Are you too broke, tired, or busy to exercise? It’s hard enough to do without kids. Once you have kids exercising or taking care of yourself, in general, goes straight to the back burner. Alexis Hall from Single Parent offers 5 tips in her guest post.
You should take care of yourself otherwise you won’t be able to take care of anyone else. This is a single parent’s perspective from a mamma with 3 kids. Without further ado get these 5 helpful tips for the broke, tired, or busy parent and get exercising.
Too Broke, Tired, or Busy to Exercise? Not Anymore with These Money-Saving Fitness Tips for Single Parents
Are you the type of person to buy a gym membership at the start of the new year, only to cancel it, unused, a few months later? If so, you’re falling into the same trap that so many other people do: believing that getting fit means spending money and drastically changing your lifestyle.
In reality, the best exercise is the exercise you can manage. A fitness regimen that requires time or money you don’t have isn’t sustainable. A budget-friendly workout plan that fits into your lifestyle, on the other hand, is something you can work with — even if it won’t give you six pack abs overnight.
If you’re a single parent who’s ready to overcome barriers to a healthier life and get serious about getting active, these time- and money-saving tips are here to help.
1. Skip the trendy workout clothes
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good while you work out. But if you’re spending more time shopping for exercise outfits than actually exercising, that’s a problem.
Instead of spending money on trendy workout sets, buy one or two comfortable, durable workout outfits. You can find name-brand exercise clothes at Dicks Sporting Goods for a fraction of the price of other stores, and if you search for Dicks coupons before checking out, you can score a sizable discount.
2. Exercise at home
When you work out at home, you can finish exercising in the time it would take to drive to the gym. That solves a big problem for single parents who are pressed for time or can’t afford a babysitter.
Working out at home is also cheap. The biggest expense is fitness equipment, but you don’t need to spend a lot to get a well-rounded workout. If you’re on a bare-bones budget, you can get by with nothing but an exercise mat and bodyweight exercise. For more variety, search for sales, or shop secondhand at a store like Play It Again Sports.
3. Use free fitness videos
Have you set up your home gym but don’t know how to start working out? Even if you’re a total beginner, you can find videos online to guide your workout. The best part? Thousands of online workout videos are 100% free. Whether you want a fast-paced HIIT routine, a slow yoga flow, or something else entirely, you can find it free online.
4. Keep it short
It doesn’t take hours to achieve a quality workout. While the ideal session is at least 30 minutes, even 10 minutes of heart-pumping exercise has a positive impact on your health.
If you’re short on time, opt for vigorous workouts. High-intensity exercise, like HIIT or fast running, makes your heart work harder, so you get a solid workout in less time. If you’re doing moderate-intensity exercise, like jogging, yoga, or bicycling, aim for 30-60 minutes.
Don’t forget to include strength-training in your weekly workouts! In addition to 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (or 75-150 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise), adults should do muscle-strengthening workouts two days a week.
5. Schedule a time to work out — and a backup
Everyone should schedule their workouts when just starting out with physical fitness, especially parents who are crunched for time. If you don’t schedule exercise, it’s all too easy to make excuses to skip working out.
However, as all single parents know, schedules don’t always go according to plan. In addition to your target workout time, schedule a backup timeslot. If you plan to exercise in the mornings before the kids wake up but your toddler rouses at 5 a.m. with a stomach bug, you’ll know you can squeeze in a workout later.
Finally, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t meet every fitness goal you set. You have a lot of responsibilities as a single parent, and some days, exercise simply has to take a back seat. The important thing is establishing a fitness habit that works for you, so even when life gets in the way, you don’t give up.
Would you like a free fitness planner? Click here:
Alexis Hall is a single mom to three kids. She created SingleParent.info to provide support and advice for the many families out there with only one parent in the household. She works as an in-home health nurse. When she isn’t working or spending time with her kids, she enjoys running and hiking and is currently training for a triathlon.
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Well, with a little creativity on your part, you can have your brood on the road to life-long good health and a long life.
Great post! Pretty darn hard for parents of little ones to get even an ounce of exercise… so very timely!
I do exercises at home! my friend asked me why I don’t want to go to the gym and my answer is ‘I have no time for it’ because I need to take care of my son when my husband is working and when he is not working I’m at work
Im trying to figure out right now how to fit excercise in and what I will do . Its all just a balancing act for me with little ones .
These are really useful tips, Yes I don’t want to spend too much for exercising but at the same time want to stay fit also.
I know this going to help a lot of people specially the ones who can’t afford it. There are so many alternatives to try as well. I have picked a lot from here.
This is so realistic and down to earth! Thanks for sharing!
These were all really good tips that are achievable! I’ve been working hard to add exercise back into my life, and its just starting to get easier now that my little girl is 3. I’ll be using your tips during my quest! 😁
Though i am not a parent, I am always tired and busy. No time for the gym. i started exercising at home a few months back and i am really happy with the results. As mentioned by you, I have fixed up a schedule for my yoga everyday.
I’ve got to quit letting my overly tired self use that as an excuse not to exercise. I know it would give me more energy and I could last longer if I’d just start. I’m going to use your tips to exercise and save money. I used to buy trendy exercise outfits but I quit.
This is great for parents! My mom needs to read this!
There really is a lot of stuff you can do to make it easier. Great tips and ideas!
I think the most difficult thing is to find the desire to do exercises after a day of work
Yes, exercising at home is beneficial. Even I believe trendy clothes are not necessary to have a good workout.
I will have to pass this onto some friends. I am sure sometimes it is hard to deal with being a parent and everything that comes with it and try and stay on top of things like exercise.
I’m not a parent, but I’m broke and tired! Hope your tips will help me a bit! I went to play tennis today, but it’s quite expensive! 🙂
I really need to get back into working out. My job makes me physically exhausted and sometimes it can be difficult.
My motto is just do it. Yesterday I was so tired but once I started exercising, I got the energy to get it done.
The first thing I ever bought for my new home – an elliptical trainer. Yep. It was even the FIRST THING moved into our new home when we moved in last year. Ha Ha Ha! #priorities. But seriously. Working out if the first thing I do every morning so I have to have an elliptical in the house! No excuses! 🙂
I’ll keep these in mind. I do work out at home. I do not like gyms. I also try to jog around the neighborhood.