How to Stay Consistent with Workouts When You Have Babies and Small Children

"How do I handle workouts in this season of life when I want to play with my kids and I'm not always sleeping great, but I still want to be consistent with my fitness?" - Rebecca, 41, mom of 3 (ages 8, 6, and 3 months), October 2025 FAT LOSS LIFESTYLE SCHOOL client.

If you've ever asked yourself this question, you're not alone. As a parent of babies or toddlers, you're navigating interrupted sleep, unpredictable schedules, constant fatigue, and the very real desire to be present and playful with your kiddos.

The idea of sticking to a structured workout routine can feel impossible when you're running on broken sleep and your priorities have completely shifted. After all, "They're only this little once" - right?

Here's the good news: staying active and consistent with workouts during this season is absolutely possible, and it doesn't have to be perfect - or even like it did in your pre-baby life. After coaching countless clients through the baby and toddler years (and navigating it myself twice in the past four years), I've learned that the key isn't waiting for the "perfect" time, and it isn't about pushing yourself to stick to a brutal 4 a.m., 6-days-a-week training schedule.

It's about redefining what consistency looks like, staying flexible, and working with your new reality rather than fighting against it.

Here are the three proven strategies that have helped our clients stay consistent with their fitness goals during the most demanding parenting years: 1. Lean Into Staying Active Throughout Your Day

When you have a baby or toddler, you're rarely sitting down. (Exception: those first few weeks of newborn life. The newborn snuggles are so precious and so fleeting; hold on to them while you can. Don't for one second wish away those sweet moments of being nap-trapped in the nursery rocker, worrying that you're missing a workout or treadmill time.) Once you're out of the newborn woods, you're on the go almost all day, whether you realize it or not. The secret is to count all of that movement toward your activity goals.

Begin using a step tracker, and you'll soon discover how much you're actually moving. Activities like playing with your kids at the playground, going for walks or stroller walks, turning tidying up their toys into games, and carrying them up and down the stairs—all of it counts. Many parents are amazed to find they're effortlessly reaching 8,000-10,000 steps a day - without setting foot on a treadmill.

This mindset shift is powerful. Instead of thinking "I didn't work out today," you can recognize "I was active for hours today." Both matter for your health and fitness, and increasing your daily steps and other non-exercise activity is actually one of the biggest dial-movers for weight loss and overall health.

2. Stack Your Workouts for Maximum Flexibility

Traditional workout schedules don't always work when you're parenting small children. If Saturday morning rolls around and you desperately need sleep more than a workout, give yourself permission to take it.

Here's where stacking comes in: Before kids, you may've had time to lift weights 3x a week, have dedicated days for cardio, and maybe even hit up a local studio for a yoga or Pilates class. When time is scarce, try this instead: Keep the weight training - it's the most important - and add your cardio and flexibility work into shorter sessions before and after you lift weights. If possible, build up your home gym. With some basic equipment like dumbbells, kettlebells, and a mat, you can train any time and you're free from depending on gym or studio schedules. For example: You skipped your 30-minutes of Saturday morning cardio because your toddler woke you up 3 times overnight and you opted for sleep over the workout. Take those 30 minutes and divide them up into 3 10-minute cardio sessions. A 10-minute interval cardio run makes an amazing warm-up or finisher before or after you lift weights.

CONGRATS: You still got your 30-minutes of cardio done, it just looks a little different.

This "workout stacking" approach gives you flexibility while still hitting your weekly training goals. You're not abandoning your plan; you're making it fit your real life. And that's a huge win.

3. Do What You Can, When You Can (And Remember: It's Not Forever)

This is perhaps the most important mindset shift of all. Babies and small children go through stages incredibly fast. One week they're skipping naps and waking you up overnight, then suddenly they're sleeping like rock stars for a month straight. Your schedule will constantly change - so get used to it:) - and it's okay.

Do your best to stick to your training schedule, even if it means partial or interrupted workouts. There will be days when you start a workout and only get 15 to 20 minutes done before someone wakes up early. (How do they always know?!) On those days, come back and finish the last few exercises after you put them to bed, or ask your spouse to tag in for bath time duty while you finish the last few sets of your workout.

Is it ideal to be finishing shoulder presses or core work at 8 p.m. when you'd rather be relaxing on the couch? No. But that's where the "This is not forever, just get it done" self-talk becomes essential.

All those interrupted workouts still count. All those partial sessions add up. They will carry you toward your goals, and you'll feel incredible knowing you kept your commitment to yourself during one of the most challenging seasons of parenthood.

The Bottom Line

There's no one right way to maintain your fitness routine with babies and small children. What matters is finding an approach that works for your family and your season of life right now. Be flexible, count all your daily movement, stack your workouts when needed, and remember that imperfect consistency will always beat perfect plans that never happen.

Here's something else to remember: Parenting gives you a whole new level of strength that you'll never find in the gym. You'll find yourself capable of things you never knew you could do, like waking up at 5 a.m. to workout before the kids wake up, pushing through fatigue to show up for yourself, and juggling a thousand priorities while still making your health matter. That's a different kind of strength, and it's just as powerful as anything you'll build with weights.

You've got this, and this stage truly isn't forever. As a mom of a 2- and 4-year-old, I'm cheering you on.

Ready to put these strategies into action? If you're a high-achieving woman balancing a career and family, and you're ready to ditch the fad diets and learn how to eat and train for sustainable results, check out FAT LOSS LIFESTYLE SCHOOL. It's our 4-week fitness and nutrition coaching program designed specifically for women like you who need flexibility, accountability, and real results that last. Learn more about FAT LOSS LIFESTYLE here.