A Simple At-Home Workout Routine

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During the last quarter of 2016 I joined a gym that was no where near my house. I picked it because it had the best childcare in the area, which meant I was comfortable leaving Em there, but it also meant we spent 20 minutes and 10 miles driving each way to get there. Originally it wasn't a big deal because the kids were happy with going, and at the time our membership was free due to our family income and household size, so the drive didn't seem that terrible. 

Toward the end of the year though, Derek got a raise at work, which bumped us out of the free membership threshold, and we were paying $40/month to go. It wasn't horrible, but then the cold weather hit and the kids were getting sick from the daycare each week, and I couldn't bring them when they were sick because I didn't want other kids to get sick from them, so then we were basically never going, and I decided to cancel our membership. 

Since we're no longer going to the gym each day, I wanted to come up with an easy workout that I could do at home. One of my New Year's Goals was to wake up early each day to exercise, so I've wanted to get in the habit of doing something simple, but still impactful each day.

My new morning routine now consists of me waking up at 7am, heading downstairs to workout, and then eating a little something with a large glass of water before the kids wake up for breakfast. I've been loving the new Special K Protein Bars lately. My brother-in-law was telling me that I need to start eating more protein after I workout, so I've loved adding these into my routine since they have wholesome ingredients, 8g of protein, and amazing flavors. Right now I have the Chocolate Cherry Nut one, but I've heard the Caramel Cashew Pretzel ones are pretty fabulous as well. I'll have to wait to try them though since I think everyone was taking advantage of Target's Cartwheel offer though because the box you see in this picture was the very last one left on the shelf.

My daily workout isn't much, but it's enough to get my hear-rate up and make me feel like I've actually done something productive before the kids wake up. I start out by running a mile on our treadmill. (We got ours from a neighbor who was getting rid of it for free, so see if you can score a sweet deal like that too!) I made a promise to myself this year that I wasn't going to run any miles slower than 10 minutes. So I just set the treadmill at 6.0, set my brain to cruise control, and then jack up the speed, and sprint like crazy for the last quarter mile. I then do the following...

Workout Routine (Repeat 2-3 Times)

20 squats

15 second plank

25 crunches

35 jumping jacks

15 lunges

25 second wall sit

10 sit ups

10 butt kicks

5 push ups

Once my workout is done for the day, I love to pour myself a bowl of cereal, and sit down and eat with the kids when they wake up. Special Protein Cereal has been a go-to for me lately since it has 14g of protein per serving and helps keep me full and energized until lunch. I usually pair it with a smoothie  or a side of fruit to help get those servings in too!

What are your favorite workouts to do at home? Are there certain protein bars and bites that you've been loving lately? Let me know in the comments below!