The Best At Home Workouts For Moms

When family and life keep you running, going to the gym is often not an option. But, regardless of your experience or fitness level, you can get the exercise you need with at-home workouts for moms!

While gyms are great if you need specific equipment, many workouts and exercises can be modified to be done at home – and this is true for all aspects of fitness! Resistance training, cardio, balance, and flexibility exercises are all things that can be done in the comfort of your own home.

All you need is the right plan, and that can include bodyweight, HIIT, yoga, pilates, and strength-training workouts, with or without equipment.

Whatever the case may be, the best at-home workout for you is the one that you’re going to stick to (and actually enjoy)!

Keep reading to see how you can build an at-home workout that works for you!

Before you start building your own at-home workouts for moms, make sure you avoid these 3 common mistakes.

Equipment-Free At-Home Workouts For Moms

Let’s start with some at-home workouts for moms that require no equipment. These workouts are a great introduction to an exercise program and will allow you to gauge your current level of fitness.

Prior to each workout, always remember to do at least a 5-10 minute warm-up. This could be lightly jogging in place, jumping rope, or doing jumping jacks. Anything to get your heart rate elevated and your muscles warmed up!

Bodyweight Strength Workout

Try to perform 10-12 reps of each move for 3 sets. If you can’t quite get to 10 reps, that’s OK! Record how many you performed, and work to improve this every time.

Body Weight Squats

• Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
• Make sure you drive through your heels and don’t allow your knees to track over your toes.
• You can clasp your hands in front of you or hold them out parallel to the ground.
• Engage your core throughout this movement.

Push-Ups

• Start on your hands and knees, with your hands about shoulder-width apart.
• Extend the legs straight, resting on your toes.
• Make sure your hands are directly under the shoulders.
• Contract your abs and keep your body in a straight line from the top of your head to your heels.
• Bend your elbows and lower your body until your chest is near the floor.
• Make sure that your hips do not sag.
• Push into the floor to push yourself back to the top.
• If you need to start on your knees at first, that’s fine!
• Gradually you will gain strength and progress to a full push-up.
• If you find your hips sagging or are unable to maintain form, drop to your knees!

Lunges

• Step your right foot forward and keep your left foot back behind you.
• Bend your right knee to lower the body towards the floor.
• Keep your right knee behind your toes, and be sure to lower straight down rather than forward.
• Engage your abs as you push through the front heel and back to starting position.
• Then alternate with the left leg.
• That’s one rep.

Tricep Dips on Floor

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet in front of you.
• Place your palms on the floor behind you.
• Your hands should be underneath your shoulders, with your fingers facing toward your body.
• Extend your arms to lift your butt, then bend your elbows to lower yourself back down without bringing your butt completely to the ground.
• That’s one rep.

Here’s another full-body at-home workout to try!

HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) Workouts

With HIIT at-home workouts for moms, you don’t focus on reps and sets; you perform each move for 30 seconds, then take 30 seconds of rest.

During the 30-second interval, you will try to perform as many reps as you can. After you finish the five exercises, rest for one minute. Then repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits and 15 minutes of intervals.

Burpees with Push-Up

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Squat down and place your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
• Kick your legs straight out behind you into a high plank with your hands underneath your shoulders.
• Bend your elbows to lower your chest to the floor, then straighten them to do a push-up.
• At the top of the push-up. jump your feet toward your hands into a squat.
• Jump straight up into the air, reaching your arms overhead.
• Repeat.

Squats with Front Kick

• Stand with your feet about hip-width apart.
• Clasp your hands in front of you.
• Squat down with your weight on your heels.
• Push up from your heels and shift your weight onto your left leg while you perform a front kick with your right leg.
• To kick, lift your right left knee up first, then extend the knee to kick out.
• Then bend your knee and return your foot to the floor and squat down again.
• Repeat the squat and then kick with the left leg.
• Keep alternating sides during the 30-second interval.

Plank Jacks

• Start in a high plank, or push-up position, with your wrists directly below your shoulders.
• While engaging your core, jump your feet out and in, like jumping jacks.
• Try to keep your back straight and hips in line without too much bouncing.

Side to Side Ski Jumps

• Stand with your feet positioned close together.
• Squat slightly, about a quarter squat, as though you were skiing.
• Push up through your heels and jump up and to the right.
• Land softly while sinking back into the ski squat position.
• Repeat the movement, this time jumping towards the left.
• Without pausing, continue to jump right and left.

Plank Ski Hops

• Start in a high plank position with your wrists below your shoulders.
• Keep your feet together and jump them up and to the outside of your right hand.
• Then, extend your legs and jump back to the original plank position.
• Next, jump the feet up and to the outside of your left hand and back to plank again.
• Continue alternating sides for the entire 30 seconds as quickly as you can.

Here’s another HIIT workout that can be done at home with no equipment!

Resistance Band Workouts

You can also get a toned physique by adding some resistance band workouts to your at-home routine. Resistance bands are light and easy to store, and studies comparing resistance bands vs dumbbell and bench press workouts have found muscle activation and strength gains to be very similar as long as the exercises are performed at the same intensity and volume. This means that even though you may not have a fully equipped home gym, you can still build strong and toned muscles with the right moves.

There are two basic varieties of resistance bands: basic and tube. Basic resistance bands are just long pieces of rubber without handles that are color-coded based on the resistance level, while tube resistance bands are equipped with foam or plastic handles on each end.

Tube bands are nice to have for exercises that require a good grip, such as bicep curls or shoulder presses, and basic bands may be easier to hold for chest flys or overhead pulls, but really, either can be used.

There are also looped resistance bands that are perfect for leg exercises as they can be wrapped around the calves or thighs.

Total Body Strength Workout with Resistance Bands

For each move, aim for 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

Front Pull Aparts

• Grab a light band and start with your hands about shoulder-width apart.
• Raise your arms up straight out in front of you at chest level and pull the band apart.
• Bring your shoulder blades together to really engage the back muscles.
• Also, try to keep your arms straight the entire time.
• If you find that you have to bend your arms, try choosing a lighter band.

Bicep Curls

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with a tube resistance band under your feet so that you can grab the handles at both ends.
• Grab the handles with an underhand grip, then curl the band to about chin height with your arms bent into a curl and elbows pointing to the floor.
• Bring the band back down to the starting position slowly and in a controlled manner.

Lateral Band Walk

• Place a looped resistance band around your ankles and squat down with your thighs parallel to the ground and feet slightly wider than hip-distance apart.
• Step out to the left against the band, remaining in the squat position with your hands clasped in front of you.
• Then step to the right against the band.
• Alternate sides for 8-10 reps each.

Band Tricep Kickbacks

• Stand with your feet about hip-width apart with a tube resistance band under your feet.
• Hold a handle in each hand, palms facing in.
• Hinge forward at the waist and bend your arms to 90 degrees while keeping your core engaged.
• Extend your arms straight back behind you while keeping your elbows close to your side.
• Then slowly return to the starting position.

Push-Up with Resistance Band

• Start in a standard push-up position, on your toes, with your hands under your shoulders, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
• Place the resistance band behind you so it’s lying across your mid-back.
• Then, hold the band with your hands so that each thumb is inside each end of the loop.
• Do a push-up against the band to full extension, keeping your butt back in a straight line.
• Then, slowly bring your body back down to the ground.

Squat to Shoulder Press

• Stand on top of the resistance band with feet hip-width apart.
• Hold the handles with an overhand grip with your arms at shoulder level.
• Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor while keeping your hands by your shoulders.
• Next, stand back up while pressing the handles overhead until your arms are fully extended.
• Then bring your arms back to shoulder height.

This resistance band workout can be done at home in under 30 minutes!