Workouts for Moms

Once you become a mom, “me time” is hard to come by. As hard as it is, it will benefit both you and your kids to make time to exercise. I love fitness. Although my fitness regimen has changed a lot in the past 2 years I have consistently made time for some form of exercise. I hope these suggestions will motivate you to find time for yourself!

Workouts for Free

– Go for a walk, run, hike, or bike outside. Invest in a good jogging stroller or a great bike accessory that allows you to include your kids in your fitness.

-Walk at the mall. This is a favorite in my circle of friends because an indoor mall allows you to get in a little workout no matter what the weather is like outside. As an added benefit, most malls have a Starbucks. Instant mommy treat!

-Go on a learning walk with your kids. Tailor your adventure to their age and interest. Enjoy the outdoors together.

-Explore your neighborhood as a family. Check out some garage sales, learn a new route to get around, or my personal favorite – get some landscaping inspiration from your neighbors.

-Find free workouts online from Pinterest.

-Start a “boot camp” with friends. Take turns leading a group in exercises for at least 30 minutes. I did this with friends for a few months and it was so fun and a great workout!

Workout videos

Make a one-time investment in some good home workout videos. Here are some I’ve tried and some pros and cons of each:

Best post-baby workout:

Tracy Anderson Method: Post-Pregnancy Workout

Pros – This workout is great. It targets all the parts of your body that need to tone up after having a baby.

Cons – Tracy is not the best verbal teacher and some of the moves can be tricky if you aren’t a dancer.

Rodney Yee – Power Yoga – Flexibility

Really any of Rodney Yee’s yoga videos are great, but this one is nice because it is only 30 minutes and is a gently, yet challenging yoga workout. The poses are well suited for a post-baby body and will help you regain some flexibility in your hips and back.

Best Results:

P90X

Pros – The P90X workout system promises results and you will get them. I have done the program after each pregnancy and was able to lose most or all of my pregnancy weight by the end of the program, even while doing all the exercises modified. I did the Classic schedule both times. It is awesome to have a schedule each day and someone telling you what to do.

Cons – Each workout is at least an hour, usually and hour and 20 minutes. That is a huge time commitment with little ones. I was rarely able to finish an entire workout. This meant that most of my workouts were done fast and a bit stressful because I never knew when the girls would wake up. Although it can be motivating to have a schedule to keep every day, it also can make you feel really bad when you skip a day. This is going to be a reality with kids and a post-pregnancy body that is trying to get back in shape.

Insanity

I have never done this workout, so I asked my friend (who has 3 kids and a fourth on the way) to review the workout for me. These are her words.

Pros – “It is super intense from the get-go, no easing in to anything. Good for those of us that love to work hard. I enjoyed the schedule/routine of it , how it is all laid out for you. Very few props/equipment needed (only a yoga mat at times, I believe). I liked that it wasn’t a ton of time each day, only 40-60 minutes (ish) and you got 1 day off a week. I liked Shaun-T: I thought he was motivating, and not annoying, like a lot of video teachers can be. It does work. If you stick to it, you will lose weight/firm up/get stronger etc.

Cons – It is easy to become obsessive with this workout, especially for us competitive moms. Very hard on knees and ankles (and maybe hips, too). There is a LOT of jumping, and side-to-side action, so if you have any joint problems, this is probably not for you. Because it is so “scheduley,” you can really feel like a failure if you miss a day due to sickness, or business, or whatever. It’s intensity is not well-suited to the postpartum body. Sometimes he pushes the intensity and speed SO much that you really sacrifice form if you are trying to keep up, and could end up injuring yourself. Even the other people in the video were losing their form by trying to go too fast!”

Best Overall:

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred

Pros – Why is this the best overall? In my opinion it combines the intensity of a P90X type workout in half the time. You only need hand weights and the video. Jillian uses a system that includes strength, cardio, and abs and she keeps your body moving every second of the workout. She combines leg and arm workouts to maximize calorie burning. There are 3 levels to keep your body guessing and you can stick with any level as long as you need. You will finish the workout feeling beat, but awesome!

Cons – There are only 3 workouts, as opposed to a system like P90X that has 10 different workouts.

Video Game Workouts

Here are a few games that I have tried and enjoy. Some of these you can even enjoy as a family. That means you can use nap time for other things!

Wii Fit

I admit it has been a while since I’ve used mine, but I know the Wii Fit has lots of options that you can unlock as you do more workouts and it will keep track of your fitness levels.

Just Dance

I am not a dancer, but I absolutely love Just Dance. It only takes me a few songs to start feeling the sweat, and it is just pure fun.

Zumba Fitness

Zumba Fitness combines the fun of dancing in Just Dance, with moves that are more tailored for fitness. There are lots of options and it is really fun. It takes me a little while to get the moves, but lucky for me most of them repeat throughout the song. You can do individual songs or combine songs into a full workout.

Workouts with a monthly fee

-Join a Gym. At this point in my life I would personally prefer a gym with great group exercise classes to really optimize my time at the gym. Many gyms are offering very affordable rates, but remember that child care is an additional cost and most gyms have a minimum age requirement of at least 6 months.

-Stroller Strides. I had the pleasure of trying out a class with a friend and it was a blast. It was also a really great workout. Talk about optimizing your time! Wow! I am an athletic person (at least I was before having kids) and I was struggling to keep up. It was awesome being with other moms and I didn’t have to worry about the girls because they were with me the whole time. I’m going to be honest, they cried the whole class (yep, the whole hour), but I knew they were safe and I tried my best to enjoy the workout. Find a class in your area by visiting FIT4MOM.

I hope you found this list helpful. Please let me know if you try any of these workouts for yourself. I would love to hear about your experience!

What are your favorite ways to work out as a mom?