Celebrating Mother’s Day With SweatHouz and How SweatHouz Caters to Moms
Happy Mother's Day Mama |
At SweatHouz, we believe mothers deserve more than just a single day of recognition. But, we also celebrate and support mothers any chance we get; helping mothers stay committed to their mental and physical health every day of the year is a top priority of ours. Hear from wellness experts, who also happen to be moms, about the importance of prioritizing health and how SweatHouz can be a key component of your preventive wellness routine.
Health is multi-faceted.
Prioritizing the dimensions of mental and social health is key for moms, according to exercise scientist, online fitness coach, and mom Shelby Peterson, MS . “Most people are familiar with physical wellness – staying active with physical activity and eating a nutrient dense diet – but we are less familiar as a whole on mental and social health,” she says. “That includes taking care of oneself through stress management, setting boundaries in personal and professional life, and paying attention to what allows you to thrive in those scenarios,” Peterson adds.
Self Care isn't selfish.
Plus, evidence suggests that children model health behaviors they see from their parents. Malardie reflects that prioritizing her health “can positively impact (her) son – he’s seeing (her) engaging in healthy behaviors, and therefore being a positive role model in his life!.”
Moms Face Barriers to Prioritizing Wellness
3 Strategies that Help Moms Stick with it.
Malardie recognizes that “one of the main strategies that can assist with approaching a health commitment is identifying what your current routine and barriers are.” Think of this as taking an inventory of your current barriers to determine if they are physical ones (time, energy) or mental (for example, mom guilt).
Once the barriers are identified, you can look for “opportunities to create a realistic plan,” she adds. To get started with managing any barriers you face, Malardie recommends thinking through your current schedule by asking yourself questions, like:
- What time do you wake up?
- What time do you work?
- How many hours of sleep are you currently getting?
- What times of the day would it be possible to fit in additional activity or heal-supporting activities.
- Is there anything you can make easier to achieve that goal (ex: laying our workout clothes the night before)?
Dr. Leboeuf recommends setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound) for health behaviors. “I find that with Moms, they often struggle with the ‘attainable’ and ‘realistic’ aspects the most. A lot of active Moms were able to exercise 5-6 days per week for 1+ hours prior to having kids.
Once they become a parent, that sort of exercise schedule may not be realistic or attainable,” she says. Rather, “it is important to set goals that make sense for your life right now.” Maybe that means booking 1 infrared sauna session each week and sticking with the commitment for the next several months before reassessing, for example.
Peterson is a huge fan of identifying your non-negotiables and setting yourself up for success with prioritizing them. She explains that “non-negotiables can look like always getting in a walk, where some days it may be short and some days it is long, based on how much time you have.
Everyone will have different non-negotiables, but finding what those are for you and setting those as your “bare minimum requirement” daily can allow you to take on a more some over none mentality (as opposed to all or nothing!).
Not every day is going to be doable to hit every commitment you’re wanting to make, but finding ways to still get some done can help you in the long run!” Losing the ‘all or nothing’ mentality in favor of the ‘consistency beats perfection’ mentality sounds good to us!