Calling All Parents: How to "Fit" in Fitness during the After-School Rush

Are you lost in the haze that is your daily schedule after 3pm? Between school lunches, drop offs and pickups, after-school practices and dance lessons, finding 30-60 minutes 3-4 times per week to dedicate to maintaining and improving your physical (and mental) health is a hard-pressed task to complete. 

My three children range in age from 8-14 years old. They are each involved in one sport and each takes music lessons. They have a plethora of homework every night. I realized I was spending anywhere between 3-7 hours per week just sitting around waiting for my kids at any given activity. I concluded that I needed to become a time management ninja or I was going to get lost in the shuffle. I decided to use that time for my cardio workouts. On days that I simply can't make it to the gym for a resistance training workout (I usually hit the gym during my lunch break a few times per week), I incorporate a variety of body weight resistance exercises into my cardio workout so my fitness level doesn't backslide during extra busy weeks. 

During the average hour and a half practice or lesson, I average 5 miles while walking briskly. If you incorporate that aspect alone twice per week and change nothing else (assuming caloric intake does not rise) you could lose an extra 10-15lbs in one year's time. Obviously, that's over simplifying it and we will discuss metabolism and physiology in other posts. However, it becomes clear that a little bit of effort can result in substantial changes with consistency and time.

If you are thinking about starting a fitness program but, aren't quite sure where to begin, my mantra for fitting in fitness is: "Something is always better than nothing" as long as that something follows these guidelines:

• Safe - Getting injured while exercising is counter productive
• Progressive - So that you continually challenge your body as your fitness level increases over time 
• Relevant - Considering your individual fitness goals and limitations (not a one size fits all workout).

You can track your distance and pace using free fitness apps like "Logmyrun" which use GPS to track your activity. We will talk more about this topic in another post.


To get started, we've put together some suggestions just for you. Check out our sample "anywhere" workout with how-to videos for each exercise. If you have questions about this workout or anything fitness related, we'd be happy to answer you in a flash! Just email us here: info@360fitnessonline.com.

"Anywhere" Workout #1

Warm-up - Walk 10 minutes

Perform 1-5 sets of the entire circuit of the following exercises resting 2-3 minutes between each set. 

Body weight Squats (Advanced: Jump Squats) 10-20 repetitions

Push Ups 10-20 repetitions

Stationary Lunge (Advanced Reverse Lunge) 10-20 each leg

Side Plank 10-20 repetitions each side

Stationary Lunge (Advanced Forward Lunge) 10-20 repetitions each leg

Crunches 10-20 repetitions