What is a valuable resource that we all wish we had more of? Time! Let’s face it. Moms are busy. And not just moms–dads are busy too! My husband I comment all the time about all the things we have to do, or even WANT to do, but don’t have the time to do. Oftentimes, exercise can be one of the things we want to do (or maybe feel like we have to do), but just don’t make time for.
I understand. It is hard. I think probably most moms have every intention of exercising at some point during the day, but reality quickly squashes excellent intentions. Case in point- the toddler. The toddler is an individual who is amazingly cute but also a complete time and energy sucker. It is even worse if there is more than one–not just a toddler, but maybe there is a baby screaming in the background as soon as you set him or her down. What about the kid who’s old enough to be self sufficient, but also old enough to understand and love the art of pushing the toddler and the baby’s buttons, turning the house from peaceful to uproarious at a moment’s notice. Workout? Ha. More like workout everyone’s issues.
And then there is the working mom. You work hard all day, solving other people’s problems, only to come home at 5 p.m. and realize you need to solve all of your family’s problems as well. Somehow, you must find it in you to love and care for your children with the minimal patience you have left after dealing with work all day. So after shoving all your housework into the small hours before bedtime, when do you have time to exercise?
What is HIIT for moms?
I am here to offer one solution that may help. Moms have limited time, so why not fit as much exercise in our limited time as possible? HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training, or exercises performed at high intensities for shorter amounts of time, usually with short recovery periods sprinkled throughout. It burns calories fast, but also helps produce lean muscle mass because your body is forced to turn stores of carbohydrates and fat into energy for the muscles to use. HIIT is definitely a fitness trend that has been popular recently, but I think it has value when done correctly.
HIIT is too much for your body to do on a daily basis and for long periods of time, so you really only need to do HIIT 2-3 times a week for 20-30 minutes each session! Keep in mind that your body will always adapt to whatever you throw at it, so on the other days during the week, you can keep the intensity down and do a lower impact steady-state form of exercise to burn calories a different way. Thus, balancing a few days of HIIT with a few days of lower intensity exercise such as a brisk walk (i.e. pushing a baby in the stroller… unless you are constantly having to dash after your kid who forgets to use the brakes on his bike), will give your body what it needs to stay fit and healthy.
HIIT can refer to any kind of exercise you do, as long as you crank up the intensity. It can be a cardio workout, such as a spin class, or a track workout, or it could be a way to weight train. While HIIT at its best will get your heart pumping and your muscles working, it should be noted that you will need to work up to it, and not expect to completely shred yourself from the get go. Your muscles, bones, and joints will need time to adapt to the load you will be putting on them. Your goal is to feel good after a workout, not overdone.
Work up by starting with less time, less weight, or less total number of exercises. After a few weeks, slowly workup by adding more weight, more time, or more total number of exercises.
Why should moms do HIIT?
I’ve already talked about how HIIT is very time efficient and very effective. It provides a lot of bang for your buck. But it also has incredible health benefits. I just completed reading a publication called “Ageless Intensity” by Pete McCall who talked about how HIIT could be the key to staying healthy for life and “minimize the physiological effects of aging.” When we grow as children, our bodies are naturally creating new bone, muscle, and brain cells. As our bodies age, we don’t just automatically do this anymore. The converse is sadly true.
Each year we age, we lose muscle mass, become less efficient at processing carbohydrates (our metabolism slows down), and we lose bone density. Unless we are actively using our muscles (including our hearts), doing weight bearing exercises for our bones and tendons and ligaments, and forcing nutrient rich blood through our bodies to strengthen and repair, we are going to feel the effects of aging. As we continue to push, our bodies are forced to adapt, even at the cellular level. Just think, each time you do a kettlebell swing, you are changing the way your body ages!
If I could keep my body feeling young and full of energy by doing HIIT 2-3 times a week, especially as a busy mom, I would do it. How about you?
How to do HIIT as a mom
The good thing about HIIT is that you can adapt it to what you enjoy doing, whether that is running, cycling, or weight training. You could do it at home, at the gym, at the track, in an exercise or spin class, alone, or with a friend. You can use your bodyweight, dumbbells, medicine balls, kettlebells, barbells, or bands.
I like to run. So instead of just going for a steady-state long run, I often amp it up by doing intervals at the track. You can check out some ways to get a HIIT speed workout, even with your kids tagging along here!
You may or may not like to run, so I am going to give several other examples to get your HIIT in. Remember, HIIT should only be done 2-3 times a week, coupled with a few days of lower intensity workouts. Here is a sample of what a week of HIIT and lower intensity workouts could look like.
| Monday: 30 minute steady state cardio (run, walk, bike, swim, etc) |
| Tuesday: HIIT weight training |
| Wednesday: 30 minute steady state cardio (run, walk, bike, swim, etc) |
| Thursday: HIIT weight training |
| Friday: Rest |
| Saturday: HIIT cardio day |
| Sunday: Rest |
By the way, walking a mile and running a mile burns the same amount of calories, so if you’re not a runner, walking, biking, or swimming can deliver just as good of a workout with less impact than running! If you do want to start running, your HIIT cardio day could turn into a walk/jog interval, where you walk for a period of time and then jog for a period of time, slowly building up to run/jog intervals. And do you see how rest days and lower impact days are sprinkled throughout the week? This will ensure that your body is able to recover and rebuild. If you do too much, your body won’t have the chance to build muscle! Muscle is built during rest, not during the workout.
What could a HIIT weight training session look like? It could look like so many things! I don’t want you to get scared right now picturing yourself doing millions of pullups, jumping on top of giant boxes, throwing tires, or lifting 300 lb bars into the air. HIIT training can be whatever you want it to be as long as your heart is pumping and you’re working your muscles. If you like to look at target heart rates, try to keep your high intensity intervals around 80-90% of your maximum heart rate.
If you don’t use your heart rate as a tool, you can always do the talk test. This test is a little looser but still gets the job done. A low intensity zone would be when you can carry on a full conversation with another individual, such as going for a casual walk. If you can still have a conversation, but have to pause for breath every now and then, with audible breathing, you are in the moderate zone. This would be more like a brisk walk uphill. If you can only say a few words in gasps, or not speak at all, you are in the high intensity zone.
I am a fan of doing full body workouts, so when I strength train, I try to hit most every major muscle group: arms, chest, shoulders, back, glutes, abs, hamstrings, quads, and calves. Here is a sample of what a 20-30 minute session could look like.
Alternate two exercises for three sets, each exercise will be 45 seconds of exercise, 15 seconds of rest
| Lunges (with or without weight)/Squat Jump | Burpee, upright row (with weight) /Squat overhead shoulder press (with weight) |
| Bicep curl/gorilla row | Chest press (with band or weight)/Kettlebell swing |
This workout would take a total of 24 minutes of actual workout time, hit most every muscle group, and get your heart pounding. This could be modified in many ways to make it better for you, with more weight, less weight, or no jumping. (Sometimes moms have trouble with the jumping ones! Hey, we’ve all been there.)
Another way to add intensity is to add weight. I also am a firm believer that lifting heavy is another way to add bang to your buck. If I am doing a simple exercise like squats, but have a lot of weight on there, my heart rate gets up in a hurry. Your workouts don’t have to be complex to be good. Here is an example of a pyramid style workout that amps up intensity on by adding weight as you drop repetitions. You should be able to complete each set with good form, but be feeling it by the last repetition. Don’t forget to take rest breaks in between the sets.
| First set, complete 10 repetitions with low weight |
| Second set, complete 8 repetitions with medium weight |
| Third set, complete 6 reps with highest weight |
| Bench press | Back extension |
| Squats | Shoulder Press |
| Lat pulldowns | Leg drops |
Another type of workout I love to do is a superset. A superset is where you limit your rest time in between sets because you do two exercises back to back. You can work the same muscle group with two different exercises, or you can work two different muscle groups. Doing supersets amps up the intensity by shortening or eliminating the rest breaks in between exercises.
Do each exercise for 30 seconds before switching to the other exercise. Complete three sets with little to no rest in between.
| Chest press Chest fly |
| Lunges Wall sit |
| Front shoulder raise Lateral shoulder raise |
| Bicep curls Tricep dips |
| Dead bugs Hip dips |
Final thoughts
If you are new to working out, there is a lot to learn. If you’re reading this and don’t even know where to start, it may be helpful to attend an exercise class where someone is telling you what to do, or get a personal trainer. After you have learned what exercises to do and how to do them, you could take off on your own.
Check and see if your local gym has a mommy workout class, like the one I teach. It is so important for moms to be able to get a great workout in, and relate with other moms! The class I teach meets in the gym so the kids can come along. They play while we workout, which usually keeps them distracted enough that the moms can actually get some quality workout time in.
There are also tons of HIIT options online, with programs that you can sign up for and do right in your home, or videos on YouTube you can watch for free.
HIIT comes with its risks as well. When exercising at higher intensities, you will need to make sure you take ample time to warm up your body before each workout, and cool it down properly after. Perform dynamic movements such as hip circles, leg swings, arm circles, high knees, etc before each session to get your muscles firing. Walk or jog after workouts to get your heart rate back to normal.
Mobility work and recovery are going to be of utmost importance. Keep your body feeling its best by stretching and rolling. I wrote about that recently here. Take the time to work out the knots and soreness to make sure you are ready for your next bout of HIIT! If you enjoy yoga, it is a wonderful way to keep your body mobile and strong. You can do this on rest or recovery days.
As usual, go get ’em, mama! With a little bit of planning, and just a little bit of time, you can be well on your way to feeling good about your fitness.