Before I had Jackson, I was extremely consistent with my exercise routine. Every week, at least 3-4 times a week (often more!) I would work out for about 30-45 minutes. I’ve alternated between going to a gym, working out at home, and running outside, but over and over again I have always gone back to my old favorite: workout videos.
I have memories of borrowing my mom’s Billy Blaine workout VHS tapes and her Reebok Step workout videos when I was a child – it’s always been fun for me to work out from the comfort of my own home, and I’ve been actively looking for ways to exercise for pretty much my whole life.
When I had Jackson, of course, much of that went out the window. It is so hard to find time to exercise when you’re juggling a toddler, work, and family time, and sadly exercise is usually the first to go for me. I haven’t been consistent about it lately, but for a while I was getting up at 5:00 every morning to sneak in a quick, 20-minute workout from the comfort of my living room. I became quite the connoisseur of short workout videos, so here are my 7 favorite workouts that you can find on YouTube – one for every day of the week!
Title: Calorie-Crushing Cardio
Length: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy – this one is easily adaptable for beginners, doesn’t require any equipment, and won’t kill you if you’re out of practice!
Title: 30-Day Shred
Length: 27 minutes (a little over 20, but some of that is introductory)
Difficulty: There are three different levels. My favorite is level two – it seems to be the perfect difficulty for me, but I often do level one if I haven’t worked out in a while!
Title: Ultimate Fat Burn Workout
Length: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate. You won’t be bored, but you’ll definitely work up a sweat.
Title: Yoga With Adriene
Length: Varied – anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes
Difficulty: Varied, but it’s definitely mostly beginner-intermediate level yoga. I particularly love her 30 Days of Yoga challenge videos!
Title: 15-Minute Insanity Workout
Length: 17 minutes
Difficulty: Hard. Maybe I was just out of shape the last time I tried this one, but I almost didn’t make it through!
Title: 10-Minute Abs
Length: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate. If you’ve done any sort of ab workout in the past, it’s not that difficult. It’s great for when you’re running short on time and don’t want to sweat too much.
Title: How to Get a Six-Pack
Length: 12 minutes
Difficulty: Your abs will be SORE. This one isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s short!
. . . . .
What do you like to do to squeeze in exercise when you’re short on time?
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
This is perfect timing- I was just saying I need to do some videos at home since I can’t do long walks like I used to!
grapefruit / 4584 posts
THANK YOU! I’ve also been saying I need to find some videos for abs/toning now that I no longer get to pilates class. Taking the time to search for videos has been putting me off taking action, now I’ve got no excuse
cherry / 189 posts
i love fitness blender!
blogger / apricot / 431 posts
Nice! Hopefully I can motivate myself to at least do 20 min a few times a week….baby steps…
guest
I just joined Moms Into Fitness streaming and I like it so far. Everything is like 30 minutes and it’s made for busy moms with kids.
grapefruit / 4291 posts
Just something to think about but many of the popular workouts aren’t designed for postpartum mothers and can be really unkind on the body (particularly if you’re suffering from Diastasis Recti or are at risk of prolapse).?Crunches, planks and most ab work that involves having two feet off the floor can actually harm your core muscles so it definitely pays to do some research before embarking on a new workout.
coconut / 8079 posts
Thanks for the suggestions! I wasn’t able to get as much exercise in January as I planned to. February will be better!
bananas / 9118 posts
Moms Into Fitness is by far my favorite. I still can’t stomach 30 Day Shred from pre-wedding workouts years ago. Lindsay Brin is so much less pressure, which makes me more willing to do it.
blogger / apricot / 310 posts
This is a great collection -thanks for sharing! I’m definitely going to have to try some of these out in coming weeks!
kiwi / 511 posts
I am the opposite of you I am always looking for ways to not exercise. Sadly for me the only thing that actually works to take off weight is 60ish minutes of exercise 5-6 days (weep).
The silver lining is that I can break it up into 2 segments and still get results. I do the first half in the AM before work and the second half at lunch since I get an hour for lunch. I do walk if there is sun and it is reasonable weather wise (it helps combat my SAD) otherwise I am on the elliptical at the office park gym.
I am currently on day 7 of Jillian Michael’s 30 day beginner shred in the morning and it is about 24 minutes long. Other DVDs that work for me because they have segments that are about 20-30 minutes for either cardio or toning are Denise Austin, Kathy Smith (Rules of Fat Burning). My longer one is The Firm Cardio Dance which is 45, the express is about 25 minutes.
I will never like or love exercise, but I have come to terms with it. I do love the way I feel now and the fact that I am not always as tired. I love those feelings more than I hate exercise so that is what keeps me going.
guest
Just wanted to say thanks for the tips! Just tried Yoga with Adriene today and it was great!