What workouts do you do at home with kids and little space?


How quickly get in great shape and spent an interesting time with your child? Try these amazing examples of the baby workout which you can start from one month after giving birth.

However, consult your physician before starting any exercise to find out if you have any contraindications to exercise. 

If you are a busy parent, but you want to get back in shape and spend time with your child, this information is for you! Here you will find lots of interesting exercises that you can do with your baby. 

A child likes to participate in your life including not only daily responsibilities but also hobbies, passions, and workouts. Therefore, use the opportunity to have both training and family time at the same time. It can help you feel better in your body and mind.

When you do what you like, you have more energy and a better mood, which also affects the child’s well-being. Therefore, often when mom is happy a child is happy as well. 🙂

You don’t need to give up on yourself to be a good mother. Neither do you need to give up caring for your child to have self-care time and do something for yourself! You can combine these two. 🙂

You can also do baby workout by dancing, taking a walk, or even spending time in the pool.

What are the benefits of the baby workout?

Thanks to physical activity together with your child you can:

• get back in shape faster,
• have a great time with your child,
• feel better,
• improve your mood,
• strengthen your bonds with your baby,
• improve concentration,
• exercise with flexible time for you and your child,
• have more energy and patience, 😉
• teach your child good self-care habits from the very beginning,
• combine your passions and taking care of your baby,
• have a healthier and smarter baby,
• have more time for yourself by not giving up the “free nap time” to exercise,
• reduce or eliminate back pain,
• feel more freedom, by not feeling limited by the baby,
• flatten your belly shortly after pregnancy or at any time after delivery. 

That results can give you a regular baby workout adjusted to your condition. 🙂

There are many forms of baby workout.

You can exercise with your child, for example, with a sling, holding the baby, next to the baby, and using toys. 

Choose the baby workout which you and your child enjoy so both of you have fun. 🙂

When is the best time for a baby workout?

To enjoy a baby workout, several conditions must be met: the right time, the right place, and the right mood. 😉

The best time to exercise is when the child and you are:

• healthy (colds and other infectious diseases are an absolute contraindication to exercise),
• full/not hungry (but do not exercise immediately after feeding the child, wait a few moments),
• rested/not sleepy. 

A good place for physical activity can be, for example, your room, playground, park, or swimming pool. 

You can also attend exercises for moms in fitness clubs.

If you decide to exercise with your child at home, make sure that:

• the room is ventilated and the temperature is right (it is neither too warm nor too cold),
• the light does not shine in the child’s eyes
• you have freedom of movement in the place where you exercise,
• dress yourself and your child in comfortable and breathable clothes,
• make your training pleasant with quiet music. 

When deciding to do a baby workout outside, avoid high winds, heat, and rain. 😉

And if you are going to a swimming pool with a baby, the water must be warmer than in a traditional pool, around 35°C (95°F) for younger babies and 32°C (89.6°F) for older ones. 

Safety rules of baby workout

If you decide to exercise with your baby, you need to pay attention to several aspects to not discourage your baby and yourself from physical activity. 

During the first months of your baby’s life, exercise more alongside your child. 

If you hold them in your arms, make your movements slowly and calmly. Keep the baby in a comfortable, unfettered holder. During the first months do not use the baby as a weight. Do not toss the baby or lower your arms fast while holding the child. 

Always observe the baby’s reaction to check if the child feels comfortable at the moment. 

You can try to use more intense exercises later around 6 months of age, and observe whether the child is comfortable with this form of activity. 

Each baby is different, what delights and amuses one, may stress the other. 

Also, don’t do exercises that make it difficult for you to keep your balance. 

No matter what form of baby workout you choose remember the most important rule which is both you and your baby should have fun. 🙂

What is your best workout intensity during exercises with your child?

When can you start exercising? 

In fact, you can exercise before birth, during labor, and right after giving birth (if your doctor allows it), it all depends on what exercises you do and how you feel while doing them. 

It’s best to do safe and easy exercise shortly after giving birth. 

The intensity of exercise may gradually increase as you feel better. 

You always have to stick to the most important rule that your body is the best coach. 

Never force yourself against yourself and do NOT push yourself beyond limits. 

If you listen to your body, it will reward you. 

With what intensity you can exercise as a new mom? 

For the first weeks, I suggest exercising at a low level of intensity. 

How do you know the low level of exercise intensity? 

You should be able to talk freely while exercising. 

After a few weeks, you can increase the intensity to light-moderate, so that you can talk while exercising, but still feel the exertion at the same time. 

During its duration, you may be slightly out of breath and sweaty. You can feel this kind of effort during fast walking or singing.

How to avoid overloading the body with exercise? 

You won’t get results faster if you start training high-intensity workouts. If you start training with intense exercises, you will unnecessarily burden the body, which will need more time to regenerate. Therefore, not seeing the effects of your hard work, can feel discouraging to continue physical activity. 

Additionally, if you are breastfeeding, overtraining can reduces the number of antibodies in your milk, which may reduce your baby’s immunity and make it more susceptible to disease. 

Moderate exercise has no effect on the number of antibodies in your milk. 

Remember to gradually increase exercise intensity when there is body adaptation to the training. 

Always start with a low-intensity exercise and then gradually increase the effort. Thanks to this, your body will have time to adapt to new conditions. 

Your results depend on your mental attitude, the correctness of the exercises, and the appropriate intensity. 

How effectively do a baby workout?

To exercise effectively with your child:

• first, make sure there are no contraindications to exercise (ask your doctor about it),
• be positive about exercising with your child (it should be great fun for you and your baby), 😉
• find the right moment to exercise with your child so that nothing distracts you,
• think about which exercises you like to perform, you can choose something from my proposal on this page, 🙂 from the exercises you like, choose yourself: exercises for different muscle groups, Kegel exercises (especially shortly after childbirth), cardio exercises, use cool down and stretching exercises at the end and warm-up at the beginning of your training,
• you can also use the music you like.

Pay more attention to the accuracy of the exercise than the speed or the number of repetitions. 

One exercise performed correctly is worth more than ten incorrectly.

You can check in the mirror (or have someone check it for you) that you are doing the exercise properly. 

Contract your belly muscles. Thanks to this, you support your spine and the regeneration of abdominal muscles. So every time you do at least two exercises at the same time. 😉

What number of repetitions is the most effective? 

Here you need to listen to your own body, which will clearly answer this question. You can do as many repetitions until you feel light to moderate muscle fatigue. 

Each organism is different, so it is difficult to give a specific amount here. 10 repetitions will be too hard for one person, and too easy for another. Sometimes you can do 5, 10, or 15 repetitions. It all depends on the difficulty of the activity and how you feel on a certain day. For example, you can do 10 repetitions of an exercise and 2-4 sets of the workout.

By the way, you will find out if you are doing an exercise properly because you should feel the fatigue of specific muscles. 

If you feel pain in your joints or fatigue in muscles other than the effect of the exercise, you need to modify the exercise. 

Never force yourself. When you are more tired or have more soreness, it does not mean that you will achieve results faster. 

If you feel any discomfort or pain and despite the modification of the exercise, the discomfort does not disappear, do not perform the exercise. Choose another version of the exercise. 

Exercising is supposed to give your fun and moderate fatigue, not suffering. 😉

If you follow the above rules, you will achieve the desired results much faster and more pleasantly. When you listen to your body, it will reward you. 

In addition, if you develop a habit of regular workouts, you will surely feel and see their results soon. Moreover, not only you can experience the positive effects of the exercises but also your child! 🙂

If you are just starting your adventure with physical activity, start with exercising with a child from the beginning of this page, regardless of your child’s age. 

So let’s have some fun! 😉

Exercises strengthening weak back muscles

The following exercise with your baby will strengthen the weak upper back (trapezius) and stretch the tense muscles in the front of the chest (pectoral muscles). 

Changes (disbalance) in these muscles are “leftovers” after pregnancy and the effect of everyday activities related to caring for your baby, eg during feeding, changing, or carrying on the hands.

Start from a four-point kneeling position. Put your hands at the width of your shoulders, knees at the width of your hips. Look at the mat between your hands or at your baby. 😍

Slowly raise your extended arm sideways up. 

It is best if your eyes follow the raised arm. 

Then raise the other arm.

Baby workout strengthening the glutes and thigh muscles

Thanks to this exercise you will strengthen the glute muscles and the thigh muscles on the lateral side. 

Lie on the side. The lower leg is bent at the knee and the upper leg is straightened.

Lift the upper leg. Make sure your leg is pointing sideways, not forward, and your foot is parallel to the floor. Do NOT point toes at the ceiling.

Interesting back and arms exercises with a scarf

Exercise with a scarf stretch the pectoral muscles, lying in front of the chest, and strengthen the back muscles. 

If you put a rattle in the scarf, you will make the exercises for your little one much more attractive. 🙂

Sit cross-legged. Hold a scarf behind you.

Raise your hands with a scarf.

Change the position of the hand, and raise your hands even higher up. 

Easy exercise with a baby for straight back

The following exercise with your baby will strengthen the upper back and improve body posture. 

Lie on the stomach. Straight legs at the knees. Place your arms to the sides of the torso. Bent the elbows at a right angle. You can hold rattles in your hands. Put a rolled blanket under your belly. 

Lift up the front part of the torso and arms.

Glutes and legs exercise with a baby

Here is another exercise for the glutes and the back of the thigh. 

Lie on your stomach. You can support the front of your body on your forearms or rest your head on the mat. Straighten your legs 

Lifting one of the straightened leg up. Do a few repetitions and change the leg and perform the same exercise.

Chest and arms baby workout

The next exercise is great for your chest muscles and arms muscles especially biceps.

Lie on your back. Put your bent legs on the ground.

You can use your baby as weight if your little one feels comfortable with it or you can use regular weights.

Take your little one or weights and lift them in from of you by extending the elbow. Later bend your elbows and gently put your baby on your stomach.

Do a few repetitions.

Great stroller baby workout

Any occasion is good for exercise. Even while walking with your baby in the stroller, you can do the workout. Both you and your baby can have a great time. 🙂

You can train your thighs and glutes muscles by doing walking lunges.

Take a big step forward and bend your knees to the right angles. Take a big step with the other leg and do the same exercise.

It is important to bend the knees to the right angles and have the front knee above the ankle to protect your knee joints.

Enjoy your walk in the park. 😉

Dancing – great baby workout and fun for the family

A great opportunity to exercise with your child is dancing. Dancing is a cardio exercise. Below we danced Zumba which is great fun for a mom and baby or toddlers. 🙂

An interesting exercise to strengthen the thigh, glutes, and abdominal muscles.

In this exercise with your baby, the thigh muscles work very intensively. 

If you want to additionally strengthen the muscles of the shoulder and arms take the weights in your hands. 

Remember to train on a soft surface. If you have problems with your knees, choose a different exercise to strengthen your thigh muscles.

Kneel down. Knees with hip-width apart. Extend arms. You cab hold rattling toys in your hands, which may interest your child. 😉

Instead of toys, you can use weights, then your shoulder and arm muscles work harder. 

Lean back and touch your right heel behind you with your right hand, and your left heel with your left hand. 

Try to keep your torso straight.

Great leg exercises with a baby

The following exercise is great for leg muscles. It is also an amazing cardio exercise.

Stand straight. You can hold your baby face-to-face or back-to-back. 

Take a step to the side and then take the step to the other side with the other leg.

Later, you can take a step back with one foot, and the other. 

In addition, you can also lift your baby up. In this way, you exercise the muscles of the arms and shoulders as well and provide the little one with further attractions. 🙂

Fantastic leg and abdomen exercise

Thanks to the following exercise, your train your coordination. Additionally, you strengthen the muscles of the thighs, glutes, and belly at the same time.

This exercise with the child does not have to be done quickly, but above all precisely. 

Remember that both your knees should be bent to a right angle (your knees must never be bent at an acute angle because then you put stress on your joints). 

This exercise is quite intense and complicated at first. So start by exercising only the legs, then add the movement with the elbows later. 

If you are a beginner, start with the exercises from the beginning of this post. 

Raise one knee to hip level and bend it to a right angle. At the same time, bring the opposite elbow closer to the knee. 

Therefore, with the raised right knee you can touch the left elbow, and with the raised left knee – the right elbow. 

Then carry the previously raised leg behind you and put it on the ground. 

Further, remember to keep both knees bent to 90 degrees. Bring the other opposite elbow to the knee in front of you. 

After a while, perform the same exercise on the other leg. 

I hope you liked the baby workout. Check also mom workout and watch the free training below.

Polish post