Stay At Home Mom Exercise Tips | 5 Ways to Move More
Okay, so before I start, some of you might totally be rolling your eyes at me right now and thinking “What? I’m a stay at home mom, and I never STOP moving!” So, if that’s you, it might be that this post is not the one for you. I’m speaking from my own experience as a stay at home mom, and especially one that spends a lot of time each day working on the computer (shout out if you are a stay at home mom with a side hustle to help bring in income, because I know the struggles). This might also be closely tied to the fact that I’m pretty introverted, and a homebody, but anyway, I am just assuming here that I’m not the only one, and I wanted to share my stay at home mom exercise tips to get moving more.
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Also, I’ve titled this post “exercise tips” but some of these ideas are just easy ways to move more, and not necessarily a workout or exercise. These are pretty applicable to all mamas, not just those who stay at home. I know there are a lot of us out there who are working sedentary jobs who would also appreciate these ideas. I think that I first realized I was not moving much when I got a Fitbit. You see, Fitbit has these challenges where you can challenge your friends to see who can get more steps. My working friends were getting 10,000+ steps a day, where I’m lucky to get 3,000 on a day where we don’t go and actually do something outside the house. I was like holy moly. I’ve been sharing over on Instagram about my journey with losing weight and eating healthier, and obviously, this low amount of just basic movement- walking- each day for me is definitely having an impact on my progress.
So, I’ve been on a mission to up those step numbers. I actually upgraded to a Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro watch (yes, I have an ANDROID), haha, so basically an Apple watch but maybe not as fancy and definitely not as expensive, but I feel like Fitbit was even giving me extra steps I hadn’t earned, like when patting my baby to sleep, folding laundry, etc… and the Samsung Gear watch does not do that at all. So, we’re stay at home moms, and we want to get up off the couch more or make the most of the time when we’re not stuck sitting in the car, so here are my tips to get you moving more.
Get Outside With Your Kids
I know you are probably thinking- duh! But honestly, I mentioned I was a homebody right? It’s great for staying at home with my kids, but not so great for actually getting up and getting outside. So, I’ve been making an effort to at least 2 days a week get outside with them. The weather is still iffy here, but soon we will have several months of warmer weather where we can do this frequently. Whether I just get outside in the back yard and play with them (no sitting on that comfy patio furniture and just observing), or we head out to the park and I do a couple of laps around before they get to play, this is a great way to get some movement in throughout the week and your kids are going to love the extra play time, too.
Find Places to Walk Indoors
Now, the weather doesn’t always permit us getting outside, so it’s great to have some ideas for those days, and days where you just don’t want to go outside, right? One thing I really like doing, and if you are a spender, this might be difficult, because you’ll probably be tempted to shop. However, I’ve seen a huge increase in my steps just from doing a couple of laps around Target, whether I’m shopping or just browsing. It’s a great way to get you and your littles out of the house, and if you want to save some money, just browse, or only hit up the clearance racks. I love some Target clearance finds if we’re being honest.
Do Workouts at Home
Even if it is just 30 minutes, could you squeeze in a quick workout at home? If you’ve got older little ones, they can entertain themselves for 30 minutes, or if you’ve got babies, look for fun “mommy and me” workout ideas to do with them. You might find that your older kiddos get into the workout, too. My son is all about some “exercising” and you might hear him talk about how it is healthy for you. He just picked that up from us talking about it honestly, and while all kids might not be so enthusiastic, some might, and you can teach them healthy habits along the way, too. You can find free at home workouts on Youtube, and even plans that just require your body weight online, too. Pinterest is a great resource for this.
If you are looking for a great way to track your food and exercise routines, I’ve got this Health & Fitness printables set that would be perfect.
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Have Options
Now, you can have options when it comes to working out at home, and you can find a handful of your favorite workout videos, Youtube channels, etc… to have up your sleeve. Additionally, all of these ideas are giving you so many options to get active every day. You simply don’t have to “work out”every day to get active. You can combine all of these things and collectively they’re going to make a difference. When you have a lot of options that you enjoy, you’ll always have something fun that you can do to get moving.
Consider a Gym With Childcare
If you can swing it, consider finding a gym near you that does offer childcare. Again you don’t have to feel like you need to go every single day for an hour, but adding in a couple of trips to the gym each week can help. We had a gym membership that we were never using, and honestly, it was just because there was no one to watch our son, and when my husband and I did have time to go together, we couldn’t bring him with us. Whether you and your husband want to go, or you just want to go by yourself, having that childcare option is really great. If you have a YMCA near you, I highly recommend joining. Not only do you get the option to work out, they typically have child care available, and you’ll get a discount on more great programs they offer, like kids’ sports, swim lessons, Summer camps, and more. Why pay $50 to a basic gym when you can pay a little more to join the YMCA and have all of the extras added as well.
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