The Gym Mom Hits the Gym

I drive somewhere around 3000 miles a month for work and activities, and spend 10-15 hours per week with my kids at their events. Car time + wait time = a lot of lazy time! It can be really easy to fall into bad habits when you're on the road and constantly running.

But you know what? It's game time, ladies and gentlemen! Time to get back outside, get out the spring and summer clothes, and get back into shape! I have never been a "New Year's Resolution" exerciser, I'm more of a "swim suit season is coming" exerciser. Waiting until February or March to start working out again makes it much less cliche, trust me!

Last year (February 2014) I did a 21 Day Fix challenge from Beach Body, which was great. I had amazing results. I bought T25 after hearing amazing reviews. Unfortunately, I have been completely unmotivated in each of my 4 attempts at restarting the programs (1 21DF and 3 T25). I did a lot of walking and running over the summer, fall hit and schedules got crazy; life happened. Winter saw me eating TONS of junk food and gaining a solid 15lb. So fast forward to February 2015, and I'm ready to be back on the wagon. I need to be back on the wagon. I need to model healthy living, I need to feel good about myself, and I need to focus!

Enter Skinny Ms. While doing a Google search, I stumbled across the Skinny Ms Running Program for Absolute Beginners. Now I'm not a beginner, per say, but I needed a place to start, and Skinny Ms had a program for one of my long-time goals: the half marathon! I can proudly say I am on week 5, and working hard. However, we all fall off the wagon. I do it a lot. So here are my tips to staying true to your training schedule (or workout schedule):

1. Make it a public goal - I know my friends are always cheering me on, and I use MapMyRun (they also have this for bike riding and all kinds of activities) to connect with others and share my progress. When I tell other people, I feel a level of accountability to continue. FitBits are also great for this!

2. Apps are your friend - I use MapMyRun, but I also log calories and exercise on MyFitnessPal, which gives me another community of friends to tap into when I'm struggling. No, you don't want to be the person clogging your friends' Facebook feeds with app posts about how sweaty you are, but the communities within the apps are an awesome way to connect with like-minded friends.

3. Make it a family affair! Last night the husband and all three kids joined me down on the track for a quick run. He's training for football, A is starting to train for track season, and R (who is always training) and E enjoyed being part of the fun. Not only are you modeling healthy habits for your kids, but you get in some quality family time. If you're family isn't into joining you, friends are a great substitute. I logged a lot of miles with some amazing gym moms last summer!

4. Set a goal - I haven't done it yet, but I'll soon be looking for a race to put on my calendar to keep myself motivated. It doesn't have to be a race, if you're not a runner, but think about ways that you can keep pushing yourself to stay motivated.

5. Give yourself a break - knowing that you won't be able to stick to any schedule perfectly, but taking advantage of the times when you can will mean less guilt and a greater likelihood of being able to stick to it instead of thinking, "Oh well, I missed my run and ate 3 plates at HuHot today, so I might as well take the whole week off..."


What tips and tricks do you have for staying motivated? What fitness programs have you had the best luck with? As always, I welcome your ideas and input!