At this point, I’m sure you’ve heard all the benefits of working out. Outside of the physical and mental benefits, I love feeling strong and setting aside time each day for myself. And I love that my kids have seen the importance of caring for our bodies.
I know there are a million fitness coaches out there on Instagram that you could follow and buy a workout plan from. But today I’m sharing my top favorite workout apps/programs that I have used to get a great workout in at home. I’ve tried a lot over the years. Getting to the gym each day is not super doable in my season of life right now so each of these programs can be done at home or the gym. Let me know if you give any of these a try!
GlowBodyPT
I absolutely love GlowBodyPt. You can find her on Youtube or her website. Ashley is a mom, a veteran and a military spouse. I found her when I was pregnant with my first. I was trying to prioritize my workouts still, but man, the pregnancy workouts I had started were BORING. I was hardly breaking a sweat, and I really didn’t want to go through an entire pregnancy with lame workouts. I did a search on Pinterest and came across one of her leg workouts. I figured I’d give it a try and was immediately hooked. Not only was it challenging and safe for pregnancy, but Ashley also was teaching me throughout the entire video.
Ashley gives a free pregnancy workout plan for the full 40 weeks. There are YouTube videos for each workout so you can follow along at home. And you need hardly any equipment (usually just a couple dumbbells, bands and a step). She also includes a ton of education about prenatal exercise and nutrition. After pregnancy, she has a few different programs to that you can do. But the most recommended is her 12 Week Post Pregnancy Plan where she will walk you through healing any diastasis recti, strengthening your pelvic floor and overall recovery from pregnancy and labor.
I just can’t recommend GlowBodyPT enough. If you are pregnant, she is your go to for workouts. I have done her workouts through all 3 pregnancies and will absolutely use her prenatal program again with future pregnancies. She has more than just a prenatal plan for you, and I really love that her workouts are super quick and effective. She is a mom and understands that sometimes you only have a small window of time for a workout. So I really love that she values getting the most effective workout as possible in a short amount of time. Seriously, check her out!
Sweat App
This app has been around for a while, and I first gave it a try when it got super popular 6 or 7 years ago. I liked the app back then, but I recently started using it again. It’s even better now! They have so many different programs to choose from. Last year, I did the PWR At Home by Kelsey Wells. There are some exercises that I avoid completely since having babies (things like crunches and sit ups), but it’s so easy to just substitute and modify as needed. They also have a section with nutrition. I haven’t used that at all so I can’t speak on that.
The workouts take about 45 minutes to complete for my current program (each program might vary a bit), but they also have a lot of quick workouts if you only have time for 15-20 minutes. They have a whole section of on demand workouts if you want to try something different that day.
You can join the Sweat app with my referral link here.
Deliciously Fit N Healthy
I got Andrea’s program after my third baby to help heal my diastasis recti and pelvic floor. If you get her program, I would recommend buying it before you give birth if possible. There is a lot of education provided. I got it about 2 weeks before my third was born, and it was nice to have some time to read through things and familiarize myself with it all before I could start the workouts. I’ve really loved the program! For me, healing my core after each babies was so important and something I gave a lot of attention to. But I felt like Andrea’s program really was more than just telling you what movements to do. She explains everything so well, and you move through the program at your own pace. I learned so much more about my pelvic floor and diastasis recti from her than from anything else.
Even if you don’t buy her program, I would highly recommend giving Andrea a follow on Instagram. She is constantly educating on her Instagram. And she has a podcast as well!
I Heart Macros
If you are looking for more of a challenge in your workouts, then I Heart Macros is for you. The program I chose is a 6 days a week program that will really push you. I loved this program and recently took a break from the Sweat app to do this for a bit. Here’s what I love: it is a challenge! Really, if you do this program you are going to have to push yourself so hard. And you really don’t need lots of equipment. All I have is a bench, dumbbells, bands and a bike.
There are a couple cons to this one though. First, I feel like it takes a lot of time. The workouts take me about an hour, sometimes longer. And carving out that much time 6 days a week can be difficult. For my current season of life, 45 minutes for 5 days a week is more realistic. But I really love this program though so I might switch back an forth every few months. And the only other con I have is that there are a lot of movements in the program that aren’t safe for diastasis recti. I know a lot of moms are okay to do things like plank and push ups after they’ve healed. But for me, I just choose to avoid them as mush as I possibly can. I do modify or substitute, but the app doesn’t have an option to modify so you just have to keep track of it yourself. If that’s not a concern for you, then this would be perfect.
Heather Robertson
Heather has several workout programs available for free on her YouTube here. This summer, I am doing the HR 12 Week 4.0 program. The program I’m doing is focused on strength and mobility. But she has others that have more cardio and less strength training. I really love that I just follow along with her on YouTube, and all of her workout videos include the warm up and cool down (so I have no reason to skip it like I often do). She doesn’t talk throughout her workouts, and I know some people prefer that.
The workouts are less than 45 minutes. But she also has an HR 12 Week Express program that is 30 minutes a day if you need something quicker.
Like I said above, I am doing the HR 12 Week 4.0 this summer. So far I love it, but at the end of the summer, I’ll come back an update you on what I think.
Equiment
Before I wrap up this post, I wanted to share the equipment I have. You really can have a great at home gym without spending thousands. I started with a cheap set of dumbbells (3 lbs, 5 lbs, and 8 lbs) and made those work for years. I still use those. And I’ve slowly added more and more as we could afford. Below are a few of the items we have and love:
Exercise Bike – This one isn’t as fancy as a Peloton, but it gets the job done and is significantly cheaper
If I’m missing any workout programs that you love as a mom, please share! Making exercise a priority has been huge for me as a mom, and many of my mom friends. And I know it can help so many others!
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