How to Find Time to Exercise as a Mum (Even Before School)

This morning, before school, I found my girls doing one of my workout videos. They weren't asking permission. They just pressed play and started copying the moves.

It reminded me of something I tell clients all the time. How to find time to exercise as a mum isn't really about finding time at all. It's about using the windows real life actually provides.

Because perfect timing doesn't exist. Not when you're a mum. But small windows do.

The Windows That Actually Exist

Here are the ones I use most weeks. Not every day. Not perfectly. But often enough that movement stays consistent.

Before school. 15 minutes. Sometimes 20. The kids are eating breakfast or getting dressed. I press play on a short workout. Sometimes they join in. Sometimes they don't. Either way, I've moved.

During screen time. If they're watching something, I'm on the mat next to them. A Pilates session. Some stretching. Strength work with my resistance bands. They barely notice I'm there.

After bedtime. This one's harder because I'm tired. But some nights I do it anyway. 10 minutes of something low-energy. Stretching. A short core session. Enough to feel like I kept the habit alive.

Lunchtime if I'm working from home. I close the laptop. I do a quick session. Then I eat. It's not a lunch hour. It's a lunch-and-move hour.

None of these windows are long. That's the point. Exercising with kids around means accepting that your workout will be short, possibly interrupted, and definitely not Instagram-worthy.

What I Don't Do Anymore

I don't wait for a full hour to magically appear. It won't.

I don't aim for five or six days a week of structured training like I did before kids. That's not my life now.

I don't beat myself up when a week is patchy. Some weeks are just survival weeks. That's fine.

I don't try to do complicated workouts that need setup time or equipment I have to dig out of a cupboard. If it takes longer to set up than the actual session, I won't do it.

What Actually Works for Fitness for Mums

Short sessions you can start in under a minute. No setup. No equipment. Just press play or roll out a mat.

Workouts you can do in the same room as your kids. They might join in. They might ignore you. Both are fine.

Sessions that don't require you to leave the house. Because leaving the house with small kids in tow just to go to a gym is its own form of endurance training.

A routine that's flexible enough to move around your day. Morning didn't work? Try lunchtime. Lunchtime didn't work? Try after bedtime. It all counts.

The truth is, getting fit as a mum of young children looks nothing like the fitness routines I used to follow before kids. It's scrappier. Less polished. But it's also more sustainable.

Why I Keep Doing It

Because I'm stronger when I move regularly. I can carry shopping bags and toddlers and all the other things mums carry without my back complaining.

Because I have more energy. Not boundless energy. Just enough to get through the day without feeling completely flattened by 3pm.

Because my posture is better. Years of feeding babies and carrying car seats left me with rounded shoulders and a sore neck. Regular movement fixed that.

And because this morning, my girls copied my workout. They didn't ask if they should. They just did it. Because they see me do it. And kids copy what they see more than they listen to what we say.

That's not the main reason I work out. But it's a good side effect.

What This Looks Like in Practice

I run live Pilates and strength sessions three times a week. They're 30 minutes. You can join live or catch the replay. They're designed for postpartum fitness and women returning to movement after time away.

If you're trying to figure out how to fit movement into a life that already feels too full, this might help. Short sessions. Real instruction. No fluff. You can book a free trial session on my website if you want to see what it's actually like.

Or just start with 10 minutes tomorrow morning. Before the school run. Or during screen time. Whatever window you've got.