It’s too easy to get down on yourself for skipping a workout when your life gets hectic. Sure, it’s important to make time to take care of your health and fitness, but there’s no need to throw yourself into a guilt trip if you miss a kickboxing class or can only squeeze in 20 minutes on the treadmill.

Instead of kicking yourself for missing an early-morning swim, try a few of these easy ways to add a little extra exercise into your day. Busy moms like Sarah Jessica Parker swear by these daily activities as a way to stay fit and healthy without ever hitting the gym!

• Walk whenever possible. Pick a parking spot that’s further from the store, walk to lunch from your office or start an after-dinner walking tradition with your family. Don’t think of parking further from the front door as punishment, either—refresh your mindset and think of it as an easy way to make an investment in your health!
• Take the stairs. This is a well-worn piece of advice, but it didn’t really click with me until I thought about ways to reduce my carbon footprint. I could take the stairs and burn my own energy stores, or I could waste electricity in an elevator. The choice seemed simple enough.
• Make time for playtime! I can never imagine choosing a solo workout over the chance to play with the little ones. Head to the park and take your turn swinging on the monkey bars and running around with your kids as a fun and exhilarating change of pace in your workout routine.
• Shopping CAN be your cardio. Use an afternoon with the girls to get your heart rate up with more than just gossip. Set a goal for yourself, and then wear a pedometer to keep track of how many steps you take while traipsing around the mall. You can also invite the girls out for a hike or bike ride as a healthy alternative to happy hour.
• Tone up with household chores. When I was a kid, my mom would blast music throughout the house on Sunday afternoon while she, my sister and I would do our weekly chores. By dancing around and dusting, we managed to clean the entire house, have a great time and we always ended up exhausted from the effort!

How do you squeeze in a little exercise on your busiest days? What blogs, magazines and other resources do you use to stay inspired?

Hello loyal Tiny Talk readers!  I’m so happy to be joining Katie and Lea as a blogger on this wonderful site and can’t wait to share new trends, ideas, recipes and more with you!

I’m going to start with something very close to my heart–health and exercise.  Although I am not yet a mom myself, many of my friends are–and they are women that I was close to in their pre-mom life as well.  Fitness was something that was important to us as a group, and it still is.  I so admire my mom-friends who’ve found a way to implement exercise into the absolutely insane life of parenting.

My very favorite option has to be Baby Boot Camp, a stroller-based fitness class designed specifically to help moms get fit, all while spending time with your baby and fellow moms.  The most amazing part: The stroller, resistance bands, and even your baby are used as integral parts of the workout!  There are classes available in almost every state in the US, and the prices are definitely doable, especially compared to an expensive gym or personal trainer.  As someone who loves social exercise, I know I’ll be doing this when I have a baby.