Easy 31-Day Workout Schedule
I’m 8 months postpartum, and bathing suit season is fast approaching. I HATE working out, I hate being sore, I hate being tired, and I hate sacrificing time to make it happen. But, I also don’t like looking like a toothpick with no muscle tone, so I had to come to terms with the fact that if I want to look different, I have to do something about it.
My goal is to work out every day in March. I know in general that doing strenuous workouts without a rest day every few days isn’t good for you, but I also know how I am, and in order for this to become a habit for me, I have to do SOMETHING every day. I’m titling this “Let’s March,” because in addition to liking positive life changes, I also LOVE a good pun.
My friend and I devised a plan. We picked something easy that doesn’t require a lot of skill, doesn’t require a lot of time, builds up so we are starting small, and can go with us or be done at any time of day. #noexcuses
I found the graphics above on Pinterest (but I can’t find the original sources, so if they’re yours, please let me know). Since doing the same thing every day gets boring, we decided instead of spelling our names, we would spell the date (ONE, TWO, THREE, etc).
My thought behind this was that in general the words get longer as the month goes on, and there’s some variation in the letters. She put it all together for me in a Google calendar. She cleverly named it “Judy & Caitlin Vs. Floppy Butts,” a hilariously accurate and motivating title.
Judy’s idea was to add in some YouTube workout videos for the weekends to switch it up. Since we almost always have our smartphones in hand, this too becomes incredibly convenient to do anywhere (though streaming a video over cellular might not be wise for your data plan. If that’s you, those days can easily be replaced with some other combination of the letters above). She also spelled the numbers as hilariously as possible to give us even more variety. Obviously they don’t all line up with the date, instead they count up in numerical order; the idea is that you can totally modify this as you need to.
Here’s a timelapse of my March 1st Workout. Total time start to finish was 6 minutes, I was winded and out of breath, but I barely broke a sweat. If you notice in the video, I didn’t even change into workout clothes. SEE? EASY. For me right now, the goal is getting into the habit and starting small so that this becomes a sustainable life change. As a stay at home mom of two young kids, I don’t have a ton of flexibility, time, etc. because of the needs of the little people in my care; so for me going to the gym, using equipment, etc. is out right now. But I DO have the flexibility of being able to do this type of workout wherever I am, whenever I have a few minutes here and there, which IS possible. And since, at a maximum, these workouts will take me 20 minutes, I know I don’t have to sacrifice precious sleep.
The other really great thing is that my almost 3 year old wants to work out, too. So by the time I’ve showed her how to do a jumping jack, I’ve already gotten halfway through that workout. Kids have short attention spans, and they like watching moms. So take heart: even if you look ridiculous doing it, your kid will enjoy it. #noexcuses
Today is March 2nd, and I am a little sore. So, that sucks, but today’s workout is still only 3 moves. And being sore means I actually did something! Many of these exercises are easy to modify. Until I’m done with pelvic floor physical therapy, I will alternate between doing regular and modified jumping jacks so that I’m not doing as many high-impact things that aggravate the prolapse I still sometimes feel since having my first baby.
That’s it, easy-pasy lemon-squeezy. Let’s March! Do this, or a similar, workout with me, and let me know how it’s going. Or, let me know of something else easy and quick that you like. Variety is the spice of life.
Happy Marching.
