I’m a mom. I drop one kid off at school early in the morning and tote my toddler around with me for much of the day. Thankfully, I have a bit of flexibility in my day and my work so that I can make time for something else that’s important to me: my fitness.
After I drop my oldest off at school, most mornings I head straight to the base gym parent room. There, with my youngest playing independently but still close by, I spend the next hour or so beginning my day in one of the best ways I know how.
The family room at the base fitness center changed my whole fitness journey. As a busy parent shuttling kids around, I’m grateful for a convenient, safe, and kid-friendly place to work out.
This current method that prioritizes my fitness as a parent is not only practical but fairly unavoidable. I’m already there. And while we don’t choose to live on base housing during this season of our military family life, the base itself is accessible for us. Not to mention, this resource is free and I can bring my kid? Score.
I played soccer growing up and rode horses for much of my life. I recognize the benefits of working out and maintaining my fitness – even more so now as a mom. But in my motherhood, fitness itself hasn’t always been so attainable. In my postpartum days, I struggled to be away from my colicky, clingy newborn. Walking around our neighborhood pushing the stroller was my saving grace.
As I’ve progressed in my fitness journey to throwing some dumbbells around, I’m grateful to have a place not just to work out, but to bring my kids to.
They see me. They’re in there with me. My oldest sees her mom on the other side of the gate, taking time to prioritize movement and strength. My youngest knows our detour to the gym after school drop-off is just a part of our everyday schedule as eating breakfast or brushing our teeth is. Going to the gym is normal in our household. Not because it’s a chore, but because it’s something we do to honor and respect our bodies. And as a parent trying to raise well-rounded, healthy kids, I love being able to be that example for them.
Yes, I value the time I get to work out alone. I look forward to the days when I can slip away to the gym without one or both of my kids in tow. But that’s not always possible in this season.
I’ve reframed what taking them with me means for not just me, but for them. Instead of begrudgingly toting them along because I don’t have childcare or my husband is working long hours and I want to go to the gym, I try to look at it positively.
I love what taking my kids with me to the gym shows them. It says that they’re a part of my routine. It lets them see what I’m doing and how I’m getting stronger.
Military life is hard and isolating. But do you know who else I see in the parent room in the gym? Other moms (and dads!) taking the time for themselves they deserve… while also carting their kids to the gym with them. Maybe their spouse is deployed or they can’t afford childcare. Maybe they can’t leave their clingy baby, so plopping them over the gate while being able to work out and watch them is their saving grace, too.
The parent room at the base fitness center has been such an unexpected, pleasant change to my fitness journey. It’s given me accountability and a sense of pride. It’s allowed me to involve my kids in this aspect of my life.