So you've been a mother for a while. Good for you, mothers are important. I know I have one! But you know what? I've seen my mother get so tied up from taking care of Dad, me and the house that she had very little time to take care of her fitness. Boy, the things you see in retrospect. Anyway, my mother used to be a beanpole; fitness came from all kinds of activity. I've seen the wedding photos so I know it to be so! I can also remember my mother putting on weight over the years. I'm sure my mother will read this, so I must choose my words carefully! When I think about it though, I know why this can happen to a lot of mothers. Life gets in the way and fitness takes a side seat.

It can be truly hard to find time for fitness as a mother when you have a child, or even two for that matter! The amount of running around and chores that need to be done can make you really tired at the end of the day and the last thing you’re thinking of is fitness.

If you're a working mother, you can add a whole other dimension to the busy factor. Needless to say, with the build up of things expected of a mother, fitness is not on your mind at the end of the day. You get very limited time to yourself except for that cherished time once the gremlins are put to bed or are in school. That's a small window of opportunity if you want to incorporate fitness into your lifestyle and be a good mother to boot.

Its tuff to get the time to work out but it’s even tougher to be happy when your self image is at an all time low. Fitness makes mothers feel good about them selves. Your self-image plays an important role in how close you can be with your spouse also. I don't think I'll get into this too much, but things heat up between partners when they feel confident about their bodies. I mean, sometimes the spark can fade a little if a couple drops fitness and their bodies slide.

You owe it to your self to have "me time" also. It's important to your well being as a mother. Schedule it in. Get fitness into your life. All activity in life involves fitness, and anything can be made into a workout. Go for a walk. Hire a fitness trainer to come to your home to put you through a workout.

You should also talk to other mothers that are into fitness. I've found that in almost every situation that life can offer, that if you want to achieve something, the shortest route to success is to ask someone who is already there. The other thing is like my mother said, "You are who you hang around with". It's so true. If you want fitness in your life, hang around with mothers that think fitness is important.

Making fitness part of your life is so easy when your friends are into it too. They eat healthy so you eat healthy. You can go for walks together, support each other and on and on. It's an upward spiral of fitness mayhem! Now that is a great thing.

Ray Burton is a personal trainer in Calgary Alberta. He has trained for Golds Gym, World Health Club and the Canadian Military. Now running his own personal training company "Buildingbodies Personal Training" and promoting his book "Fat To Fit", Ray enjoys helping people live better lives through his fitness tips newsletter

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