Let’s be honest: parenting is an all-consuming 24 hour role with no breaks. Between school drop-offs, meal prepping and cooking, laundry piles, and trying to keep tiny humans alive, finding time for yourself feels like a luxury. And if you are like me, you can think of 14 things you want to do and time to only do 1-2 of them, leaving you with the frustrating choice of what is the best thing to give your time to. For a list making, achievement driven person it’s a real Sophie’s Choice situation. BUT here’s the good news, there is an easier way. It is all about perspective. You are reading this because you too want to know how to balance parenthood and fitness and I have some good news… it is all about perspective. If you can change your perspective and you change your thoughts, habits and outcomes.

Here are ground rules you need to remember when it comes to balancing parenthood and fitness:

1. Taking care of your body isn’t selfish. It’s necessary.
2. You can embrace any emotion you choose. Choose wisely.
3. Being your biggest critic is easy. Being your biggest fan is powerful.

Now that we have our ground rules, lets talk about applying them and finding balance in parenting and fitness.

Let Go of the “All or Nothing” Trap

First things first: you don’t need 90 minutes, a perfect gym outfit, and a smoothie with 12 ingredients to count your workout as “legit.” In fact, thinking that way is a fast track to burnout or never getting started.

• If you’ve got 20 minutes while the baby naps? That counts.
• A walk or run while your kids are at swim lessons? That counts.
• Stretching and foam rolling after a long day? That counts.

The biggest barrier to consistent movement is perfectionism. You don’t need to “go hard or go home” you just need to go. And for me the best part has been seeing my kids quietly learn to do the same. One of the most rewarding “little moments” for me as a mom has been seeing the transition in my kids perception to my workouts. The sad puppy dog eyes and even tears are gone, replaced with statements of affirmation that sound like this:

“Kiddos I am going to the gym to to workout”

“Ok, Mom that’s a good idea. You need to take care of yourself.” – my 4.5 year old son.

Short Workouts. Big Wins.

This might be hard to heard, but it needs to be said… You’re not training for the Olympics, you’re training for life. That is to say, don’t take your workouts too seriously. Don’t over complicate your fitness. And don’t let social media and mixed messaging distract you from the simple truth…

You have to start moving to keep moving.

For the average parent and person, that is all we need – consistency in movement. Sure, larger goals will required more time in the gym, but that time has been proven to be impactful over months, not over individual workout sessions. That’s why we love short, effective workouts that fit into our very real schedules. We are talking 20-30 minute intentional workouts that challenge you and support you consistently showing up.

TIP: If you need direction or inspiration we share a lot of these style workouts on our Instagram page and have several workout programs you can purchase and download.

Your Kids Are Watching (and That’s a Good Thing)

It’s easy to think of fitness as a me thing. But guess what? It’s also a family thing.

I shared that story above because it is sincerely a moment of pride for me. I had so much guilt as a new mom with working out. In fact, I would go so far out of my way to only workout when my kiddos were sleeping – 4 am runs or 7 pm lifts were my normal. I stressed myself out thinking that the best value I could give to my children was to be present and engaged.

Spoiler alert: not only is that not realistic, it is ignoring a key piece of parenting and life. Humans, and in this case kids, learn from watching. They learn from how you as their parent behave, respond, adapt and communicate. I was, with misguided intentions, taking a learning opportunity away from my kids (and myself too!).

When I got out of my own way, I was less stressed. (Shocker I know.) I redirected the effort it took to over plan my day and put it into my workouts and my family and we were all better for it. Now, fast forward a few years, add another kiddo and keep the messaging the same. Here is what our 2.5 year old daughter said to me when she saw me changing my clothes to workout:

“Mommy, you go workout now and then we play chase, read books and go to bed, OK?

She was giving me permission, which that alone is hilarious, but also very helpful. She knew the routine and that we would still have time to play after my workout – which is what she actually cared about 🤣.

So remember, you’re not just modeling fitness… you’re modeling habits and discipline. And that’s something every child needs to see.

Take Life Less Seriously (and Laugh More)

The truth is, parenting is chaotic. Our tiny humans turn our world (and schedules) upside down, sparing no one or no thing. If you are a type A personality like my husband and I the first reaction is control. Create order at all costs. And if you are a parent you are laughing right now. That is mission failure before launch and most certainly setting yourself up for extreme frustration.

Parenting isn’t about controlling, it is about leading.

And remember ground rule #3: You can embrace any emotion you choose. Choose wisely. Over the years I have learned that taking myself less seriously has lead to lowered stress, which has allowed me to accomplish more. Less excuses and more results.

You Don’t Need to Do It Alone

Here’s a secret: fitness gets a lot easier, and a lot more fun, when you feel supported.

That’s why we love our Pure Fitness community. We are parents who are juggling multiple schedules, careers and hobbies. We want to feel strong and  capable because we ARE strong and capable. And we hope that you will join us because fitness shouldn’t feel like another to-do list item or another place you’re falling short. It should feel like a release.

Join our community and we’ll bring the workouts, the humor, and the reminders that you are doing better than you think 🙂