At-home workouts for busy moms

It’s interesting to me how my workout preferences have changed over the years. {Forgive me: I’m an INFJ so I analyze everyone and everything!} I think this is mostly because I hadn’t tried many types of workouts, which meant I didn’t know what my favorites would be. If you’ve only ever had vanilla ice cream, how do you know if you like strawberry? Or mango?

I love the studio-style gym where I train now because it’s small enough to feel friendly and not at all intimidating. Until this year, my only experience with gyms was a six-week free trial membership eons ago; a trainer showed me how to use a few machines, but I was a twenty-something with a non-existent workout budget so my gym workouts ended when my free trial was done. I didn’t like the big gym feel, but the machines were fun because they were new to me. Before (and after) that, my workouts consisted mostly of Jazzercize classes on and off over the years, occasional workouts with Denise Austin’s TV show, and finally, right before I became a trainer, PiYo videos. My current workout BFF: kettlebells!

Here’s what I learned from all that:

1. Consistency is HUGE for me. If I don’t exercise [almost] every day, I’ll slack off. At this point in my life (because kids!), I simply cannot get to the gym every day, so I need to be able to work out at home, too.
2. I get bored doing the same old thing day in and day out. Although I need consistency in routine, I need variety in my workouts.
3. I do well with companionship (someone else feeling my pain!) but I also enjoy solo workouts because they’re a good way to get some (rare) alone time to keep my introverted self happy.

Since I’m a personal trainer, this a great time to make the argument about why hiring one of us is a good idea. A trainer can help with ALL those points above! But I get it: some of us can’t afford to hire a trainer for multiple weekly sessions, and life as a mom makes challenging to get out the door every time you need to workout. So you (and I!) need good at-home workout options.

Because I’m still a newbie trainer, I like to write up many of my own workouts as practice for creating client plans. But I like learning from other trainers because I can always use new ideas — and frankly, sometimes I just want someone else to do the planning for me. DVDs are great, but unless you invest in a bunch of them, doing the same workouts over and over again can become less than inspiring.

I need at-home workouts with variety.

So my latest “thing” is Grokker, a website started my a busy mom with a commitment to a healthy lifestyle. It includes thousands of fitness and yoga videos, and even cooking tutorials. I love that I can search by length of video, by which body part I want to target, by intensity level, or by equipment needed — like kettlebells! Some of the instructors have delightful accents (like Jon, a former Royal Marine Commando), but unfortunately, you can’t search by that. 😉

Once you find instructors you like, you can follow them so you know when they have a new video available. You can schedule reminders for videos you want to do later, or for online classes you want to join. There are many workouts you can do in less than 20 minutes, so there’s no reason you can’t fit a good workout into a busy schedule. I appreciate the fantastic quality of the premium videos because I get distracted by poor sound, a jumpy camera, or too-busy backgrounds. I can watch them on my iPad, or stream them right to my television with Apple TV.

Grokker has a free basic membership option that gives you full access to non-premium videos, plus 2 premium videos each week. There’s also a premium membership option ($9.99/mo for an annual plan or $14.99/month for a monthly plan); in this, you get unlimited premium videos, access to online group classes, and more. There’s no reason to stick with the same old plain-vanilla workouts, even if you do them at home.

Disclosure: Though I was not compensated monetarily, I did receive a free one-year premium membership in exchange for writing this post. As always, all opinions are my own and I was not required to write a favorable review.

Jamie

Wife, mom, grandma. Introvert who finds joy in good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Fitness enthusiast and personal trainer. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand.