For most of us, finding time in the day to fit in exercise can often feel like a tall order. For me, I’ve found that knocking it out first thing in the morning is best, because it’s done before any of the craziness of the day can sabotage my good intentions. Plus, it’s a great way to start off the morning…feeling energized and accomplished!
But it doesn’t need to involve spending a lot of money, driving to a gym or taking up huge chunks of time. All of the exercise programs I have ever done have been from the comfort of my own living room (or corner of the bedroom) otherwise I would never find the time to fit them in. The important thing is that you commit to scheduling some form of exercise into your daily/weekly routine. Because taking time to take care of yourself and move your body in a healthy way is important!
Need an exercise program you can stick with and fit into your busy day? Here my top 5 favorite instructors and exercise programs for busy moms.
Moms Into Fitness – Lindsay Brin
Lindsay is a mom who develops workout programs especially for busy moms! I’ve been exercising with Lindsay & Moms into Fitness off and on for the last 10 years. What I love about her is that she is very personable and genuinely wants to help other moms meet their fitness goals. She offers a variety of workout types like HIIT, Tabata, Barre, Weight Training and Yoga and is always adding new workouts so you don’t get bored. Plus, there are several workouts offered that are 30 minutes or less! If you can only manage 15 minutes a day, or you want to be challenged with more advanced workouts, there is a program that will work for you. She also offers workout routines for pregnant and post-natal mamas, so you can stay healthy and active during all stages of motherhood.
Beach Body
Beach Body is a very popular at home workout platform and for good reason. For an affordable yearly subscription (which comes out to $10/month), you get access to a huge library of workouts in all different categories from several different trainers. With all that variety, you can find the workout that fits you best, and switch up your workouts as often as you’d like to keep things fresh! I’ve been a Beach Body member in the past, and plan on signing up for it again this year.
Radiant Me – Marina Santos
I found Marina last year on Instagram! It was a promotion for her 14 Day Metabolism Reset plan and I got sucked in. It’s a 2-week diet and exercise program focused on eating nutrient-rich, low-sugar foods in combination with daily 20 minute HIIT exercises. The whole plan is all mapped out for you with recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and online video workouts assigned for each day. And guess what? It works! Even with a few mess ups and cheat days, I still lost weight and felt so good about the food I was putting in my body. While it’s meant to be a reset and not a year-round diet plan, I still use a lot of the recipes today (mainly breakfast and lunch) so I have go-to meal ideas that I know are healthy and will keep me on track.
She also offers a Body Sculpting Series printable guide (which I also loved) that gradually builds your strength and endurance with 12 weeks of HIIT and strength training workouts, as well as Radiant Me Monthly which offers online workout videos, playlists and calendars that are updated with new content every month. And bonus points for her endearing Brazilian accent! One of my best friends is from Brazil, so I felt an instant connection! (Love you, Roberta!) ????
Momma Strong – Courtney Wyckoff
I found Momma Strong when I was researching exercise programs that were safe for Diastasis Recti. After giving birth to my second child, I was left with a separation of the rectus abdominis muscles, called Diastasis Recti. This is a whole other blog post in and of itself (which I’ve been meaning to write), but the important thing to know is that if you have it, there are certain exercises that you should avoid, and certain exercises that are helpful in strengthening the supporting abdominal area and pelvic floor. And guess what? Crunches are NOT it. In fact, they cause more harm than good. Like I said, this is a topic for a separate discussion, but if this is you or you have any type of trauma, pre-or post-natal pain points, injuries, back or joint pain, or anything else needing rehabilitation, Courtney is your person. And not only that, she is just a really great human being. Candid, funny, sassy and compassionate all wrapped into one. Momma Strong is all about listening to your body, shunning perfection, and showing up daily (ish) for new 15 minute workouts every day, giving our bodies and minds the movement and motivation we need to be healthy and to meet us where we are in life. So much yes.
Down Dog app
I love this app as a supplement to my workouts, but in all honesty, you can create an entire workout schedule with the Down Dog suite of exercise apps. I first found out about Down Dog in 2020 when we were all trapped in our homes and had limited or no access to gyms and exercise classes. It was being offered for free for a limited time back then, so I downloaded it and am so glad I did. The app is pretty amazing because you can customize everything about your workouts from the length of time, to your fitness level, to areas you want to focus on and even what type of music you like. And, the workouts are randomly generated every time so no two are the same! This is my go-to when I want a good Yoga session or just need a workout that I can quickly plug into my week to fill in the gaps. In addition to Yoga, it also includes HIIT, Meditation, Running, Barre, and Prenatal Yoga, so you can literally meet all your exercise needs with this one program. Check it out!
Exercises Programs for Busy Moms
If you don’t currently have an exercise regimen, or are looking to try something new, I hope you check these out! Trying to find balance is hard, but trying to do all the mom things without first taking care of yourself is even harder! Let me know if you have any questions or if you have any comments to share about any of the programs. And, if you need a little outfit inspo to get you motivated, Amazon has some super cute workout clothes (affiliate link) that will have you feeling great even before you take your first step!
With Love,
