Exercise Motivation Tips for Busy Mums

Sometimes motivation can be hard to find. While we all want to embrace a healthy, happy and active lifestyle, our busy day-to-day schedules can make it hard to find time for exercise (understatement of the year)!

But we’ve got you covered with our top tips to help you find that motivation (and stick to it)!

1. Get to the FUN

When the words ‘fitness’ or ‘exercise’ pop up, the word ‘fun’ isn’t normally top-of-mind. But the secret to finding a workout that you can stick to day after day and week after week, is finding one you enjoy (yes, there is such a thing)!

Think: dancing around the house, head banging and jumping around (when the curtains are closed preferably), or walking somewhere beautiful, soaking in the surroundings (bonus points if you can get some ‘Mum time’ away from the kids and chat with the girls).

Look outside in the backyard, have you got steps or a trampoline? You’ll be surprised at how much of an exercise regime your backyard can provide! Maybe you have a bike you can dust off. We often overlook the fun fitness tools we already have, just waiting to be used. So get on your bike, work those stairs and bounce your way to fitness on your trampoline. There are so many ways you can be active; it’s discovering which activity you love that’s the hard part!

Which brings us to fun family activities that can provide an excellent workout…

2. Active Family Time

We’re all about family, and believe spending time together is so important. And turning exercise into family time makes it so much more rewarding.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Weekend walks – explore a pretty bushwalk, waterfall or garden with your family. Pack a healthy picnic and take the time to enjoy the walk together! If you’re lucky enough to live near the beach, walking along the sand and rocks exploring any rock pools can be a really fun time for kids big and small.
• Kick a ball around after school with the kids, or go to a free netball or basketball court nearby. Whether soccer, basketball, footy, netball, tennis or volleyball is your thing, getting involved in some intense but fun family competition can be a great bonding experience that’s sure to work up a sweat!
• Bring back the memories by taking your family roller skating! If your kids are old enough it can be a lot of fun, and a lot of laughs!
• Walk the dog! It’s pretty hard to curb the glee that comes from walking a dog that is so excited to be out and about. Joy is contagious and when it’s coming from man’s best friend, it’s hard not to catch on to the motivation to walk, run and play!

3. Just Start Somewhere!

It’s so easy to put your fitness off, to make excuses and talk yourself out of exercise. But cliché as it sounds, the hardest step is to just start somewhere.

Once you’ve begun, you’ll find it’s easier to keep going. Make a concerted effort to do bits of exercise that you really enjoy every week, then every day and once you’ve got yourself into a rhythm, you’ll find motivation easier in next to no time!

And eating healthy and exercising often go hand in hand. Ever find that you’re better behaved with your eating habits just after you’ve had a great workout? It’s human nature to!

4. Sneak Quick Workouts Into Your Day!

You’ll be amazed at how much of a workout you can get in everyday activities. Whenever possible, take the stairs. Park further away when you drop the kids off at school or day care so you need to walk further to your car. Hold that squat for just a little bit longer when you go to sit down or stand up.

And try to find a way to turn family chores into active fun:

• Family gardening can be super fun, and we all know kids enjoy the chance to get dirty! Let the kids dig up the soil, pick out and plant a few flowers together, and you may even be able to trick them into helping you pull weeds for pocket money! It’s great exercise and gets a job out of the way!
• Blast that music when there’s cleaning to be done.