Balancing Fitness with Business
by Tiffany Krumins on November 14, 2016 in Tiffany Krumins
By: Tiffany Krumins – Mom and Entrepreneur
The business of being a Mom.
The business of being a Dad.
The business of being a ______.
Or, in my case, the business of being a mom while running a BUSINESS!
I’ve found that balance can be more easily achieved with planning. Have you noticed that as Moms we schedule everything under the sun, but that the schedule is typically for everyone else?
Soccer at four, Ballet at five, dinner at six with that friend you haven’t seen in years and don’t really even care to catch up with…and the list goes on and on.
Why aren’t we taking the time to schedule better personal health/fitness into our calendars?
Find The Time
The most common excuse is often time. When I hear Mom’s and Dad’s say, “I just don’t have enough time to workout”, it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes.
“Those who think they have no time for exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” -Edward Stanley
Having faced cancer at such a young age, I learned very quickly that without my health, I had nothing. I couldn’t raise my babies, if I didn’t fight and survive cancer. I couldn’t build my business if I didn’t get my strength and good health back. I would have no choice but to make my health my #1 priority. And that meant at the time I had to schedule it, even if that meant between radiation treatments.
Scheduling good health back into your life takes three easy steps:
Schedule it.
Stop with the excuses.
Do it.
“I’ve scheduled my workout but the weather isn’t great today” or “I have my toddler with me all day, how am I supposed to work out!?”
Plan For Success
We may not be able to predict the weather in order to prepare for outdoor workouts, but we can set a flexible schedule that can be easily adjusted with the conditions of the great outdoors! For example, with the extreme heat in Georgia, my workout schedule looks different in the summertime than it does in the Fall or Winter. In the summer I have to get to the park and be done with my run before 9am, as I’m not exactly partial to heat strokes! Or, if it’s raining, I may have to take my workout back indoors, doing yoga that day.
As for your little ones, the beautiful thing about Bob strollers is, they allow you to incorporate your children into your workout. I have an almost 3 year old and although he can easily walk for miles already, I make him sit in the stroller for my run. That’s my time and he has to strap in and stay put for 45 minutes, no questions asked! Well, no questions minus “Mama, can I go potty?”, “Mama, can we go to the playground?”, “Mama, can I have a snack?”…..
Start today by pre-planning fitness into your week! Make it the FIRST thing you schedule and promise yourself it will remain the most important priority on your list!
Some tips on making the change and staying on track:
Schedule
Sit down on Sunday and open your calendar. It may be that you keep your schedule on your iphone, your kitchen wall or your ol’ reliable paper planner, use whatever works for you! Schedule 5 workouts into your week. It may be that 4 out of 5 of your initial workouts are 20 minute walks pushing your little one in their stroller, and that’s ok, just make sure you set your goals and stick to them!
Track Your Progress
I encourage myself by using a mileage tracking app for whatever the workout might be, running, hiking, inline skating, etc. If your local park has mile markers, you’ll have a great idea of how many miles you might do each day. Add them up for the week and set that goal. As the week goes by and you have less motivation (AND ENERGY!), knowing you only have ___ miles until you reach your goal will inspire you to keep going!
Set a Goal
Sign up, in advance, for a 5k, 10k or even a marathon if that’s your thing! Knowing you have paid for a registration and have the date on your calendar keeps you motivated to prepare for that day!
Focus on the Feeling
When you are tempted to skip a workout, remind yourself of the feeling you always have AFTER! The feeling of accomplishment, the feeling of being just a little bit stronger and most importantly, knowing that you are teaching your children to take care of their most prized possession, their health!