Fitness For Busy Parents
Takeaway Points:
Busy parents often find it difficult to work out.
However, it can be easier than you think to develop a good habit, especially if you follow a flexible plan that enables you to adapt to your situation.
Here, I discuss the methods I like to use with clients
Of course, one of the great drawbacks of being a parent is that you have a lot less free time.
Over the years, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve consistently found that I take on more responsibilities - work related, client related, family related, and in particular - taking care of kids.
The reality of life is that you can’t always train as if you’re an elite athlete.
When I was in my 20’s and had a lot fewer responsibilities, I might gladly train 6-7 days per week, and I was always trying to be as “optimal” as possible with my training. Usually, this just meant “maximalist” more than anything, and it meant I trained a lot of hours in the gym that I didn’t need to spend, just because I thought I had to in order to gain as much strength and muscle as possible.
The reality is that you can get in great shape without spending a ton of time in the gym.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that I need to cut back on my hours spent in the gym, focusing on a minimalist approach rather than a maximalist one. The reality is that you can get great results with less time per week than you think - often, just a few hours in total per week.
Another trend I’ve found is that often, when working with clients who are busy parents, they don’t always have the time to easily make it to the gym.
I would generally argue that the gym is best for most people. The range of equipment offered makes it much easier to find exercises that are appropriately challenging and can be scaled adequately to meet your needs for a long period of time.
That said, you can still get in a great workout from home, especially if you don’t have athletic goals in mind, and just want to be in better shape. Which, after all, is what most busy parents are looking for!
Working with busy parent clients, I’ve often found that a format similar to this basic format works well.
Lifting 2-3x/week, one upper body and one lower body workout, or two full body workouts, plus an optional full body workout.
Using a flexible format, providing both gym and home versions of all the workouts - this way, they can get to the gym when possible, and work out from home when it’s not.
Additionally, they can focus on additional cardio sessions or a step count outside of the gym in order to cover the cardiovascular bases.
Personally, in my own training I’ve reduced my frequency to 3x/week, in part because I get better results now in 3x/week than I used to in 5-6x/week, mainly from getting smarter about my training and progressions.
Getting in a solid workout as a busy parent is definitely more difficult, but it’s certainly not impossible. Most people can find the time to fit in at least a workout or two, especially if you keep them on the short end. Hitting these workouts consistently is far more important than getting in a lot more time, pushing yourself hard, going all in - you can easily get most of the benefits with a minimal amount of work.
I recently created a totally free program - the 14 Day Unlearning Fitness Challenge - to help you learn how to spend less time in the gym while still getting amazing results. So, if you’re a busy parent, this is probably a perfect fit for you. If you’re interested, sign up here.
About Adam Fisher
Adam is an experienced fitness coach and blogger who's been blogging and coaching since 2012, and lifting since 2006. He's written for numerous major health publications, including Personal Trainer Development Center, T-Nation, Bodybuilding.com, Fitocracy, and Juggernaut Training Systems.
During that time he has coached thousands of individuals of all levels of fitness, including competitive powerlifters and older exercisers regaining the strength to walk up a flight of stairs. His own training revolves around bodybuilding and powerlifting, in which he’s competed.
Adam writes about fitness, health, science, philosophy, personal finance, self-improvement, productivity, the good life, and everything else that interests him. When he's not writing or lifting, he's usually hanging out with his cats or feeding his video game addiction.
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