{"id":6342,"date":"2016-04-09T09:58:30","date_gmt":"2016-04-09T13:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/?p=6342"},"modified":"2016-04-10T09:55:17","modified_gmt":"2016-04-10T13:55:17","slug":"real-life-advice-for-moms-who-want-to-feel-strong-and-healthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/real-life-advice-for-moms-who-want-to-feel-strong-and-healthy\/","title":{"rendered":"Real-Life Advice for Moms Who Want to Feel Strong and Healthy."},"content":{"rendered":"

Three workout tips that need to go away and two to implement starting today:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMG_9771\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When I was a brand-new mom, it seemed I heard more unsolicited advice than during any other time in my life.<\/p>\n

Although most of it was well-intended, a lot of–particularly new-mom exercise—advice I’ve been offered is pure, saccharine crap.<\/p>\n

We’ve all heard them—those suggestions that truly have no substance, and nothing tangible that we can actually implement as helpful tools within our changing lives, as parents with little kids.<\/p>\n

While sharing guidance and strategies that have experientially worked for us is\u00a0<\/em>helpful, idealistic, not-genuinely practical advice just adds to our feelings of mother-guilt–that somehow we’ve failed, and it ( falsely) seems like everyone else is performing this all-important role of mother with much more ease and effectiveness.<\/p>\n

It’s tips like these that need to go away:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Chasing our kids is exercise.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. No, it’s not.<\/p>\n

I absolutely fall into the category of “exhausted mother with two kids under the age of five,” and this is exactly why I do<\/em> exercise—so that I can <\/em>keep up with them.<\/p>\n

2. Use random household things for weights.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Grab a soup can!” No. Wrong. Invest a few dollars and purchase actual dumbbells. Women need to stop pretending that we can and should only lift a few pounds.<\/p>\n

(Do we really need to continually dispel this myth that women shouldn’t lift heavy weights? If so, it’s been done.)<\/p>\n

3. On mommy-and-me classes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, mommy-and-me classes are awesome for connecting with our children—I’m not arguing that.<\/p>\n

Additionally, studios and gyms that offer childcare are great ways for parents to get out of the house and have a real workout.<\/p>\n

This all said, working out at home is the easiest, most practical solution—especially for those\u00a0with babies and younger kids. There’s never an excuse to miss an in-the-living-room workout, and my daughters have fun breaking out their own little yoga mats and trying to do some exercises along with me.<\/p>\n

\"2016-04-09-1460207533-1619361-12967371_10153623001880197_2143950077428993369_o1.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And\u00a0two constructive pieces of advice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Toss out time limits.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some<\/em> exercise is always better than none<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Rather than getting overwhelmed with creating an entire hour or more to workout, just grab those dumbbells, a yoga mat, find a podcast on YouTube, and go! (If you’re anything like I am, you’ll find that moving past that initial hurdle of inertia<\/a>\u00a0turns into 20, 30 or more minutes quickly.)<\/p>\n

2. Just move!<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s good to switch up our workouts, and it’s also good to discover what we like. I truly believe that everyone<\/em> loves some<\/em> form of exercise—we only need to figure out what that is!<\/p>\n

Personally, I’m continually trying new forms of exercise. For one, it reminds me why I love what I normally do, like Yoga, Pilates and weight lifting. For another, sometimes we have a talent for, or are excited by, something that we never would have suspected (like how I recently I discovered my adoration for HIIT cardio).<\/p>\n

Whatever you do, mama, don’t give up—our kids are looking at us for real-life examples of how to treat our bodies. Carving time out for ourselves can feel selfish, but it’s not—it’s that old “put on your<\/em> air mask first.”<\/p>\n

Do you have a tip for\u00a0parents\u00a0trying to take care of their bodies, with tiny people running around? Share in the comments section below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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