My 30 Day Challenge Experience, Part 2: Why and How I use 10 Minute Trainer

I actually have tried to take my baby girl to the local swim and tennis club where they have child care for moms working out, but as it is not a real child care facility (they do not change diapers or anything) so if there is too much fuss or a dirty diaper they come to get me. When my little girl would cry unconsolably I can literally hear her even as I swim laps with my ear to the water. What can I say, it is a mommy superpower to be able to tune into the cry of her offspring.  It is not fun for anyone involved to have to deal with that, and for that reason I have found myself not going to the swim club as often as I would like. I find that the home gym is an easier way to deal with this developmental stage.

I chose 10 Minute Trainer Challenge Pack as my workout to kickstart with on my fitness journey in 2012 because I need to have a flexible schedule and whatever workout I can fit in my day needs to work around my children, in particular, my baby girl. My children are not very good sleepers and naps are not easy to come by. I usually have to work quite hard to get them down to a nap that is not always long. average, during the day, my baby girl sleeps about 40 minutes long and then wakes up yelling for me. I am often not able to fit in a full hour of exercise with her as she is going through a high maintenance time right now where separation anxiety has developed.

With the 10 Minute Trainer, I can play at least one session with warm up and cool down. I might add a second or even third session if I am lucky. There has been times when Jane woke up mid-workout, but in that situation I simply press pause on the DVD, get her out, and put her in an exersaucer I placed in the livingroom where she and I can see each other as I continue wrapping up my workout.  Most of the time once she has napped my baby is fairly agreeable and will watch me workout with an amused look on her face. The first few times she even laughed and giggled.

My baby is currently 9 months old so she goes down for a late morning nap and an afternoon nap. I sometimes split my workouts into two different times of the day. It’s a home DVD, so there is plenty of ease and flexibility. I don’t have to run to the gym twice, or interrupt a class because of this schedule.  If for some reason I cannot settle her down for a nap or have her sit without crying while I workout, then I will go out for a walk. I might walk to the supermarket, or run errands around town on foot. Since I started this fitness journey, I go out for a walk everyday (weather permitting) and I have been using the car to run errands only on rainy days. My strollers has a nice sized basket, so I can buy most of the week’s worth of fresh food that I would need to prepare for meals.

With 10-Minute Trainer, I am able to fit my workout and still get laundry done and dinner prepared. I prepare dinner after I work out. I let things get a little dirtier or messier before I clean it these days, but it is not bad enough to the point that my husband would notice! Laundry still gets done and my family has clean clothes to wear. Dinner is still prepared with love and care; if anything, I put more thought into the dishes I prepare with a focus on healthy preparation. I drink Shakeology for breakfast so I definitely save some time and energy in the morning and focus more attention on that one meal of the day for the family to eat together.

After 30 days with 10 Minute Trainer, I still find it challenging! I am a bit surprised that this is considered a beginner workout but it is definitely a good workout that you get with this program. The challenge pack says that this program is designed to be a 30-day program/challenge but I feel like one can really use 10 Minute Trainer for 60 days or 90 days as well. This is also a workout that I can go back to even after I try out other ones to add to my collection. This is definitely a great workout for a busy person because anyone can fit in at least 10-14 minutes!