I’m currently studying to become a fitness instructor and have been involved in sport and/or fitness in some way nearly all my life. So its easy for me to say exercising is easy!

But I know its not like this for everyone.

Even I went through a

So I finally snapped out of it and rediscovered my passion for actively participating in sport and fitness in November last year. I haven’t looked back since then.

So I thought I would share some tips with all you Mums/Dads thinking about starting an exercise routine again:

Take the first step.

Believe me, the hardest part is just starting. Once you do and get into a routine, you’ll most likely find it easier to carry it on.

Pace yourself.

Start off slowly. This is something I’ve only just learned to do when I started going back to the gym last year. (Otherwise if I ever had a break in the earlier days, I’d come back and start training again at the same intensity that I was before my break and burn myself out completely!) After my two year ‘break’, I started off going to the gym twice a week. If I’d started by going every day, I would have worn myself out and probably injured myself. So just start at a couple of sessions a week and build it from there.

Find support.

Tell your family and friends that you want to start exercising again. Ask your partner if they won’t mind looking after the kids a couple of nights a week while you go off to your aerobics class. They’re more than likely going to support you improving your health! Or find a local Mothers/Parents Group that goes walking/jogging/exercising with the little ones in the strollers once a week. You might even find a gym/leisure centre within the area that offers a creche where they’ll look after the kids while your exercising.

Find a friend.

Talk to people who are in the same situation as you. Whether it be a friend, a relative, a friend of a friend, another Mum who’s wanting to start exercise after giving birth, anyone who’s keen to start doing some sort of exercise again and see if they want to join you. Sometimes exercising with someone else who’s on the same level as you can increase your motivation.

Make a plan.

Plan your exercise routine for the week ahead. You’re more likely to stick to it if you have a plan set out in front of you with goals you want to acheive.

Exercise with your kids!

Sometimes when my daughter wants to go play outside, I run around out there with her! Or nearly every time she wants to walk up the street, I make sure I take her. (She’s only 20mths so can’t walk by herself of course!) And when I take her to the park, I follow her around and do most of the acitivites with her. So if you’re kids aren’t too embarrassed by you, join in their activities!

Do exercise you enjoy.

If sweating it out on the cardio machines isn’t enjoyable for you, then don’t make a major part of your exercise routine. Try out different aerobics classes, outdoor exercise groups, social sports etc to find the ones you like.

Variety is the key.

Doing a variety of different exercises means you’re more likely to enjoy your exercise routine more rather than if you’re doing the exact same thing every day. Doing different exercises works different parts of your body too, so you’re more likely to get a well balanced level of fitness.

Avoid being obsessive.

As the saying goes ‘everything in moderation’. If you’re trying to exercise every spare minute you get (and us parents definitely don’t have much of that anyway!), you’re going to burn out and make yourself prone to getting injuries. Allow your body to recover in between sessions. You will reach your goals, you just need to be patient.

Incidental exercise counts!

That 20min walk to the shops and back you do a few times a week does count! If there are certain errands you can do each week that are within walking distance, than opt to walk rather than taking the car. Every little bit counts!

 Drink plenty of water and eat well!

We’ve all heard this a million times but its so true! Fad diets don’t work. Remember if you want to lose weight, your energy output must exceed your energy intake. So its a matter of eating healthy foods, without over-indulging, and exercising consistently to get you there. Cutting out food groups through dieting will only deprive your body of the nutrients it needs to function properly each day.

Remind yourself of your goals!

You obviously want to start exercising again to improve your health in some way. So set yourself the goals you want to acheive and remind yourself of them every day! Write your goals down, look at a photo of yourself back in your fitter days, whatever it takes to keep you on track.

Often being a parent means putting everyone else first besides yourself. I believe you do need your own time and you do need to look after yourself properly before you can ‘give yourself back’ to everyone else around you. If you’re thinking about exercising again, then definitely go for it! Whether its to lose weight, get fit or just improve your life all round (because believe me it will!), it will have a positive effect on your life in some way.

Good luck!