As a mom, it’s easy to take on All.The.Things.

• Dinner made? Check
• Clean laundry? Check
• Laundry put away? Check
• Clean house? Sometimes Check
• Wash the dishes? Check
• Lunches packed? Check
• Get kids to school/daycare? Check
• Bills paid? Check
• Full time job (in or out of the home)? Check
• Take kids to doctor,dentist & appointments? Check

Take out the trash, fill up the car, take kids to sports practice check, check and check and the list goes on and on, and on……

Whaatt?

When u see all the things, mom life looks crazy.

And it usually is.

And I didn’t even mention, exercise, self time, dates with hubby…. (All things to do without the kids of course)

Mom life can be incredibly overwhelming to say the least. #tiredmom

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There will come a point where u will either

• Neglect one of the above
• Burn out
• Give up altogether

But please don’t neglect your workout, and here’s why.

Your “health is wealth”.

All the dolla dolla bills in the bank can’t turn back time if you’ve got an incurable disease, or suffer from a serious health issue.

We all want a to take the magic fitness pill, but there’s no such thing. If we are serious about our health, we gotta do it the good old fashioned way with

EXERCISE.

It helps:

• Helps combat diseases and illness associated with cardiovascular health, obesity and more
• It improves your mood. Seriously I think every mom I know could use a mood booster at least one point in their day
• Exercise boosts energy. I know, I know, you’re complaining and saying you have no energy to workout. But energy begets energy, and even if you start your workout with zero energy, I bet by the end of your workout you will have a whole lot of energy.
• It builds strong muscles. You know the ones you need in your arm to carry your kid plus the 5 bags of groceries cause you don’t want to make 2 trips.
• It helps control weight and burn off calories and steam
• It helps you sleep better, but don’t count on your exercise regime to impact your baby who wants to nurse at 3am.

I’ve met many moms, and there are always the ones who say “I want to look like you, but u don’t have the time right now”

Seriously?

I get it though.

Getting fit takes time.

I look the way I do for a reason, I’ve been consistently working at becoming stronger and more toned.

For people on the outside looking in, its easy for people to say “oh well that’s your job, so no wonder you look like that.”

You wanna’ know the truth?

I don’t spend my whole day in the gym. I spend exactly 60 minutes 3-5 days a week in the gym getting my own pump on.

I’m not obsessed with spending time in the gym lifting weights.

If I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t.

I just do it for the results.

And results take time.

Dedication takes time and effort, and you know what? People don’t want to work for it and put the effort in.

By regularly exercising you will see results.

But not everyone has time to get to the gym every day.

Not even me. #transparency

But you can make some time some of the days.

So how can you shape your body the way you want to?

Let me count the ways.

Option 1 WORKOUT ON YOUR OWN Follow along with a YouTube workout video or pop a home workout DVD in.

Pros: it’s done in ur own home, on ur own time

Cons: the exercises aren’t tailored to you and your fitness goals, and may even be contraindicated considering your health and or where you are postpartum

Pro tip: get checked out by a pelvic health physiotherapist to ensure your deep core and pelvic floor are in good shape to handle and support your body in the exercise got want to do. You can find one near you here.

Pro tip 2: check out one of my at home HIIT workouts if you’ve been cleared by your pelvic floor physiotherapist to engage in high intensity exercise 

Option. 2: JOIN A GROUP FITNESS CLASS

Pro: great price point and option to work with a professional, have community support and have fun with those in your class

Con: classes may or may not be suitable for you and your postpartum body. Just because a class is marketed to new moms and babies doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for new moms. I wrote about that here.

Pro tip: my Strong Mom™ class for moms and babies is appropriate for the postpartum body. Classes are led by moi, Bellies inc certified pre and postnatal personal trainer specializing in restoring the deep core and pelvic floor muscles. Check out a class near you.

Option 3 GET A GYM MEMBERSHIP

Pro: a wide variety of exercise equipment and group classes to chose from

Con: Gyms can be intimidating especially if you don’t know how to use the equipment or aren’t so confident using dumbbells beside that grunting gym rat hogging all the weights

Pro Tip:  You can ask a trainer for help using the machines for a short little 1×1 time.

Option 4 HIRE A PERSONAL TRAINER

Pro: a personal trainer will show you how to perform exercises correctly for your pregnant and postpartum body (if said trainer is appropriately trained and educated) he or she will also personalize a workout program for you to achieve your goals and save you time and frustration in figuring out which exercises u need to be doing

On the other hand:

• It is the most costly option
• You may need to go to them in their gym (unless they travel to you which I do!)
• Public Gym facilities and machines are busy at peak times (if you train with me in my home gym, it’s just you and me!)

Pro tip: if you’re hiring a personal trainer and you are pregnant or postpartum (no matter how many years postpartum you are) ask the trainer If he or she is Bellies Inc certified. If yes then you are in good hands. If no, then I would look for someone who is. Like myself!!

There are a variety of options when considering how to go about attacking and achieving your fitness goals.

You can do it yourself, hire a trainer, go to a fitness class or join a gym.

THE CHOICE IS ALL YOURS!

For more information about the Personal Training Services that I offer click here. For more info about my Strong Mom™ group classes which run all year around click here.

The main thing is to make sure you are consistent to see the results you are after.

Here’s to a new workout out and toasting a glass of fresh water to finalize how you will start your exercise regime, and stay consistent to see results and boost your confidence.

Over to you.

I’d love to know: Do you workout on ur own at home with videos? Or enjoy group classes? Or are you a personal training type of gal?!

Let us know in the comments below

In Fitness & Nutrition