This Is How Fit Moms Do It

A mother carries upon her shoulders multiple responsibilities. She is working throughout the day, taking care of her family. She is working hard towards achieving her professional dreams. And, amidst this, she has embarked on a new journey towards discovering a stronger her. She is determined towards taking care of her health. She is resilient towards her ambition of being stronger than ever. We are calling these Super Moms: The Fit Moms.
 

Wonders of Workout
 

One can’t stress enough the importance of exercise. I am 33 and mother of a two-year-old boy. I have been working out since 16 years. Exercise has helped me control weight, improve stamina, enhance metabolism, etc.  I have done pregnancy workout, too. It helped tremendously in reducing the pregnancy discomfort and kept me fit during the pregnancy.  Post-natal workouts helped in weight loss, kept me energized, and enhanced my stamina.  Currently, I do 20-25 minutes to HIIT sessions everyday that helped me get rid of 20 Kgs of pregnancy weight and boosted my confidence significantly. The happiness of getting my pre-pregnancy body back is terrific.
 

Kavita Arvind, 33, is a proud mother of a 5-year-old girl and an entrepreneur into home cooked business. She shares that she makes sure to work out despite her busy schedule. Exercise has improved her stamina. And, she feels happy to be doing something good for her health.  
 

Shilpa Chandravanshi, 32, an IT professional, mother of a 2-year-old boy, shares that exercise has helped her cure her PCOD. Her dedication towards fitness has even motivated her husband to embrace exercise in his lifestyle. She calls her workout time as “Me Time”. She says that it is her biggest stress buster. She further adds that exercising helped improve her stamina and strength.
 

Nidhi Narang, 33, mother of 8 and 3 years old boys, says, “Exercising brought a major transformation not only externally but internally, too. It helped in combating health issues. I feel more energetic. Workout is a stress buster.” She calls herself an exercise addict.

Nidhi Bajaj, 34, mother of a 9-year-old boy, is trained in stepper/hi-lo/Bollywood dance from Reebok. She shares that exercise keeps her energized. It further aided in reducing the back pain she suffered after her pregnancy. Also, exercising has improved her posture and increased her metabolism.

Ashwina Garg, 45, writer, mother of 18 years old boy and 12 years old girl, says, “I can still fit into my clothes when I was 30. I rarely suffer from back pain, joint pain, etc.”

Priyanka Kapoor Miglani, 30, mother of 15 months old boy says, “Exercise makes her happy. She gained confidence and improved her posture.”

Mahima Mathur, 35, dancer and mother of a 10- year-old boy faced confidence issues when she gained weight due to hypothyroid. She started to go out less. Aerobics helped her in changing her attitude towards life. She began to look better and feel better. And, when, her friends tell her that she doesn’t look her age, she feels proud and happy.

Fit Moms’ Fitness Routine

Fitness is a choice made by these Super Moms towards better health. You can embrace improved health by imbibing different forms of exercise in your lifestyle. For instance: cardiovascular training, weight training or flexibility training. Cardio exercises may include walking, jogging, aerobics, cycling, swimming, etc. Strength training involves body weight, free weights, weight machines, resistance bands to help increase lean muscle mass. As the name suggests, flexibility training is designed to make your body flexible. For instance: Yoga, Pilates, etc. There are various ways towards achieving your fitness goals. Every workout is designed towards meeting a specific fitness goal. For example: weight loss, healing, strength, flexibility, endurance, etc.

The fabulous fit Moms tell us about their fitness routine. Kavita started with Yoga and then shifted to strength and core fitness training. She works out five days a week under the guidance of a trainer at home or park. On the other hand, Shilpa was aware of Yoga since childhood; she started with Zumba and then shifted towards light weight lifting and cardio. Last year, she started with serious weight lifting. She says that she is at the best fitness level than ever and feels extremely proud about it. She works out five days a week for an hour at gym.

Megha Sumant Sharma holds an LLB degree (gold medalist) and is a mother of a two-year-old boy. She started her fitness regime with walking.  Her husband purchased her a cycle-cum-squats machine which helped her in weight loss. She works out an hour and a half for five days a week at home. Also, she practices weight training. She controls her diet, too. Her dinner consists of a light meal, and she avoids sweets. She prefers to eat everything in controlled proportions.

Ashwina learned Bharatnatyam till she was 13. She has then shifted between gym, cycling, aerobics and weight training. Now, she prefers walking for an hour, five days a week.

Nidhi Narang tells us that she has been working out since 7 years. She started with Yoga. After pregnancy, she started High Intensity Training with weights that helped her in weight loss.

Mahima’s fitness routine consists of dance and aerobics. She makes sure that she has her last meal of the day before 8.

Priyanka says, “I do yoga and aerobics for 40 minutes every day. I eat healthy food and avoid outside food.”

Find Your Fitness Inspiration

At times, we all need some inspiration to embark on the journey towards fitness. There is a particular reason that might have pushed us to include fitness as a crucial element of our lifestyle. For instance, my fitness inspiration was my elder sister. I was 18 and wanted to look like her. I joined a gym to get a toned body like hers. It was helpful as I knew what I wanted from my workout. There has been no looking back since then.

Nidhi Narang says, “Slimmer, fitter looks drive me. That is my motivation.”

Kavita says, “I started exercising in 2014 when I decided to get rid of baby fat. I was inspired by all new age Moms who were fit and fun.”

Priyanka laughs and shares that her inspiration was her old pictures and clothes.

Priyanka Bansal, mother of a 8-year-old boy, author, graphologist and face reader by profession, says, “I don’t want to shed weight. I feel everyone should look and feel good. That is my motivation to exercise.”

Shilpa is a part of a secret Facebook group of 35000 South Asian women, Beautiful Brown Bodies, motivating one another every day towards betterment.
 

Fitness Advice by Fit Moms

You may be struggling to find time to exercise. Or, maybe exercise isn’t your thing. Or, maybe you think that fitness is only about weight loss. Well, it is time to think again. Fitness is a step towards a healthier lifestyle. Your goals may vary from weight loss, flexibility, and strength to challenging your body to do things you thought were impossible. It is time to move forward towards your fitness goals.

From my experience, I strongly suggest to create a workout schedule. Start with low intensity workouts and then gradually shift to high intensity. Go for walks, dance, hit the gym, Zumba, etc. Do what is fun for you. Also, try to keep changing your workouts to break the monotony. Find a workout buddy with similar fitness goals. Most importantly, believe in yourself. You will be amazed by the results. Don’t forget to take care of your diet. Eat 5 to 6 small, healthy meals during the day and drink lots of water.

Nidhi Bajaj recommends making an effort to find the time to exercise. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t achieve your fitness goals fast. She suggests taking it slowly.

Nidhi Narang says, “If you want an improved health then you have to give time to yourself. “ She strongly believes that a healthy mother means a healthy family.

Ashwina says, “Exercise can get boring so keep changing your routine. For example: walking, swimming, gym, dancing, etc. There are so many workout options available these days.”

Megha says, “Women must take out time for themselves. They are the backbone of the family. If they are fit, the family is nurtured well.’

Shilpa says, “Be with positive people. Celebrate every small victory.” She suggests taking smaller steps towards your fitness goals. She does not support comparing your fitness progress with others as everyone has a different story.

Fitness Expert

Kopal Goyal, a fitness trainer since 10 years shares that exercise helps in reducing fat, increases energy and releases stress.  Endorphins, the happy hormones, released during exercising fight stress and make one feel energetic. She states that the intensity of workout depends on whether one has exercised previously or not. She encourages starting with gentle exercises in the open.

She takes pride in helping mothers get back in shape. And, she suggests not to get discouraged by people who say it is impossible to get pre-pregnancy body back. As per her, one can get back to their pre-pregnancy body. And, she believes that being fit is beneficial not just for the mother, but the family, too.

She recommends Pilates for core conditioning. Weight training, cardio, kickboxing for weight loss. She suggests cardio (walking, running, hiking, etc.) 2-3 times a week for 30-45 minutes. General body conditioning at least 3 times a week. She encourages her students to go for outdoor adventures, too.

Kopal talks about the importance of post-natal workouts. They help in fighting the baby blues, accelerate recovery and provide relief from stress. Post natal workouts should focus on rebuilding strength, strengthening lower back, and regaining strength of pelvic floor muscles. She advises starting with walking and strengthening exercises for the core.

Written by Surbhi Thakral