Top exercise tips for busy mums:

Remember to have fun- Try dynamic classes like Zumba or Hula Aerobics to keep you active and engaged while working out. For me, the key ingredient with Zumba is “fun”. Participants enjoy 60 minutes of dance choreography without realising they have been exercising. At Virgin Active, we also offer Hula Aerobics which involves working with a hula hoop to get the hips and core working to their full potential while taking you back to your childhood. This is a fun conditioning class that will put a smile on the dial.

Add some resistance– Women should always incorporate weight training into your exercise routine. If weight loss is your goal, a workout combining resistance work with cardio is extremely important as it helps you to keep your metabolism high and allows you to burn more calories while you are resting. The great thing about this is that you are actually burning more fat when you are doing nothing and you don’t need big muscles to benefit from this either. Weights exercises help you to maintain healthy bones, joints and muscles. As women get older, they are more susceptible to Osteoporosis (where your bones become brittle and can break more easily). Studies have shown that an exercise routine involving weight bearing exercises and strength work helps to decrease the risk of Osteoporosis later in life.

Get pumped with some upbeat tunes– A great way to get motivated for your exercise session is to bring some of your own music to the gym while you are working out. Another option to really push yourself and have fun is to train with a buddy. If you are really looking to go from FLAB to FAB, have a chat with a personal trainer about what they can do for you.

Fuse your fitness- Ultimately you should be looking to participate in classes that get your heart rate up and work as many muscle groups as possible so you are burning as many calories as you can. Fusion fitness classes are high energy classes coupled with ‘Mind Body’ style programs. For example a ‘Spin and Yoga’ class is where participants would complete a short spin class followed by some yoga poses. This relatively new exercise trend satisfies mums who are time poor and who also have a desire for more variety in the exercise class experience. Fusion classes offer the best of both worlds in one visit.

Increase your incidental exercise- A great way to increase your incidental exercise is to walk or bike ride to work or the shops, use the stairs instead of the elevator, get off the bus one stop earlier and generally pick up the pace when you are walking. Another good idea is to carry shopping bags instead of using a trolley or stand up and pace around when you are on the phone.

Variety is the spice of life- A lot of people do suffer from routine fatigue and they begin to lose motivation by completing the same exercises every time they work out. At Virgin Active, variety is the spice of life. We encourage members to continuously change their routine to maintain motivation and stop their body from stalling and not progressing. Whether it’s Rock Climbing, Power Plate, Body Pump, Zumba or Yoga, it’s important to keep trying all the different classes on offer at your gym and challenge yourself to move in ways that you haven’t before. Completing a combination of Pilates or Yoga and coupling it with cardio is an ideal mix. Obviously they each provide differing benefits. Pilates and Yoga are both awesome for strength and conditioning and also create that mind body connection, while cardio is really important for heart health and stress release.