Strength Training Will Make You a Better Mom

Motherhood asks a lot of us. Our bodies carry, birth, feed, hold, chase, comfort, lift, and support our babies and children.

Our minds are constantly planning, remembering, organizing, and anticipating what everyone else needs. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, it can become very easy to put ourselves last. We tend to tell ourself that self-care is selfish, and instead, give even more of our energy to others.

The hill I will die on: taking care of yourself isn't selfish.

Prioritizing movement is one of the ways you take care of yourself and show up more fully for the people you love.

Strength training has nothing to do with “losing the baby weight” or “getting your pre-baby body back”. After becoming a mom we have the capacity to become even better than before — we can become stronger, more agile, more confident. Moms are truly superheroes, and what we do in the gym should support that. Strength training in motherhood is about building a body that can support the life you want to live — a life where you are strong, capable, confident, and present for your kids.

Strength Training Helps You Feel Strong in Your Everyday Life

Motherhood is physical, especially in the early years. You're carrying a baby, lifting a toddler into the car, picking toys up off the floor, pushing a stroller, carrying groceries, getting a squirmy child dressed, or hauling a car seat around.

As your children grow, so do the demands on your body. A 10-pound baby eventually becomes a 25-pound toddler. Then a 40-pound kid who wants to be carried when they're tired.

Consistent strength training helps build the muscle and physical capacity you need for these everyday demands. Your program should include lifting, carrying, bending, squatting, pushing, and pulling that will help your everyday tasks feel easier and more manageable.

Strength Training Can Help You Feel More Confident in Your Body

Although I have so much more respect for my own body after experiencing pregnancy and childbirth, I also feel like a complete stranger in my own body.

Pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, sleep deprivation, and hormonal change can all make your body feel so different than it did before. It’s completely normal to feel both amazed by what our bodies can do while mourning the loss of what we knew of our bodies before pregnancy.

Here’s what I’ve learned over the past few months of being freshly postpartum for the first time:

Strength training removes focus from how we perceive ourselves in our new bodies, and gives us a way to appreciate what our bodies can do.

When we lift weights in the gym, we don’t think about what we look like, but we notice what we can accomplish. The confidence gained through deadlifting a large kettlebell or pressing something heavy overhead translates to our confidence in moving through our everyday life.

Postpartum is also an amazing time to try to gain muscle. We’re eating more calories to support breastfeeding, so by focusing on the appropriate training, we can also use this time to gain muscle.

Shifting our mindset from “getting our pre-baby body back” to focus on rebuilding and restrengthening our bodies removes focus from appearance to capability.

You aren't training to get your old body back. You're training to become an even stronger version of yourself.

Strength Training Can Benefit Your Mental Health

Finding time for yourself as a mom can feel almost impossible, and at times even selfish. There is always something else that could be done. There’s always someone else to look after.

This is even more reason why we should prioritize time for our own movement. Carving out 30–45 minutes for yourself can be incredibly valuable to your mental wellbeing, and therefore to those around you.

Exercise can provide a mental break from the constant demands of motherhood. Strength training gives you an opportunity to focus on yourself, your breathing, your movement, and what your body is doing—rather than everyone else's needs. You get to walk into a workout as you, not just as Mom.

Motherhood comes with a lot of emotional and mental load. Movement is a healthy outlet for stress. A strength workout gives you somewhere to put your energy and an opportunity to step away from the chaos for a little while.

One of the hardest mental shifts for moms is realizing that taking care of yourself doesn't mean taking care away from your family. You are allowed to have needs, goals, interests, and time that belong to you. Your children don't need a mom who gives every ounce of herself until there is nothing left, but they need a mom who takes care of herself, too.

That might mean waking up early to train. It might mean getting childcare for an hour. It might mean doing a workout while your kids play nearby. It might mean going for a walk instead of doing a traditional workout. There isn't one right way to make it happen. The important part is recognizing that you are worth making time for.

You're Modeling What It Means to Take Care of Yourself

Your children are watching you. They're learning from how you talk about your body. They're learning from how you treat yourself. They're learning what movement looks like and what it means to prioritize your health.

Imagine your daughter growing up seeing strength as something to celebrate rather than having body image issues. Imagine your son learning that women are strong and capable. Imagine your children seeing you set a goal, work toward it, struggle at times, and keep showing up for you.

It's a powerful example. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about showing up for yourself so that you can show up as the person you want them to see you as — someone who prioritizes your own health, movement, and longevity. And when kids watch their moms prioritize this from a young age, they’ll grow up learning that’s how they should prioritize their own health.

Strength Training Is Your Investment in Becoming the Mom You Want to Be

Strength training is about becoming a stronger, more confident, more resilient version of yourself.

Be the mom who has the energy to play with your baby, the strength to get up and down from the floor with your toddler, the ability to play with and chase your kids.

Be the women who feels confident in her body, and who has hobbies, goals, and an identity outside of motherhood.

And strength training can be one small but powerful way to make sure you're strong enough—physically, mentally, and emotionally—to live the life you want alongside your kids.

Train for the life you want to live. Not just for your children. For you.