One of the hardest parts of mom life, other than attempting to raise kind and functional beings, is staying consistent with anything. If it does not involve one of our main meals that someone will really notice as missing then it may or may not happen on any given day. So exercise can be one of the first things to go in an attempt to maintain sanity. The cycle of starting a new workout routine only to end it a week later might sound familiar to you, so how can you keep this from replaying every few months?

The only reason I stay consistent with exercise (for the most part) is that I feel dramatically better when I do. It’s a guarantee that a kid or two will test my patience daily (they’re not even teens yet!!), and the only way for me to consistently respond without being beyond frustrated is to take the time for myself to burn some healthy energy so that I’m in a sane place to diffuse these situations. I still lose my temper, but my fuse is much longer when I get what I need regularly. It may take a bit to actually feel better with working out if it’s been a while, but trust me when I say the endorphins never let you down!

Grace is essential. There has been nothing more humbling than having a third kid. We’re still in the baby stage, and having kids with three varying abilities throws my plans off on the regular. I have learned to become more flexible with myself and my goals for the day, and it has required sooooo much grace for myself. For example, I signed up for a 10k with a goal of making a relatively good time for myself considering my stage postpartum and how much I’d be able to train. But life happened and I got in less training than I wanted to, my pace was slower, and I ended up getting sick on the race weekend with a slight cold. I was annoyed with the general circumstance, but I switched to 5k distance and just marveled at what an amazing day it was to be on a run anyway. My goals don’t need the pressure of time limits at this point in life, they need some grace.

My last tip is to know your barriers. What is preventing you specifically from being consistent? Once you can voice your barriers you can find solutions! Is it that you don’t have time? Thirty minutes five days a week isn’t terrible, and it can be broken down into 3 sets of 10 minutes! Do you just hate exercise? Maybe it’s time for a new workout outfit and a walking program that sounds tolerable. For the longest time I have really enjoyed working out at home, but the third kid changed how easy that is to do for now, so I’m really loving my gym membership with babysitting for the big kids! The baby is only good for a max of 40 minutes, so she naps in her carrier while I haul her and the weights to the yoga room and we cram in what we need before she gets mad! Another of my barriers is feeling like I run out of time. So I work out in the morning, and we have the rest of the day to do whatever we need to.

As always, if one of your barriers is incontinence (urine leakage) after birth, check out my Return to Running and Jumping program for pelvic floor and body rehab!

Hopefully you found these tips on exercise consistency helpful, and no matter where you are on your motherhood journey remember to take some time for yourself-for exercise or a nap!