Exercise Ideas for Busy Mamas

I put this question to my mama friends:

How do you fit in regular exercise when you have babies/young children to look after?

These are the tips that they shared (some dads replied too). I hope you will find them helpful…

“I put my two to bed before 7 then go to the gym to do a class then. I find that fits round our routine.”

“Go for long walks with the babe/child/children! I only manage to do it with her because when she’s napping/asleep I need to do jobs/nap/do my hobbies “

“Still trying to figure it out. I have an app that does 7 min home workouts. Not too intimidating and easy enough to fit in. My daughter loves to join in too, which is super cute!”

“Pop him in the front pack and head out for a decent walk while he naps. And of course chase him around all day while he’s awake “

“Where I live they run classes that children can come along to”

“When very little I put them in the stroller and took them for a walk.. As they got bigger I used to take them to a good crèche for an hour and a half and go for a run or walk.. they enjoyed their social/ playtime and I got my exercise in.

Sometimes now that my youngest is older we do Pilates at home on the mat.”

“One in the pram, the other in a backpack. Point at hill and off you go…”

“Walking with pram or front pack. I started with just walking to the local coffee shop so I could get out of the house at least once a day. When he was a bit older I used the kids club at the gym.”

“Early mornings, after bedtimes! Lunch break at work! I’ve gone for runs at 10pm when there’s been no other time! Even if you’re feeling tired still go- you’ll feel so much better afterwards!”

“Pram & a long walk is my go-to option for exercise as well. It’s really hard to find time (& motivation; and both of those things at the same time!) to exercise with little people around!!”

“Mine have left home and I still haven’t figured it out!”

“Definitely walking, I know there are some mummy and Bub walking groups around where we are.”

“The only thing that’s really worked for me is an exercise video to do at home when my youngest is napping. His sleep is so erratic that evenings don’t really work as it’s really late by the time he’s settled and we’ve done our jobs and I’m too tired! Summer is easier though as light evenings make it far more inviting to go out for a run or to a class compared to a freezing dark winter night. 

Also I think it’s fitting it into everyday activities and remembering it doesn’t need to be a specific slot or organised thing… this week as the weather was nice I left the car at school after dropping the oldest off; the little one and I walked home then walked back to get him later. It’s only a couple of miles but better than nothing!”

Thank you so much to everybody for sharing!

If you have any other helpful tips and ideas that you would like to share with fellow busy mamas please contact us and I will add it to this page.