My Home Workout Routine: How Fitness Blender Gets My Mommy Butt in Shape

Hey friends! Are you looking for an effective home workout routine that works well with a busy schedule?

I’ve been using Fitness Blender for several years. I’m a big believer in being a good steward of your body and the rewards that you will reap, and this program has been such a blessing to me that I can’t help but share about it. Try it out!

Fitness is just one important piece of self-care. If you’re looking for ways to improve your physical, mental and spiritual health, check out my self-care resources:

At church recently a young man came up to me and asked me about about my athletic “glory days.” Yeah, for real. Apparently he had been talking to my husband, who told him about my high school soccer days as well as my diving-for-ultimate-frisbee-just-for-fun days in my early 20s. I admit, I was competitive…but that was also over a decade ago.

Now that I’m in my cough early mid-30s, it’s hard to imagine throwing my body around in that way without also imagining the ensuing very expensive trips to the chiropractor, massage therapist, and possibly orthopedic surgeon.

Three pregnancies were rough on my body. The pulled muscles, broken fingers and sprained ankles at the height of athleticism don’t even compare.

After my third baby, I had chronic back pain—it was too painful to run like I used to. I did some home stretching and strengthening home workout videos when I could fit them in a few times a week, but they weren’t enough. I remember one time when I played in a recreational volleyball game and had to lie down the rest of the day from the strain.

What had happened to me? I saw chiropractors and physical therapists, and nobody could diagnose anything other than my core muscles were weak. I made annoyingly slow progress.

Something had to change. The longer I’ve been a parent, the more I’ve come to believe that my physical health is a vital if I’m going to do my job as a mom well. What’s more, it’s very closely linked to my emotional and spiritual well-being—and I have a responsibility to take care of the gift of my health. I needed a new plan that I could work into a my very busy life. Not any easy task to accomplish!

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Fortunately, I found something is effective, affordable and simple enough to implement for a busy mama: FitnessBlender.com

Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links, which won’t change your price but will share some commission. See here for more information. This is NOT a sponsored post for Fitness Blender; I just think they’re pretty awesome.

My Mom-Friendly Home Workout Routine

Before I get on with this review, I thought I’d point out that motivation can play a big part in following through with your fitness goals, obviously. Check out How To Be Motivated Based on Your Personality Type to learn what might work for you. 

When my daughter was about two years old, I started trying out some free videos on YouTube from a website called FitnessBlender.com. It’s run by husband and wife team Daniel and Kelli. Their videos are friendly, fun and accessible to everyone.

I liked the free videos so much that I decided to try their scheduled home workout routines. I had never seriously tried strength training before, and I was hoping this home workout routine would be my ticket to feeling good again.

It was. I took personal fitness tests to track my progress. After just six months of training I could:

• Run mile in 6:49.
• Do 24 pushups.
• Hold an elbow plank for 2:02 (after running a mile and doing pushups!).
• Do 89 uninterrupted squats (don’t ask me to do it again though!).

While I only lost a couple of pounds (wasn’t trying to lose weight anyway), I built muscle mass and lost 1.5 inches from my waistline!

My back pain started to diminish and gradually got under control as a result of strength training. That’s the part I’m most excited about.

So what is it about this program that has me raving about it? (By the way, this is NOT a sponsored post; nor I am I affiliated with Fitness Blender, it’s just an honest review!) I can break it down into a few components:

1. Time-effectiveness

My favorite program is called FB30 – 8 Week Fat Loss For Busy People. (Now there are three of them!) With this plan you can plan on working out for around thirty minutes a day or less, five days a week. Sometimes I skip one and do just four—shhh don’t tell them! This can sound like a lot if you’re not in the habit of setting that time aside, but consider that even the US government recommends 2.5 hours a week of “moderate-intensity” physical activity (source).

I usually get my workouts in during the morning. I try to finish before the kids wake up, but on the days when I start late, they will come downstairs and watch me—or even try to imitate it themselves. They’re my mini trainers :).

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2. Strength Training

As I said, I had never done any strength training prior to trying this home workout routine. The health benefits of strength training are numerous. Daniel and Kelli teach you everything you need to know to build lean muscle (and burn fat). If you follow one of their programs, they will help you know how to target different muscle groups as well as how to pace yourself. They will also teach your proper form, which is essential for you to achieve the best results as well as prevent injury.

This component has been the game-changer for me. It wasn’t until I started lifting weights that I started noticing significant improvements in my back pain, not to mention overall posture and muscle tone.

3. Variety

At Fitness Blender they are pretty vocal about how they dislike cardio equipment, mostly because it’s boring and ineffective. With their programs you’ll learn a large variety of circuit cardio exercises, including HIIT (high-intensity interval training). It keeps your mind and body engaged. Even if you’re new to fitness, they provide alternatives to help you move at your own pace. I’ve been doing this home workout routine for several years, and I haven’t gotten bored yet!

4. Convenience

All you need for these at-home workouts is a computer with Internet connection and a small space. If you’re serious you’ll want some basic equipment like cross-training shoes, an exercise mat and some weights. Right now I just have a few dumbbells (3 pounds, 5 pounds, 10 pounds and 15 pounds). In the videos they use PowerBlock dumbbells, which seem like the most space- and cost-effective option. I’ve still got my eye on them for the future, but in all honesty the hand weights are just fine for my fitness goals.

5. Positive Message

This is straight from their website:

We started Fitness Blender because we believe that fitness should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their income. We also felt like there was a lack of reliable health and fitness information on the web, and too many people in the industry were more focused on appearance than they were on good health.

Health is what they are all about. They walk the walk and talk the talk, in their videos and on social media. A lot of other fitness programs focus on physical appearance, but they say time and again that superficial motivation isn’t what matters.

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6. Cost Effectiveness

You can access any of Fitness Blender’s videos for free. If you want to download one of their programs (highly recommended), you pay less than $15 for eight weeks of training (and you can use it over and over again!). Yeah. Break out your piggy bank.

Who needs a gym membership anymore? 

I highly recommend this home workout routine website to anyone, and especially busy moms. You can work their plans around your lifestyle and your fitness level.

Need to level up your self-care on a lot of levels? Be sure to checkout my toolkit!

What works (or doesn’t work) when it comes to home workout routines and your personal fitness? Leave a comment!