Balancing Motherhood and Fitness
So as the baby day approaches I am thinking more and more about what life will be like after our little girl arrives. Of course some things I honestly will just have to take as they come, but I’m already thinking about balancing motherhood and fitness. Having a little girl makes me WANT to be fit and healthy even more, but my big, looming question is HOW?
How do you people with kids do it? It’s hard for me to make it a priority without kids, but after—it’s going to take a lot more planning and flexibility at the same time. So, of course, I reached out to my fellow Fitfluential and SweatPink ambassadors for some resources and they came through!
Parent Fitness Tips
5 Things Motherhood Taught Me About Fitness—Touching. Tears. Makes me excited to be a fit and healthy mama!
Balancing Baby and Fitness—It’s so good to read about how someone is making it work with a wee one; flexibility is key! Plus there’s a great 25 minute workout included!
Making Fitness Fun for the Whole Family—Instead of getting away from your family for the workout—take your family to the workout. While this might not work while the kids are itty-bitty, I love the idea of making fitness a FAMILY affair.
Working Out as a Working Mom—I love that there is no shying away from the fact that it is HARD to be a working mom and also make time for working out. Jessica breaks down her typical day and shows how fitness fits into it.
Easy Ways for Moms to Fit in Exercise—I like that a lot of this tips involve doing what you normally do, getting groceries, running errands, family time and make it part of your workout by working out to get there or back!
Cross Training the Stay-at-Home-Mom Way—Some great tips about being intentional in the little movements to stay active all day with your kiddos.
At Home Workouts
At-Home Circuit Workout—I love this workout is set up in stations (with cute signs!) that you move in between, a great way to shake things up.
Day at the Park Workout—Great workout moves you can rock while the kids play at the park.
The Quiet Workout—I LOVE Fitnessista’s workouts, this is a great all-over workout that would easily fit in while the bebe is sleeping.
My “Flexible Plan” for Fitness After Baby
- Completing at Home Workouts—I’ve got a stockpile on Pinterest!
- Fitness DVDs—I’ve got some good ones and a good variety to keep things interesting.
- Walks!—Thanks to our gym’s indoor track I can walk indoors with baby girl in her stroller if it’s cold or outside once it starts getting warmer.
- Take advantage of times I can squeeze a solo workout in—whether that be on the weekends when Nate’s home more often or being willing to step away for a half or so when family is around, take people up on offers to babysit, etc. There is a season for everything and the baby season is a special time, so I’m okay with the fact that there probably won’t be a ton of this.
So I’m feeling pretty good about balancing motherhood and fitness—there are so many great folks out there rocking both arenas—it gives me a good feeling knowing I’m not the first or the last to have to learn this balance. And being a healthy, fit, happy mama is totally worth it to me!
If you’re a parent how do you fit in workouts?
You are going to be such an awesome mom! Can’t wait 🙂
For me it was about what I can, when I can. Walks were always a good idea – outside in the summer/fall, Inside the mall in the winter and cold parts of spring. Make friend workout dates, find a class that you love and make it a priority to get to every week. It might take awhile to figure out a routine, but you will.
So true! I love the idea of making workout dates with friends too–gab and walk or run with the bebes!
I’m all about routines and schedules! It helps knowing what I’m doing and when and I just do it. My husband has come to know what’s on my workout plan each day of the week and is home in time for me to get it done.
You’ve got a great start already by planning ahead! You’re going to do great! 🙂
It seems like parenting in general makes communication so much more vital than it already is in marriage. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks so much for including my Sheknows articles in your motherhood and fitness roundup! I feel like I’ve learned a lot of tricks throughout the 8 years of mothering 3 kids while trying to get and stay in shape so it was lots of fun writing them! It’s definitley an adventure and it’s been hard to find the balance. I actually had more trouble with it when I only had one child – more guilt leaving her for an hour, maybe? Now I know that I need to have some time for this in each day and week so that I can keep myself balanced – physically and mentally. Good luck!
Absolutely! It seems most definitely a skill that you develop with time. Thanks so much for your advice!
This is a great roundup! It’s also something I talk a lot about on my blog. It definitely challenging, but the key is to be consistent. Even if you can only get in a little bit that day, just get in something! Having a great child care at your gym (I love the YMCA for this) is so important! That’s what keeps me going nearly everyday. The only bummer is when they’re sick and you can’t go. That’s when I rely on at-home workouts, which changes between my own thing, my favorite bloggers’ workouts, and YouTube videos.
Yes! That’s a great reminder that even 10 minutes is still something!
Thank you so much for sharing my article! I’m touched it brought you to tears!