I Worked Out While I Made Dinner — And It Saved Me When I Needed It Most

There was a season where I worked out in my kitchen.

Not in a gym, not with a structured program. When my son was younger (he's a teenager now) I was standing over the stove waiting for dinner to finish, and I was doing calf raises or squats or whatever I could fit into that window while I was waiting on dinner to finish. It felt a little ridiculous at the time. But I kept doing it because I wanted to stay healthy and prioritize myself when i could. Not only for me, but for my family. Something in me kept saying: you need to get stronger.

At the time I didn't know why.

I know now.

The Season of Just Getting Stronger

A few years ago, I started feeling a persistent pull toward physical strength. Not toward a specific athletic goal or training program. Just a quiet, steady nudge toward getting stronger. I was a busy mom running a photography business, taking care of my family. My husband and I had a full life. There were plenty of reasons to skip workouts, and I used most of them at some point.

But something kept me moving anyway.

I worked out in pockets of time. Over the stove. During commercials. At the gym when I could get there, with hand weights at home when I could not. It was not impressive by any fitness standard. It was just consistent, in a small, imperfect way.

When You Do Not Know What You Are Preparing For

Here is what I have come to understand: sometimes you build strength for a reason you cannot see yet.

My husband is a stroke survivor. He had his stroke on August 5th 2021 and Before that happened, I had no idea it was coming. But I had been in a season of genuinely working on my physical strength, without knowing what was ahead and without any particular reason beyond a feeling that it was time.

When his stroke happened, there were days I had to physically lift him on my own. He weighed over 100 pounds, and there were moments when no one else was there. I had to do it by myself. And I was able to.

The strength I had built in that ordinary, kitchen-workout season was exactly what I needed in a season I never anticipated.

I do not write that to make fitness sound dramatic. I write it because it changed the way I think about what it means to take care of yourself. It is not vanity. It is not a luxury. Sometimes it is the difference between being able to show up for someone who needs you and not.

Why I Am Telling You This

If you are a busy mom who keeps putting your own body at the bottom of the list, I understand that. I have lived it. And I am not going to tell you that you need a full hour every day, because I know that is not always the reality.

But I want you to know that the small, imperfect version of showing up for yourself is worth doing. Even when it is ten minutes. Even when you feel too tired, too out of shape, or like you have too far to go. Our body is a temple and movement is one way to honor how you were fearfully and wonderfully made.

How to Move When You Genuinely Do Not Have Time

These are things that have actually worked for me, not as a trainer, but as a mom who has had to get creative.

The Kitchen (and everywhere else you already are)

The kitchen is underused as a workout space. While something is cooking, you have a few minutes that would otherwise be spent standing there. Calf raises, wall sits, squats, countertop push-ups. None of it requires equipment, a change of clothes, or a trip anywhere. It just requires doing something rather than nothing.

Pair movement with what you are already doing

Walking in place during a phone call. Parking farther from the entrance than necessary. Stretching while you watch something in the evening. These are not structured workouts, but they are movement. Movement adds up. The goal in a busy season is not perfection — it is keeping the habit alive so it does not disappear entirely.

Use what you have access to

I currently train with Faith at Tri Star Strength x Rehab, and we post those sessions on Abundantlea's social media so you can see what the workouts actually look like. But before that, most of my training was done at home with hand weights. A gym membership is not required to build real strength. You need access to something and the willingness to use it consistently.

Start before you feel ready

One of the most honest things I can share is that you will not feel ready. You will feel out of shape, out of practice, and out of time. That is the starting point for almost everyone. It is not a reason to wait, it is just where you begin.

You Will Be Glad You Did

I cannot promise you that the strength you build today will ever be tested the way mine was. But I can tell you that the version of you who kept moving, even in the kitchen, even in ten-minute windows, even when it felt pointless will thank you for it at some point you cannot currently see.

Your body is worth taking care of. Not when life gets easier. Sweet friend you are worth it.

Want to see the workouts? I post strength training sessions with my trainer Faith on Abundantlea's social media channels. Come find us and see what moving your body actually looks like in real life imperfect, real, and occasionally very hard.

Also on the blog: Why I started Abundantlea — and why it took two years to say yes and The Built Skirt — why skirted leggings on the market let me down and what we are building instead.