Fitness Tips For Busy Moms

Looking for fitness tips for busy moms? Being a mom is no easy feat. Every day you juggle work, your kid’s activities, school, meal prep, and your own social life.

It can be hard to find even a minute of free time to dedicate to your own well being and fitness.

After a long day, working out may be the last thing on your mind.

But now more than ever is the time to take control of your health.

Studies have shown that long-term exercise decreases the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, and obesity.

Since these diseases become more prevalent as women age, dedicating yourself to a fitness program now is vital.

With the following fitness tips for busy moms, you can get back on the right path to health and fitness — and a better life for you and your family!

Just getting started? Check out these workout routines for beginners!

Top 12 Fitness Tips for Busy Moms

1. Find The Right Mindset

The first step for anyone looking to get in great shape is to change their mindset about fitness.

Between work, family, and your social life, it can be tough to stay on track with your goals.

Exercise at times can feel like a chore!

By changing your mindset you will see that your fitness is something to be enjoyed and will keep you feeling young and alive.

We all know that exercise is important for our physical health.

On top of that, exercise itself can improve your mood, decrease stress levels, and help you feel empowered as a woman.

2. Workout With Friends

Working out solo is not only boring, but it can also decrease your motivation to exercise.

Plus, when you are on your own you don’t have anyone to keep you accountable for your training.

Set up run or walk dates with friends, or meet up at the gym for a lifting session or exercise class.

Not only will working out with a friend encourage you to stay on track with your health goals, it can also enhance your overall fitness.

Having a workout buddy means having someone to help you push out those last few reps or sprint it out at the end of a hard run instead of just quitting when you feel tired.

This is a great way to continue to see fitness gains.

Research has even found that when you exercise with someone at a high level of conditioning you actually push harder than when you work out with someone of a lower fitness level.

This means that having a friend to workout with will not only keep you on track with your workouts, it will also motivate you to push yourself to new limits!

3. Do Some Physical Activity Every Day

There may be some days you can’t get to the gym, and that’s OK!

Whether you had a long day, or you are just exhausted from work, we all need rest days at some point!

But that doesn’t mean you need to be completely sedentary.

Even just doing a little bit of physical activity will keep your mind on track with your fitness goals.

A short walk after lunch or dinner, taking the stairs at work, or even just some stretching before bed will help keep your body engaged in the fitness process.

When your mind is turned on to fitness, this will keep you motivated to get back to your tougher workouts the next day.

4. Set New Goals

Over time, doing the same workouts day in and day out can leave you feeling unmotivated.

This may mean it is time to set a different goal.

Ask yourself what you really want to accomplish.

Some people set a weight loss goal and get so caught up with a number on a scale.

However, fitness is about more than just this number.

You could make it a goal to enter and run a 5K race, or to finish a 4-week boot camp class at your gym.

These goals that are focused on performance, and not a singular number, will push you even harder in your workouts.

Learn how to effectively achieve your goals by starting to simplify your weight loss journey!

5. Vary Your Workouts

If you are stuck in a workout rut, it may be time to mix things up.

Going to the gym and doing the same workouts day in and day out can make exercise seem like a chore.

But joining a new class can reinvigorate you.

Trying something like a spin or boot camp class will introduce you to new moves that will make working out fun again.

Different exercises will also force you to work different muscle groups and challenge your aerobic fitness.

6. Choose Activities You Enjoy!

Some women dread the thought of working out because they think this means spending hours on an elliptical or treadmill.

But there are so many different ways to add exercise into your day.

So choose activities that you actually enjoy so that you will be motivated to continue to reach your fitness goals.

If you don’t like running, guess what? You don’t have to run!

You can try a Zumba or barre class, or design your own high-intensity intervals. The choices are endless!

You can switch up your workouts on a daily basis so that you remain engaged and excited to exercise on a consistent basis.

7. Try a Fitness App

A lot of moms are too busy to go to the gym and work one-on-one with a personal trainer.

However, there are great online classes and trainers (and several fitness trackers and health apps) available that can help you stay accountable to your training without having to leave your home.

This includes classes for both resistance and cardio workouts.

There are tons of different online classes, from high-intensity intervals to yoga to resistance training.

There are even classes for exercise bikes and treadmill workouts.

This can help you stay motivated to workout even if you can’t get to the gym due to a busy schedule.

8. Don’t Forget Strength Training!

Women tend to avoid strength training over the concern of getting “too bulky” or thinking that lifting weights is only for guys.

But resistance training is equally as important for women as it is for men.

And if you're a busy mom, you can get the most bang for your fitness buck by combining strength training with aerobic exercises.

Since women have lower testosterone than men, lifting weights is not going to give women the same muscle hypertrophy as men.

What it will do is boost your metabolism and give you a toned, strong, healthy physique.

Strength training will help preserve muscle mass and keep your metabolism high throughout the day.

Should women lift weights? Discover all of the benefits of weight lifting for women!

9. Do Shorter, More Intense Workouts

With responsibilities piled high, you probably don’t have the time to spend hours at the gym.

Luckily, there are awesome workouts that can improve both your cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength that you can do in as little as 20 to 30 minutes.

You can do shorter HIIT workouts and still get similar fitness benefits to longer endurance activities.

A study from the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism showed that two minutes of sprint intervals produced similar post-exercise oxygen consumption compared to 30 minutes of continuous running at a lower intensity.

This means you don’t have to spend tons of time running mindlessly on a treadmill to get great aerobic benefits.

Plus, you may be more apt to not skip a workout if you know that you will be done in a shorter amount of time.

10. Keep Track Of Your Progress

If you are exercising on a regular basis, it helps to keep track of how you are improving along the way.

Be sure to write down or track your progress on a phone app to monitor your improvements along the way.

You can track things like body fat percentage or weight along with workout accomplishments.

This includes things like the amount of weight or reps you are doing during resistance workouts to monitor your strength gains.

During cardio workouts, monitoring your heart rate during similar workouts will allow you to see how your endurance is improving over time.

All of these things will keep you motivated as you see how much you are progressing over time.

If you are preparing to lose weight, find out what you can do to set realistic losing weight expectations!

11. Make Short Term Goals

It’s great to set the bar high with your goals, but sometimes your long term goal may be daunting.

So set some short term goals along the way.

If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, set a goal to lose one pound a week.

Or if you are looking to enter and finish a 5K race, start out by attempting to run a mile straight without walking.

As you reach these short-term goals this will increase your motivation to keep moving towards your long-term goal.

12. Stay Accountable!

When life gets busy, the easiest thing to do is skip a workout.

And of course some days this may be necessary.

But the key is to get back into your fitness routine as soon as you can.

Even when you have setbacks, it is important to get back to work so that you don’t lose the strength and endurance gains you have worked so hard to achieve.

You need to make your health and fitness a priority and stay accountable to your fitness goals.

Dealing with a lack of support for weight loss can make it much harder to achieve your goals.

Find the Road to Fitness with The Fit Mother Project

Even as a busy mom it is still possible to be in the best shape of your life.

By following some simple fitness tips for busy moms, you can make health and fitness a part of your everyday life.

In addition, the Fit Mother Project has tons of fitness and nutrition advice, along with continued online support.

Check out FM30X or dip your toe in the water with a free Fit Mom 3-Day Weight Loss Jumpstart.

By trying some of these fitness tips for busy moms, you will be well on your way to leading a healthy lifestyle!

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on fitness tips for busy moms.