We’re suddenly all spending an awful lot more time at home than we were a fortnight ago. Coffee catch ups with the girls have been replaced by somewhat hilarious Zoom meetings, we’ve had to teach the oldies in our lives how to FaceTime so they don’t forget what we look like and those glorious holiday plans have all turned to custard. We’re in unchartered waters here! Here at Mammojo, we are proud to be ambassadors of the Stay at Home in Your Activewear Movement, which, truth be told we’ve been unofficially championing for years but now we can do it with the added bonus of saving lives. Huzzah!
Perhaps you, like us, are missing your regular Pilates class, F45 session or gym workout. There’s even a good chance that you are also starting to feel the talons of cabin fever creeping up on you. Exercise is incredibly important for your physical health (yes, duh) but heck; those endorphins are pretty flippin’ important for your mental health too. Especially if the bulk of your day is now spent having very cute but very one sided conversations with an infant.
Well fear not! We present to you, the rise of the at home workout. Even we were skeptical about these. Would they really be good enough to distract us from the coffee machine and couch? We think so, and because we’re such good friends we’ve put together a list of our favourites so that you don’t have to schlep around the dark crevices of the internet. You’re welcome.
PE with Joe - The Body Coach
A PE teacher friend of mine shared PE with Joe with me and I put it on for my kids to give them so physical exercise in the confines of our four walls. I jumped up and did it with them and boy oh boy, did I feel the burn. This is one we’ve slotted into our morning ritual now, to get our bodies moving before a long (lonnnng) day of various arts and crafts. A great one to do with or without kids, my five and two year old loved it and the one year old thinks we’re hilarious.
Joe is a fun online trainer who posts a daily workout Monday to Friday for kids that are missing their regular PE class at school. He also has a stack of more intense HIIT workouts as well as shorter workouts for kids and even ones tailor made for seniors. You can subscribe to his YouTube channel here;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ
Cosmic Kids Yoga
I’m late to the party with this one. So many of my friends have raved about Cosmic Kids Yoga to me and I never thought my kids would be interested. Let me tell you something, I was wrong! My kids have become so enamoured with doing their yoga every day I’ve had to buy them their own mats. I don’t know if you’ve tried to buy home workout equipment in the past week but it was no easy feat. You could definitely join in with them OR you can take the opportunity and five minute’s peace to enjoy a cup of tea. The choice is yours oh blissful one.
They have a TONNE of videos on YouTube as well as an app that has mindfulness and breathing exercises as well.
https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga
Centr App
The good people at Centr have a pretty fancy app chock full of home workouts as well as meal and recipes ideas. They are currently offering a 6 week free trial to anyone who signs up! Loaded with HIIT workouts that can be done with or without equipment with the ability to cycle through the app to find something you love.
Oh, and did I mention, this app does indeed feature a swag of videos of one Chris Hemsworth working out and saying nice things to you. Enough said.
You can sign up via their website https://centr.com/join-us
Blogilates
Missing the incredible stretch and burn you work up in the Pilates studio? Blogilates is here to get you moving, with a cult following a heap of quick ten minute exercises, these are great workouts to fit in during the day when you’ve managed to get a baby to sleep but, you also have big plans to shower and eat, so time is of the essence.
Subscribe to her YouTube channel here;
https://www.youtube.com/user/blogilates
The Fitness Marshall
I have a confession to make… I’m a dancer at heart with the feet and ability of a newborn giraffe. I love me a good high intensity dance workout - it just feels fun! We love The Fitness Marshall in my house, we turn it up LOUD and my backup dancers (ahem, kids) get right into it too. You WILL work up a sweat while you’re having fun. We also love him for the fun effects in the videos, hilarious commentary and a huge round of applause for seeing dances of all shapes and sizes in his workouts.
Subscribe to his YouTube channel here and get your booty shaking;
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheFitnessMarshall
Yoga with Adriene
Are you a Yogi at heart? You’re going to love the mindful workouts delivered by Adriene to help you find your zen in amongst the current madness in the world. She has a plethora of videos on YouTube so you can find something that suits. I’ve been trying to make myself do one before the tribe awakens for the day and it makes such a difference to my mindset when I do. Namaste friends.
You can find her on YouTube here;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFKE7WVJfvaHW5q283SxchA
Art for Kids Hub
Okay okay, you got me, this isn’t a work out. But if you need something to keep the offspring occupied while you get your 30 minutes in, Art for Kids Hub is a pretty excellent place to start. Tutorials of guided drawings to help your little people create masterpieces that I promise you, you’ll genuinely want to hang on the fridge! Younger kids might need some extra adult help but I find my almost three year old is pretty capable without me. We’ve got a Bluey tutorial pencilled in (Ha! Art puns) for tomorrow.
You can see all the tutorials on their Youtube channel here;
https://www.youtube.com/user/ArtforKidsHub
All in all, we think you should try not to take exercise too seriously for the next few months. Now probably isn’t the time to be trying to hit your deadlift PB or train for a marathon (but if you can, you’re amazing). It’s also remembering that, for now at least, you are allowed to continue training one on one with a personal trainer which is a great way to get in an amazing workout and support someone who is probably having a pretty lousy time at the moment.
What other exercise apps/channels/options are keeping you sane? Send them my way!