One Minute Workouts For Work at Home Moms

This isn’t the type of post I normally write, mostly because the extent of my workouts usually include the occasional trip to Zumba and carrying loads of laundry up and down the stairs. But this year, as God has blessed me with the incredible opportunity to work from home, I’ve found myself needing to get up and move – intentionally – throughout the day. Otherwise, I sit here in my office chair, conveniently located in our kitchen, where I’m more likely to get up to get coffee & a snack than I am to workout.

Have I mentioned it’s winter? And we have about two feet of snow melting off our deck? Not exactly great motivation or opportunity to get up and go for a walk outside. The one problem I’ve discovered with working at home doing I job I love with my whole heart is that I get so caught up in it that I forget to take care of myself. In a traditional office setting there would be interruptions, meetings to walk to, lunch breaks to take, copiers to stand at..waiting…forever..for someone to finish collating 100 page presentation.

Ahem.

Working from home? Well…there are no lines at the copier. No interruptions (unless my family is home on ANOTHER snow day. Is it spring yet?). No conference room to wander to for a meeting or friend’s office to go visit because..well..my meetings and friends all live in my computer. At my desk. Where I stay all day.

Even though this isn’t something I normally write about, I think it’s important to share with your community when you find something that works for you, in case it helps someone else. It also goes along with my “one word” for the year – because one area of my life I need to feel more capable is taking care of myself. And sitting still all day doesn’t work for me. But neither does joining a gym and working out for an hour. So..what’s a girl to do?

Use the tools in front of her and make it simple! Here’s the plan – one minute workouts for the work at home mom (or anyone..I just liked the alliteration) using free tools that you already have on your phone:

1. Set your “reminder” app to alert you every hour from 8am to 4pm to get up and do one minute of exercise every hour on the hour
2. Pick exercises you love, exercises that challenge you, and a couple fun stretches so you don’t hate it
3. Use the timer app on your phone and get started!

It’s seriously that simple. Here’s the thing – I can do anything for one minute. Mentally, even on my weakest days, I can power through to do one minute of something. It’s over before you know it. It’s not even the full length of a song. It might be shorter than some commercials on TV. But a one minute plank? Yeah…that’s a workout. One minute of jumping jacks? My legs start to feel the burn near the end.

And after each one I get back to work feeling more energized. My head is clear, my heart is racing a little, blood is flowing and I have a sense of accomplishment. The tools are free, you can switch up the exercises as often as you need to so you don’t get bored, and it’s 9 minutes of exercise I wouldn’t normally do if I had to do it all at once.

Take time for yourself today, friend. Take care of yourself so that you can chase those dreams, work hard, and serve God. The steps might be small but the impact is great. 

How do you stay active during the day, or intentionally take time to care for yourself? I’d love to hear your best tips & tricks – and any good exercises I can mix in here!