How To Exercise While Your Children Are At Home

No matter what is going on in your world, making time to care for your body through exercise matters. 

If you’re a mom, exercising at home when you have small children can be challenging, especially right now

It can seem like there’s a lot of pressure to do amazing workouts every day, but I know that it’s not as simple as “just doing it”. It can be difficult to fit in a workout around the demands of daily life, but trust me, it IS worth it!

What matters most is WHY you exercise

The reality of being a mom is that your workouts won’t always happen at the time you planned; you’ll probably get interrupted and you might not get a full session in. That’s okay! What really matters is the effort you put in, and WHY you choose to make that effort. 

It’s not about doing a super-amazing workout every time. It’s about practicing the discipline of caring for your health and therefore teaching your children the importance of caring for their health, through your example. 

Make daily exercise your priority

As a mom, the only way to guarantee that you will get a workout in is to make exercise a non-negotiable part of your day. I don’t believe that you need to get into a routine or find a specific time to work out. My approach to exercise is to be flexible with my training so that I can accommodate my son Anderson’s changing schedule. 

Being flexible is now more important than ever. When your kids aren’t home all day, you have more opportunity to fit your workout in. But right now, most of us are home a lot. Instead of trying to set a specific time to do your workout, try to make exercise a priority. 

When you make exercise into a priority, you’ll take the first opportunity in the day to get it done! You’ll do it even if you don’t feel like it right then. Make the commitment to exercise for the right reasons — because you are worth it! 

Exercise should not be a punishment — it’s not something that you should do to change the way you look, because you are weak, or your body is not good enough as it is. 

Understand that you need to exercise because your health is a gift. If you are healthy enough to exercise, that is something that should be honoured — make the time to express gratitude for your body by moving it. 

To the moms — it’s okay to be flexible!

As a mom, I’ve been through different phases with exercise. When Anderson was a baby, whenever he fell asleep for a nap I would drop whatever I was doing to exercise. As he got a little older, I would let him watch a TV show while I exercised. Every day was different, but exercise was the one thing in my day that I made my personal priority. 

This meant that sometimes the dishes didn’t get done straight away — but I made the attempt to work out as I worked to cultivate and reinforce the belief that my health is worth taking care of. 

Options for moms exercising at home

There are so many options for exercise at home! My entire PWR at Home program was designed to be done in homes because I recognise that not everyone can, or wants to, train at the gym. This strength training program is scientifically designed to maximise your time and effort exercising in the home environment. 

There’s so much you can do with just your body weight as resistance — you don’t need to get free weights, because you can modify all of the exercises to use resistance bands and household objects instead. 

You can do LISS, HIIT, cardio or yoga. The type of exercise that you choose isn’t the most important thing — staying active is!

Should I involve my kids in my workouts?

Exercising with your kids is a nice thought, but as every mom knows, what works for one child might not work for another. 

You can tell your kids that you are exercising and you can invite them to join you, but don’t get offended or feel bad if they aren’t interested! Don’t stress about making that time to spend together — the time you spend exercising is time for YOU. 

My son Anderson sees me work out every day, and I’ll usually say to him: “Hey mommy’s going to workout — do you want to exercise with me?”. Eighty percent of the time, he says no. Sometimes he comes in during the workout and wants to join in — I can never predict it! 

The point is, don’t stress about getting your kids involved. You can have them join in if they would like that, but if they aren’t interested, there’s nothing wrong with that. Just make sure your kids are occupied and safe for the time you’ll spend working out. 

This might mean letting them have screen time, or organising a craft session — every mom knows what's best for her own kids, so you’ll know what is right for yours!

Exercising at home is sometimes the only option

Even when you are at home, exercise is too important to skip. Your health is the ultimate wealth and the ultimate blessing. You might take that for granted unless you consciously choose to honour it with gratitude. 

It’s tough for everyone right now, and changes have to be made to every aspect of our lives. 

If you’ve been working out in the gym, it’s tough to switch to working out at home. 

If you’ve been working out at home, it’s tough to work out at home now because your whole routine has been flipped upside down. 

If you haven’t been exercising, it’s super hard to begin working out at home — but you can do it! 

Your health is important and precious. If you are healthy enough to exercise, you should definitely move your body. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but you have to do it for your mental, emotional and physical health. 

Tips for moms who exercise at home

Here are my best tips for making every workout you do powerful. 

1. Remember your WHY

You should exercise to care for your health — not to lose 10 pounds or to fit into your skinny jeans. You could try to make your purpose to be the best mom you can be, by making your own health a priority. Then you can teach your children, through your own example, how they can care for their health too. 

Not everyone has the ability to exercise because they are sick or have sustained an injury — if you can exercise, use exercise as your daily practice to express your thanks for your health. 

2. Find your HOW

It doesn’t matter when you exercise, but you need to know how you will move your body. Do you want to go on walks, do yoga, or train with weights? 

To do strength training at home, you will need a program that is scientifically designed to get you results while minimising any risk of injury. 

Find a properly written program by a certified trainer to ensure that every minute you spend training is as effective as possible. My PWR at Home program is one option you can use to empower yourself through fitness, at home. 

3. Do your best

Each time you exercise give it YOUR best effort. Focus on being present and giving your very best for that moment in time.   

You might set a personal best, or you might just barely struggle through your workout. That is okay! Exercise is not a competition or a race — it’s not even you versus you! Your best effort today might not even be close to your best yesterday, and tomorrow your best effort might be much better. 

When you give YOUR best in the time that you have dedicated to exercise on that day, you should be proud of yourself! You made the time to care for your health and you figured it out.

You are powerful — even when you are at home

Life doesn’t always go to plan — especially when you are a mom. Right now, we’re all facing a situation none of us could have predicted, but you can still make this year powerful. When you are facing stress and uncertainty in your life, caring for your health is more important than ever. 

I encourage you to make YOUR health a priority and make exercise a non-negotiable part of your day. 

If you need support and motivation on your fitness journey, join the SWEAT forum or the PWR community on Instagram to connect with like-minded women who share your goals. 

Xx

Kels