As you may recall from my past posts, I am pretty drained being the mother of two tiny humans. I am constantly exhausted, I don’t eat well and I’m always sore. 

Regaining energy when you’re a mom can be hard. You are constantly changing a diaper, preparing a meal, putting in another load of laundry and reheating your morning coffee for the third time in hopes of actually finishing it. Sometimes that cup of coffee is the only thing you have all morning and you’re hoping the caffeine jolt will help you get to that second load of laundry. Caffeine is my go-to. I never let that cup of liquid gold go to waste. I will slurp it down steaming hot if that’s all I have time for but I need that caffeine to get me through the day. 

Isn’t that sad?

I wish I could wake up in the morning ready to greet the day. Instead I drag myself out of bed, schlep into the baby’s room to get him ready for the day, then I go to the toddler’s room to get her ready. I always, always take time to make that cup of coffee while getting Miss O’s breakfast ready. I am not human until I do. I wish that were different. I wish I could wake up ready to go. I’ve come to realize that there is only one way to do this: Go to the gym. When I used to work out fairly regularly, I found myself less tired and more motivated to get things done. This was pre-kids when I never drank coffee to function so clearly staying fit and active was working well back then.

I decided it was time to get off the couch and get back into my old stomping grounds at GoodLife Fitness. I was a member there many moons ago in my pre-mom days and I always loved it. So one night after the kids were in bed, off I trudged with my worn out sneakers and my iPod, determined to gain some energy and if I was lucky, a little bit of sanity. As an added bonus, I hope to tone up this flabby post-baby belly I’ve got going on along with the after-30 “arm wing”. 

 I fell right back into step. It’s been a while but not too much has changed at the club and for that I am thankful. Kelly was a fantastic host and was happy to answer all of my questions and refresh me on the location of everything in the club. I put on my workout clothes, popped in my headphones, did some wonderfully refreshing stretches and got on that cross-trainer. I started small, only going for 15 minutes but I can honestly say that I ENJOYED those 15 minutes sweating away to the beat of the tunes I had cranked in my ears. For those 15 minutes I felt energized. I didn’t think about anything. And you know what? I actually felt relaxed for the first time in a long time. Who knew you could feel relaxed at the gym? 

After my bit of cardio, I continued my way around the Fit Fix weight-training circuit. This is a great circuit – the machines are easy to use with detailed diagrams on them. They’re also quick which is very important to me during my workouts. Each machine targets a specific muscle or group of muscles and I can choose exactly which area to focus on. The ab machines are usually the most popular in the women-only section of the gym – I guess other moms feel the same way about their bellies! After spending about 20 minutes on the circuit, I did my final stretches and I headed home. It was a short trip but I didn’t want to burn myself out; that was the opposite of my reason for going in the first place.

Did I wake up the next morning with a spring in my step? Well, no. But do I plan on going back again? You bet. You have to build up that energy one step at a time. But one day I will wake up ready to face the day and that cup of coffee can wait. For a little bit anyway.

 Disclaimer: I am a member of the GoodLife Fitness Blogger Ambassador program. All opinions expressed herein are my own.