cooking and having time to cook can be a lot after a work day. I try to plan my meals accordingly and will workout on leftover day.
Healthy Eating: If time is not on your side the simplest way promote healthy living and weight loss is getting a healthy meal plan.  Honestly, this should be happening even if you have time to work out.  For me, if I am not eating right then my weight loss/inches will be stagnate.  My diet is my biggest contributer at this stage in my life.  I am not going to get in all the details about what type of diet you should have. If you are working out and you aren’t seeing an improvement, consider evaluating how diet.  That may be preventing you from reaching your fitness goals.
Most importantly don’t be obsessed with the scale.  I rarely stalk the scale, because I know my weight fluctuates.  Also, because there was a time when I was really thin from running so much but didn’t care for my shape.  So don’t be defined by the scale. If you share some of the same struggles as me stay encouraged and consistent! 
Good Luck!

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16 comments

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  1. Great post, Taryn!! You make me not only want to exercise but go buy some cute workout gear!!! I totally agree with not getting caught up in the scale number. I never weigh myself and just go by how my clothes fit and it's been so freeing.

  2. Loved this post! What you listed are exactly the tips I use when I'm trying to make myself work out- I'm ALL about some at home work out videos, scheduling time definitely helps, and when nothing else motivates me, I result to walking. But I'm also with you on weight gain. When I hit 24, my metabolism slowed down and it's continued since then. I obsessed to lose weight for my wedding, and then have gained it all back and then some over the last year! I need this kind of motivation to get my butt in gear:)
    Emily
    http://darlingdearestblog.com

  3. Great posts! I'm in the same boat that I ran a TON the last few years and had to back off a bit–injuries are a real thing, UGH! I love your tips and totally agree with scheduling workouts. I put them on my work calendar & in my iPhone so I have no excuse not to! Keep up the great work, babe!

    xox,
    Kristin
    http://www.amidwesternmix.com

  4. Congrats on running that full marathon… honestly that is a HUGE accomplishment! Signing up for races is soooo motivating!! LOVED your tips and your workout gear is perfect! xo

  5. I couldn't agree with all of this more! It is so hard to find time with our busy lives so I love at home videos because it cuts out the travel time to and from the gym and there is no waiting around for someone to finish on the equipment! And I'm definitely guilty of buying new workout gear to get myself motivated! Thanks for sharing!! You've motivated me! xo Bryn http://www.waketonroad.com