Wishing you had more time?

If you are like me, then you are always wishing there was a way to add time to your day.  Whether it be to finish up a project at work before heading home, having adequate time to cook a healthy meal, or even better, actually being able to sit down and enjoy a meal as a family…having an extra hour or two would be AH-MAZING!  But, lets be real…if we added an hour, we would just add another project, do an extra errand on the way home, or do more chores around the house.  So, because we can’t perform magic, the best we can do is make the most of the time that we have.

Before having a family, carving out an hour for the gym each day was no problem.  In fact, it was part of my daily routine, and quite frankly the highlight of my day.  Fast forward to my current situation, and an hour a day no longer exists for me to sweat with friends at my favorite gym.  So, instead of giving up, I decided to get creative.  Here are a few ways to make the most of your time.  Keep in mind, these are a few routines that I try and fit in a few times a week, so feel free to mix it up!  I aim to sweat for at least 20 minutes, and find that these workouts do the trick:

Workout 1 | Deck of Cards

This is the BEST.  A great option if you are home or traveling with limited equipment.  But, if you have equipment at home…even better!  Throw in some curls or presses if you have dumbbells. 

To get started, pick 4 exercises (each is assigned a suit), shuffle your cards, and get to work.  Do as many reps as the number on the card.  If you pull a face card do the following- Jack- 11 reps, Queen- 12 reps, King- 13 reps, Ace- 14 reps.  Here is one of my favorite combos-

• Hearts- Sit Ups
• Spades- Burpees
• Clubs- Walking Lunges (each side)
• Diamonds- Push Ups

Workout 2 | 10-1 of 3 exercises with a minute of cardio between each round

First, pick out three different exercises and identify what you want your cardio to be.  If you are outside, consider doing a quick run.  Or if you have a jump rope, grab it and go for 1 minute between each round.  Here is one that I do every week-

• 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Squat Jumps (or just squat!)
  • Mountain Climbers (each side)
  • Toe Touch Sit Ups
• Don’t forget to do 1 minute of cardio after you complete all 3 of the exercises…so once you have done 10 Squat Jumps, Mountain Climbers (each side) and Toe Touch Sit Ups, do some sort of cardio for one minute. Then once you complete all 9, do the same, etc.

As you can see, none of the workouts above are too complex, or too time consuming.  But I can promise you that they will generate a ton of sweat in a short amount of time!  Have fun!

Fast Facts about Kate:

• Vice President of Marketing at J&A Racing
• Favorite J&A Racing Event: Anthem Wicked 10K
• Favorite Personal Race Memory: meeting up with an old friend annually to the Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon and the Richmond Half Marathon
• Random Fun Fact: spent a few years living the good life Jackson, WY before settling back in VB