My Top 5 Easy To Do Workouts from Home with Kids & No Equipment
Can I just start off by saying that I am not in the best shape of my life?
Ok, whew – We squashed that awkward elephant in the room.
However, at 30 years old & 3 children later, I can say that getting into the best shape of my life is really important to me now more than ever. I’m not having more children & I’m ready to focus on my health & life goals. Whether you’re still in “family-building phase” or your ovaries have “clocked out” for life, getting your body into a healthy routine is important for a few reasons (obviously, I’m not listing all of them – but here are the main ones):
1) Overall Health – Duh. A well-maintained body tends to have less aches & pains.
2) Hormones & Mental State – WebMD (you know, that website we typically go to for any ache or pain, where we find out that we’re either over-reacting or we’re for sure dying? Yeah, that one) says that “many studies show that people who exercise regularly benefit with a positive boost in mood and lower rates of depression.” When I begin to notice myself falling into a sedentary lifestyle, my mood-swings are off the chain. Need I say more?
3) Energy – Whether you’re looking to keep up with your crazy kids, hoping to not get winded after a walk to the mailbox, or longing to have that libido in bed that you used to have with your partner (wink, wink – kids, cover your eyes), it’s likely that you wish you had more energy in general.
Now, whether you care to admit it or not, I can keep it real, sister. I want all of those things above. I need to keep up with my kids and my hunky man. While this conversation of health, wellness, & exercise really needs to be accompanied with a full-blown education course on the types of foods that you put into your body, we didn’t come here for that today.
Before COVID-19 hit & shut everything down, I had finally gotten into an alternating routine of in-home morning workouts & hitting the gym for some machine work. I was waking up at 4am to either do yoga with my man or buzz out to the gym before the sun & my kids woke up. I’d finish my workout before the kids woke up, came home to get ready for work, & commuted to the office an hour away. I don’t know about you, but I had made some serious goals for my body this year & I was determined to see those goals smashed.
And then?
BAM! COVID-19, Coronavirus, the Pandemic…blah blah blah
I fell off my routine. If you read my other blog about being a working mom during COVID-19 while trying to be a present parent, you know my feelings on all of that. It was chaotic (still is) at the start. But one of my biggest pointers (there were 5) in that blog was “Move Your Body”! While the whole “Quarantine 15” (where people were claiming that the population has/will be/exceeded a 15lb weight gain during quarantine) definitely hit my household (closer to 10lbs), I was more concerned about how I felt and not so much about what the scale said.
My mood, my hormones, & my overall anxiety hit an all-time high when I was wallowing in stress due to work and assisting my kids with their new distance-learning, and maintaining a somewhat sedentary lifestyle – while also eating way too much pizza & ice cream, but that’s a different story…
When I finally snapped out of it, I made a massive effort to move my body every day. I was determined that I was going to make time every single day to do little things here and there that got my heartrate up and made me feel good about myself. These yoga pants were NOT going to be used simply because they were stretchy!
So, let’s get moving! It can be difficult to dedicate long blocks of time to working out, but there are some easy ways to get moving throughout the day when also being a parent and taking care of things at home (work, cleaning, etc.). Because I sprinkle these activities throughout my day, it doesn’t always feel like an intense workout – but I still feel good knowing I moved my body.
My Top 5 Easy To Do “Workouts” from Home for Free with No Equipment
1) Stairs – If you have a staircase, this is one of the easiest ways for you to get some in-home exercise, without leaving the house, abandoning the kids, or needing any equipment. Set yourself a timer for 5 minutes (maybe 10 – you can always increase as your body adapts) and just do reps, up and down the stairs. Use guardrails going up and down to be safe.
Please, for the love of all things holy, be safe. If you feel like you are pushing yourself to a level where you are unable to control your foot placement, etc., please stop. Do not put yourself in danger – If you are weak or overly tired, the stairs can be extremely dangerous.
2) Dance Party – Girl, if you can’t shake your body to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie”, we’re probably not compatible. One of my favorite things to do with my toddler (he’s 2) is have a “dance party”. He typically dances 1-2 songs with me, and then goes off to play with his toys – but sometimes, that’s just enough to get your heartrate up really quick for 5-7 minutes. Again, it’s not a gym workout equivalent, BUT if you mix this in with these other suggestions throughout the day, you’ll have had a fairly active day. Also – you can shake your body to Madagascar’s “Move It, Move It” (check out this fan-made video for funsies), Moana’s “Your Welcome”, and Jungle Book’s “I Wanna Be Like You” with your little one, too! Create a playlist on your phone and just make it a quality moment with your little!
3) Go for a Walk / Scavenger Hunt – I feel like this one is cheating, because it’s such a no-brainer – but I really can’t stress the importance of how going on walks helped me get out of my funk about a month in to quarantine. If you’ve got kids who think “walks are boring” or toddlers who can’t keep their attention span stimulated enough for a walk, turn it into an adventure! My toddler’s favorite thing to do on walks is look at things through his binoculars. We pretend to be on a safari adventure. It’s cute, ok? Don’t judge. For other kids, maybe a safari isn’t the right approach – Instead, we might play a scavenger type game!
Download my Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt template here!
4) Squat – Oh yeah, girl. My second favorite S word – Ok, not really – BUT building up my backside peach is one of my goals this year! Ladies, having a healthy & firm derriere is so good for your posture, your back & your self-esteem (bonus perk!). So, get squattin’! You can easily perform squats in good form (back straight, chest up, & knees stay behind the toes when you are squatting) by holding onto the kitchen counter or the back of a chair/couch. When I’m in the kitchen waiting on the microwave or just hanging out in the living room with my toddler, it’s not uncommon to hear me say “Hey Siri, set me a timer for 1 minute” and I just start doing some squats. Do this throughout the day whenever you go to the kitchen to grab a snack – Commit to 1-2 minutes of some squats. Wake up that backside, ladies!
5) Cardio Routine – You can easily Google some quick exercises for a quick cardio workout with no equipment, but some of my favorite routines include the following quick exercises repeated 3 times (exercises are linked with videos to show you how to do them properly):
a. 15 burpees
b. 15 push-ups
e. 15 arm & leg lifts (on each side)
f. 15 leg kicks (on each side)
Outside of these top 5 activities, I’m also practicing yoga with my man (there are several yoga series on Amazon Prime that we use), I have small weights that I incorporate into my daily activities, and I’m a sucker and bought “The DB Method” (it’s pretty cool & I love it - totally worth the purchase).
I’d love to hear your ideas on what you’re doing at home to stay active and feel your best. Drop your ideas in the comments below & happy movin’, mamas!