Fitness Tips For New Moms (how to make time to exercise and make fitness practical)

How to find time to exercise as a new mom is a common question I get from my clients. Between feeding the babe, sleeping, and attempting to feed yourself it’s a lot. Hell, even as a seasoned mom it’s rough. And while it may seem impossible, I promise there are ways to make it work (like rocking 5-minute workout sessions)

The first little bit postpartum is a blur of feeding, changing, and snuggling. Eventually, there comes a time when you may want to jump back into a workout routine though.

Before you do that, my first suggestion is to check with a Pelvic Floor Physio if you’re able to. While your doctor will confirm that your uterus is back in the proper position, a PFP will assess your abdominals and your pelvic floor internally.

And then what?

After that visit, chances are you’ll come home with a few rehab exercises. Your body definitely takes a hit during childbirth so be kind to it! Here are a few great exercises you can do postpartum to get the ball rolling (and here are some exercises you shouldn’t do)

Making Time For Exercise Is Challenging

Many new moms struggle to make time for fitness once they’re cleared for exercise because they believe they need to “go hard or go home” and lose the baby weight, like NOW.

No, no, no!

I’ll spare you the rant on how your body will never be exactly the same as it was pre-baby. Not that you can’t be amazing, gorgeous, and a complete badass. Just that your body is different.

When it comes to fitness tips for new moms, my biggest is that immediately postpartum isn’t always the time to make your priorities only fitness based. 

It’s easy to fall into the mindset that since you’re home all day, without a job that it’ll be easy to make time for exercise.

Instead, between feedings, missed naps, stains, spit-up, cleaning, and questioning if the leftovers in the fridge are edible, you never end up with the time you think you do. Ever.

So, instead of beating yourself up with what you CAN’T do, below are a few fitness tips for new moms to implement. These fitness tips show you what you CAN do when it comes to making time for fitness (and learning the best time to work out for YOU is a good first step too!)

Fitness Tips For New Moms: Get Active OUTSIDE Of Workouts

There’s no rule that says you need to achieve goals just by exercising. Instead, team up with your babe and simply be active. 

The activities below are all great examples of being active:

• walking the dog
• cleaning
• gardening
• playing with older kids

Grab a full list of ideas for staying active outside the gym.

Don’t Commit To A High Volume Routine

I know you’re desperate to get back into working out. Okay, maybe not desperate, but you definitely want to be active again!

Even if it’s just to get out of the house and do something for yourself. But jumping right back into your previous routine is not only impractical but unsafe.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Be honest with yourself about workouts and how many you can realistically complete each week. Start small and work up” quote=”Be honest with yourself about workouts and how many you can realistically complete each week. Start small and work up” theme=”style2″]

To make fitness a routine, you need to be honest with yourself about workouts and how many you can realistically complete each week.

Planning to hit the gym six out of seven days is only setting yourself up for failure. My advice? Start by aiming for two sweat sessions each week. If after a few weeks you find you’re rocking it, then bump up your gym time.

But again, when it comes to fitness tips for new moms, keep it practical. Start with basic exercises every mom should master and scale up from there.

Keep The Workouts Quick

Back when you were kid-less, spending an hour or so in the gym may have been no big deal (though it’s not the most awesome way to spend the day).

Nowadays, one hour is a pretty big miracle to have to yourself. And it only comes around every once in a while.

But to spend that whole time at the gym? What about errands? And if you’re still feeding/pumping, chances are between working out and travel time your boobs are almost exploding after an hour and a half. Explosive boobs don’t exactly make exercise easy.

This is why I offer so many fast, follow-along workouts for moms. Speedy workouts are crucial.

Instead, keep your workouts quick and get the biggest bang for your buck. It’s a misconception that workouts for moms need to be one hour in order to see results (listen to this podcast on 5-Minute Fixes to bust that myth!).

Workouts that are shorter in duration but still intense are just as effective. 10-minute EMOMs are a great example but so is circuit training.

If you can make time for exercise by getting in a full thirty-minute workout- amazing! It’s simply unlikely. Have a backup plan.

Skip The Gym

As I’ve mentioned in every blog post ever, consistency is key. However, sometimes hitting the gym just isn’t going to happen. You’re trying to juggle feeding, pooping, napping, house stuff, foodstuff, and more. The gym gets pushed back on the list pretty quickly.

And striving to get the gym as a new mom, multiple times per week simply sets us up for failure.

Instead, set yourself up to work out at home. You don’t need much (bodyweight and band training are amazing for moms!)

Check out a couple of my favorite at-home workouts. But keep in mind you need to go at your own pace. 

When you’re ready, I do have a couple of super speedy, at-home HIIT workouts you can try out too! This HIIT workout is geared towards beginners and this HIIT workout requires zero equipment.

I have over 50 at-home, full-body workouts for moms because I truly believe that it’s the easiest way to stay fit. And if you need some extra help on your form, hit up my YouTube channel for some follow-along workouts!

Quick reminder that plyometrics (jumping) is not awesome for most new moms. So scale yourself accordingly and work your way up.

IBodyweight training is awesome (and makes it super simple to make time for exercise!) but if you want a bit more, learn about the best pieces of at-home fitness equipment. It doesn’t take much to get set up!

Know When To Let it Go

We all want to have the perfect schedule. One in which we can accomplish everything on our to-do lists. Some days that happens and some days it doesn’t.

When it comes to learning to make time for fitness, remember that a fitness routine isn’t everything (this is a huge struggle for me!)

If you miss out on a scheduled session remember that it’s okay. Truly.

It’s okay if you’re tired, if you have other things to do or if it just isn’t going to happen today. It’s okay. Placing pressure or guilt on yourself because you skipped a workout isn’t going to help your body. Instead, accept it, move on and enjoy some baby snuggles.

Don’t forget to pin these fitness tips for new moms!

Working out as a new mom can be overwhelming- but it can be done! Do yourself a favor and wean back into a routine and keep the exercise to activities you actually enjoy. Follow guidelines and these fitness tips for new moms when it comes to making a routine and you’ll be setting yourself up for some great success!