Working out when you have kids can seem impossible. Between nursing, cleaning, changing diapers, making lunches and hopefully a shower, there’s not a whole lot of time left over in a day to get in a good sweat sesh. But if working out is a priority for you, we’re here to help with a few clever ways to fit it into your day.
1. Join a Family-Friendly Gym: By joining a family-friendly gym or community center, the kids can join in on the workout fun. Many gyms allow your tweens onto the gym floor with you or offer group fitness classes that invite you to bring your baby in a stroller.
2. Turn Your Spare Bedroom or Garage into an At-Home Gym: Have you been ignoring your spare bedroom? Well, it’s time to take it from storage room to workout room. Even just adding a yoga mat and a few sets of free weights can lead to some killer workouts for you. And you don’t even have to spend time traveling to the gym to do it.
3. Practice Mommy and Me Yoga: Seeing your little boy in upward dog might be the cutest thing ever. Instead of trying to get your zen time in solo, bring your little one with you to a mommy and me yoga practice.
4. Turn Playtime Into Workout Time: Next time you catch yourself browsing Brit + Co’s mobile app while your kids play at the park, set down the phone and turn play time into workout time. Walk the perimeter of the park, use the bench to do tricep dips and pushups or try your hand at monkey bars. (Image via Chatelain)
5. Workout at Home Using a Workout DVD or App: Videos and apps can be a saving grace when you’re short on time or can’t leave the house. Check out our favorite workout apps for the next time your living room becomes your gym. (Image via FitSugar)
6. Join a Gym That Offers Day Care: Scope out the gyms in your area for those that offer free or low-cost child care or day camps. Organizations like the YMCA or Jewish Community Center have children’s centers that your kids will never want to leave and give you the time you deserve to workout. (Image via Cultural Care Au Pair)
7. Make Your Lunch Break Your Walk Break: Maybe your lunch break is the only work-free, kid-free part of your day. Instead of working through your break or driving to the deli down the street, grab a work friend or two and head out for a walk.
8. Take a Family Walk Before or After Dinner: Family walks can make for some good quality time with you, your husband or wife and the kids. If you can, challenge yourself and the whole family to leave the phones at home. (Image via Defense Health)
9. Use a Baby Jogger: Jogging strollers for active moms might be the best thing since sliced bread. Think cardio and weight lifting in one.
10. Join a Mommy and Me Workout Group: Pre-baby, you might have laughed at the mommy-and-me stroller groups you used to see walking through the park every Saturday, but now that time with your girlfriends and babies might be your favorite part of the week.
How do you fit in your workouts with kids? Tell us!