The key to fitness for busy moms! This is exactly what we need! One-on-one SMS support, personalized workouts and flexibility, and daily encouragement.
Moms, stop putting yourself last and make your health and fitness a priority. We can still take care of our kiddos, lead a busy lifestyle, and find a fitness routine that fits right in.
The key is to find support and understand that it’s not an all-or-nothing thing, but small changes you can make daily.
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This post is sponsored by Kudos. I experienced the same 7-day free trial that anyone can also try at Kudos.fit. All opinions are from my own experience.
Life as a mom is unpredictable. As things are thrown at us we often put others before ourselves, including our own health and fitness.
I’ve shared before that I have lost a significant amount of weight before. At that time, I was in grad school and had the accountability of friends, free group fitness classes, and I only had to cook and shop for myself.
That is a far cry from what it has looked like for the past few years as I have tried to get back on track as a mom!
Now, I cook for a family, I don’t take any time for myself, Mom friends aren’t a thing I have nearby, and…
I have lost myself.
How do we get that accountability and human interaction when we are constantly around our kiddos and seeing to their needs?
For me, that is the most important part.
This week I got an idea of how I can get all that. I just recently completed the 7-day free trial of Kudos, and I feel so rejuvenated!
Having someone in my corner that was so encouraging felt amazing. Daily messages helped to keep me accountable and on track. Short workouts with minimal equipment and the flexibility to alter the plan if needed, really helped to keep me from giving up after something got in my way!
This is what I’ve been missing as a mom trying to take time for myself and reach my health and fitness goals!
Fitness for Busy Moms with Kudos
Kudos.fit is the perfect solution for busy moms! Daily check-ins and a personalized plan from a certified trainer. Along with the flexibility to do it on your own schedule with what you have at home. It’s amazing!
From my trainer, John:
Kudos is perfect for busy moms who don’t have the time, flexibility or money to make it to $100/hr personal training sessions. We have a number of moms on the program currently and they are kicking butt!! We help folks fit exercise and wholesome nutrition into their lives with at home workouts, personalization and human support and accountability.
Let me break down my week for you:
Getting Started
On Monday, I filled out the short questionaire on Kudos.fit.
When I say short, I mean short!
I filled out my health and fitness goals, what I’m doing currently, what I’d be interested in doing as part of a fitness routine, how much time I have to exercise, and if I have any injuries.
Really, that’s it! The survey didn’t even ask my weight!
Shortly after I completed the survey, I got a text message from John ready to set up my new training plan for the week. As a way to get acquainted he suggested that we start with a phone call.
At this point I thought, “This is it. I can’t go any further with this. My emotional state surrounding my weight and current fitness level is at a point that I don’t think I can even get through a phone conversation about it.”
I had some major anxiety about this phone call, which was surprising to me. I’ve never been a phone person, but my health and fitness level has gotten me down so much to a point that I can’t talk about it without bursting into tears.
Fortunately, John was completely understanding and we did the questions over the phone.
Day 1
Right off the bat, John had an optional workout for me and a plan to start a series of stretching each day.
With the recovering knee injury I currently have, he suggested workouts and stretches that would help.
Each workout or series of stretches only took about 15 minutes! Perfect for busy moms!
Also, all the workouts utilized body weight and I didn’t need any equipment. First up was a core workout that was optional when we first talked but became the first workout in our plan.
Video workouts
The way the workouts are shared is through a link right in our text message conversation. Just click the link and it takes you to a series of exercises or stretches.
There is a start button to hit and the timer will start. Each exercise has a photo or video, so you know what to do. Also, some of the stretches/exercises may be optional or offer an alternative. If you need to make any significant changes that you want your trainer to know about, you can edit the exercise and add a comment. When you’re finished you stop the timer and submit the workout. You can also rate the workout, offer suggestions, or write about how things went.
Day 2
After the Core workout came a day with just the stretching and any additional cardio if I liked.
The stretching felt amazing!
As moms, we are so busy that we think we’ve failed if we aren’t able to get a 30-60 minute workout in. However, just 15 minutes to concentrate on ourselves and stretch our body or do a quick workout can really help!
I felt so much better after stretching. It also carried over into the other things I did that day.
Being accountable to my trainer had me excited to get some more exercise into my day.
Even without having a nutrition goal – my only goal was to track my food a couple days and we would talk about it later – it help me make better choices.
Day 3
When we first chatted, I told John that I have an elliptical. So, on day three he recommended 15 minutes on the elliptical.
The elliptical is relatively easy on my knee and 15 minutes is absolutely attainable no matter how busy the day got.
Another thing I love is that the plan created by Kudos trainers isn’t rigid and strict. They are all about making manageable changes that will be easy to stick to in the long run.
John told me that if I wasn’t able to get the elliptical in that day, I could also do it the next day. He did, however, want me to focus on the series of stretches both days.
My knee was feeling good from the stretching the previous day, so I did the elliptical in the morning, ran around with the kids all day, pushed the mower in the evening, and even went for a 30 minute walk. After all that, I got in another round of stretching.
I felt great!
Day 4
The only thing on the agenda for day 4 was the stretching.
Thank goodness, too, because my knee was feeling all the activity I did the day before!
After doing the stretching, it felt so much better. Daily stretching is definitely something I’m going to add into my life. It feels so good!
John messaged me during the day and sent the link for the next day’s workout, along with some tips for modifying the push-ups.
Day 5
With the kids home in the morning and transporting them to Farm School in the afternoon and then joining them for Parent’s Day, I had planned to do the next working during the evening.
When John messaged for his daily check-in, he once again gave me the link to the workout.
He also told me it would be find to do it today or tomorrow. I love that! It’s so nice to have the daily accountability and know that I can switch things up if needed as long as I stay committed and get the work done.
I nearly had to take advantage of that, too!
After our busy day, my husband ended up working late and not getting home until after 9. So, I had the kiddos determined to wait up for him… me putting my workout off further and further because I thought he’d be home… and I finally just had to get it done before the kids went to be because I couldn’t wait any longer.
Foundation Total Body Workout
This workout started with a 5 minute warm up which I did on the elliptical. The kids found me right before my 5 minutes were up.
Typical Mom fashion, I finished the rest of the workout with an audience. The kids joined in a times for certain stretches or exercises, but mostly it just wound them up and had them bouncing off the walls. When I was about halfway through, I found myself doing jumping jacks, pushups, and bench dips while instructing them to brush their teeth, get their jammies on, and clean up.
Other moms will know exactly what that workout was like!
I stuck with it and did my warm up, 2 times through the circuit, and cool down stretching before finally getting the kids to bed.
I think that’s the hardest part about fitness for busy moms…
Life is unpredictable.
These little ones can need different things at different times of the day and we have no way to plan around it.
It just is what it is. We deal with it and adapt.
It can be so easy to just throw in the towel when it comes to taking care of ourselves. In the morning, we’re either woken up early by hungry kids or enjoying the calm before the storm. The day is pure craziness. An in the evening we are savoring the time alone and a lot of time we don’t have the energy to even move at that point.
It’s a real struggle to keep on track and stay committed.
That’s where the accountability comes in. Having someone to text you each day with encouragement and your task for the next day or two is amazing!
Day 6
By Saturday, I was feeling great with all the progress during the week. I was down three pounds and feeling really motivated.
Then, as Saturdays do, everything got crazy! My eating went well off track after grilling hot dogs for lunch, going to Olive Garden and a movie for date night, and returning to have a couple beers when we got home.
I did get my stretching in and, overall, I felt like I was still on track.
Day 7
On Sunday, I got my daily message from John reminding me that I had 15 minutes on the elliptical and stretching planned for the day.
In addition, he had me share what I had written down about my eating for the week. After he reviewed that, he sent a score card and his recommendations for the future.
Fitness for Moms doesn’t have to be that difficult
The reason I love this approach so much is that Kudos made me rethink the way I look at my health, fitness, and weight loss.
I have a terrible habit of taking an all-or-nothing approach. If things get crazy and I make a choice that sets me back I will call everything off and think I’ll start again tomorrow.
I know better, but it doesn’t seem to change what happens on those busy days when I’m at the end of my self-control. Workouts or physical activity also are the first things to take a backseat.
With Kudos, I found that the workouts don’t have to be long. Consistency is the key and even 15 minutes a day will lead to big changes.
If you’d like to try out Kudos, go to Kudos.fit and fill out the questionnaire to start your 7-day trial. It will be the best week, and you’ll love it!
Do you have any tips for fitness for busy moms?
Anything you have found that works?
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