30-Second Exercises Moms Can Do Anywhere

30-Second Exercises Moms Can Do Anywhere. (Head over to Chronicles of a Babywise Mom to learn how to teach sound waves to kids!)

There is nothing quite like the feeling right after you’ve worked out really hard. I usually feel exhausted, but strong and accomplished. I pushed through when it was hard and didn’t give up even when my muscles were screaming. It’s the best feeling! Exercising is something I’ve come to love, but I remember when I was just starting out; it was intimidating. I wondered if I was even doing anything right and knew I probably looked foolish. I’ve had a lot of my mom friends tell me they dislike working out at the gym because they feel self-conscious. I also know that as a busy mom, I don’t always have time to get my workout gear on and make it to the gym. That’s when I came up with the idea for this post…

Quick little exercises that we can do while we’re waiting for macaroni and cheese to boil or for our children to be done using the potty. Do I think that doing these 30-second exercises a few times a day will transform your body and help you lose weight? Honestly, probably not. But I DO 100% believe that it will get you in the right mindset. Exercising will start to feel ‘normal’ to you. 30-seconds turns into a minute, which turns into 5-minutes, which turns into 10-minutes. These 30-second exercises can build your confidence and make exercising become part of your life.

How to Do These 30-Second Exercises

Set a stopwatch or timer for 30-seconds. Actually, set it for 35 so you have time to get into place! Perform each exercise for 30-seconds. There are 8 of them and you don’t have to do them all at once. Write them out and as you do them throughout the day, check them off.

Then, make goals for yourself. If you’ve mastered doing them once a day, try doing it twice a day, OR upping your time to 45 seconds! You can also add in extra intervals of cardio.

Here are the exercise moves:

• Wall squat
• Regular squats
• Plank
• 3-Direction Crunches
• Wide-Set Incline Pushups
• Tricep Incline Pushups
• Jumping Jacks

If you know how to perform these moves, then hop to it!

Wall Squat

Stand a few inches in front of a wall and pull your abs in. Hinge slightly at your waist and slide your booty against the wall and sink down into a squat position. You can even hold your phone and scroll through Instagram while you’re doing this move! The lower you are, the more challenging it is. Your goal should be to be able to hold the position for the entire 30-seconds.

Make it harder: go lower!

Squats

Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Push your wight into your heels, and sink down into a squatting position. Keep your eyes ahead of you, your spine neutral, and your chest and shoulders up. Raise back up to neutral position and squeeze your glutes at the top. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Plank

Lie on your stomach with your forearms touching the ground, chest-width apart and directly under your shoulders. Raise yourself a few inches off the ground, so you are supporting yourself with your forearms and your toes. Squeeze everything together! Booty, legs, abs! Pull your belly-button towards your spine and don’t drop your hips, but also don’t stick your booty up in the air! Your body should be completely flat and straight, like a board or a… plank! This will be difficult to hold for 30 seconds, so start with smaller amounts and build up.

Make it harder: Lift one foot in the air and point your toes!

3-Direction Crunches

Lie on your back with your legs bent and your hands behind your ears. Pull your belly-button into your spine, exhale, and crunch to the right by bringing your left elbow towards your right knee. Inhale and return to starting position; exhale and crunch straight up. Then crunch to the left by bringing your right elbow towards your left knee. Repeat this for 30-seconds, exhaling each time you come up. Use your breath to power through.

Make it harder: Perform the move twice in each direction.

Wide-Set Incline Countertop Pushup

Step out from the counter top and place your palms on the counter, wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull in your abs and keep your body straight, just like in the plank position. Inhale and lower your chest to the counter, then exhale and push yourself away.

Make it harder: Step away from the counter. The farther away you are, the more challenging it is!

Tricep Incline Countertop Pushup

This move is performed the same way as the wide-set pushup, but your arms are right next to your sides. Inhale and lower, keeping your arms at your side at all times, and exhale and push away from the counter.

Make it harder: Step away from the counter. The farther away you are, the more challenging it is!

I hope that these 30-second exercises inspire you and encourage you! A little bit every day is a great start to building healthy habits.

Caitlin is a stay-at-home mom to Theo (4) and Josie and Margo (2). She blogs about twin life, mom life, and strives to encourage others to live a full, healthy life. You can follow her blog Twin Mom and More as well as find her on Facebook and Instagram.