Finding time to fit fitness into a parent’s daily schedule may seem like a heavy lift at first, but there are plenty of practical ways to prioritize your health without sacrificing precious family time. Defined Fitness makes it even easier by offering supervised childcare services that are automatically included in your membership—so you can focus on your workout while knowing your kids are well cared for.

As a family-friendly gym, Defined Fitness is built to support parents who want to stay active. Whether you’re looking for convenient, supervised childcare during your workout or need quick, effective routines you can do at home, there are real solutions that make fitness a sustainable part of your daily life. Here are a few busy parent workouts to help you get started.

Whether you’re looking for at-home exercise routines or a HIIT workout to do at the gym, you have lots of time-efficient workouts to choose from. Check out our favorite busy parents’ workouts below:

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts are very popular with working parents looking to exercise, as they’re usually only 10 to 30 minutes long and can be done at home with no equipment required. Since HIIT workouts have you perform high-intensity exercises over a short burst of time, they’re known to burn more calories in a shorter period than other workouts while speeding up your metabolic rate and improving oxygen consumption. 

For the following sample HIIT workout, you’ll repeat the circuit four times over a 20-minute period. Do each exercise at a high intensity for 40 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, and then start the next exercise on the list.

• Jumping Jacks
• Burpees 
• High Knees
• Bodyweight Squats
• Mountain Climbers

This workout will get your cardio in, strengthen your legs, and boost your metabolism.

You can also target certain muscle groups during these circuits to build strength. For example, a micro squat HIIT circuit will include a series of bodyweight squats that you perform for 20 to 30 seconds before you rest for an equal amount of time. Doing as many reps as you can while alternating between squats and rest periods over a 10-minute circuit can be great for building lower-body strength and stamina!

Want to get your kids involved while exercising? A family dance party is an awesome way to enjoy time with your kids while still getting your cardio in, and you can find lots of YouTube channels with dance routines for families. Even better, you can create your own family dance party routine by creating a playlist with your child’s favorite upbeat songs.

If you want to get the most out of your family dance party, try to switch up the moves you’re doing with each song. For example, a family dance party might look like the following:

Song 1: “Shake & Groove”

• Step touch + clap
• Spin in a circle
• Jump forward and back
• Repeat

Song 2: “Jump Around”

• Jump up + wave hands
• High knees with jazz hands
• Freeze pose game every 30 seconds
• Repeat

Song 3: “Follow the Leader”

• One person leads the dance while others follow
• Change leaders every minute (your kids will love being able to choose the dance moves!) 

Song 4: “Dance Battle”

• Take turns doing silly or cool moves
• Others copy them
• Everyone cheers when the song ends!

Song 5: “Freestyle Finish”

• Lights down low, everyone dances however they want

Another easy workout you can do at home or a nearby public stadium is a stair sprint challenge. If you have stairs at home, you can do a sprint workout on them to build leg strength and endurance. The extra challenge of having to sprint while going uphill will get your heart racing and make  you burn more calories in a short period of time. 

To do a fifteen-minute stair sprint workout, warm up with a light jog for five minutes on a treadmill or around your neighborhood (if you can’t leave the house because you’re watching the kids and don’t have a treadmill, jogging in place can be a good alternative!). Once you’re done with the warm-up, simply sprint up the stairs, walk down them, and rest for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat for 10 to 15 minutes. 

If it starts getting too easy, look for nearby stadiums, amphitheaters, or other locations with longer sets of stairs to train at. Regardless, even a flight of stairs at home will improve your cardiovascular health!

While bulging arm muscles are great, a strong core is way more useful for parents. Since core strength makes it easier to do most physical activities and helps improve your stability, you can feel more confident when you’re picking up your kids or playing with them out in the yard. Check out a sample core crusher workout you can do in just 10 minutes below:

• Plank Hold (forearms or high plank)
• Bicycle Crunches
• Leg Raises
• Side Crunch
• Flutter Kicks

Perform each exercise for 40 seconds with a 20-second rest period while doing the circuit twice for a killer 10-minute core crusher workout!

If you’d prefer to work out in a group setting and receive more guided instructions, attending a core-focused class at your local gym can be a great option. Some of the best core classes to look for at your local gym include Les Mills Core, Pound, and Mind-Body!

Keeping yourself mobile and flexible as you age is essential for a good quality of life. Even if you’re far off from retirement, prioritizing your flexibility can help you keep up with your kids while you’re playing with them. Besides the benefits to your daily life, a stretching and mobility routine can help speed up your recovery from other workouts, reduce muscular tension, and help you relax! 

You can find plenty of at-home stretch and mobility routines online that will help you improve your flexibility and aid your recovery in only fifteen minutes. Prefer to stretch at the gym and want to socialize a bit while you do it? Sign up for a stretching class at your local gym!

If you want to incorporate mindfulness into your stretching routine while also building strength, a gentle yoga sequence can be great. For example, you could start your yoga routine with a two-minute breathing exercise followed by common yoga poses that you hold for a minute, such as Cat-Cow, Bird-Dog, Chair Pose, and Downward Down. Remember to focus on your breath while you hold the pose!

Yoga classes at your local gym can also be a perfect option for those who want a more guided yoga experience. Instead of having to keep your own time or remember which pose you have to do next, you can focus on your breath while an instructor guides you through different poses!

Looking for a family-friendly gym in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, or Rio Rancho, New Mexico? You’ll love Defined Fitness. Since we want to make it easy for parents in our community to exercise, we’re proud to offer a free Kids Club for children ranging from 10 months to 12 years old. Whether you’re using our state-of-the-art fitness equipment or taking a workout class, our qualified staff members will provide supervised childcare for up to two hours, ensuring your child has a great time and is safe while you reach your fitness goals! 

Learn more about our Kids Club and membership options. You can also review our list of gym locations to find a convenient option near you!