Mamas and Mamas-to-be: Do You REALLY Need to Exercise 30 Minutes a Day?

Here's what everyone says about exercising during pregnancy and postpartum

If you do an internet search for "How long to exercise in pregnancy & postpartum" you'll likely find multiple sources saying that pregnant and postpartum women should get 150 minutes of exercise each week, which is about 30 minutes of daily exercise 5 days a week. This is also likely what your doctor will recommend, if you ask.

And of course, you want to be healthy! Exercising regularly during pregnancy keeps you pain-free and feeling good, and it helps your baby to be healthy too! As a Mama, exercising regularly sets your kids up for their own healthy habits, and helps them learn to prioritize themselves and their health.

But, as I'm sure you know... Life as a Mama or Mama-to-be can get busy. Hectic, even! It may feel nearly impossible to find 30 minutes in your day to take any sort of moment to yourself - even for something as beneficial as exercise. As a Mama-of-two, I find that there are some days that seem to just... disappear.

I always have the best intentions to exercise when I wake up in the morning...

When I first wake up, when I'm laying in bed for the first few moments of the day before I hear my toddlers tromping down the stairs to my room... It's easy to say that I'll for sure be able to find 30 minutes (Heck, maybe even an hour!) for some sort of purposeful movement.

But then... Between making breakfast, making snacks, cleaning up after my two toddler-nados, working on the mountain of laundry, making more snacks, diffusing toddler arguments, making lunch, playtime, making more snacks, making dinner, bathtime, one last snack, and bedtime, not to mention trying to fit in work or kid activities...

I'm often left wondering where all those hours went, and why I feel like I wasn't able to get much of anything done!

And sure, I could tell you things like:

• Coordinate with your partner to watch the kids!

• Schedule a specific workout time into your day and just stick with it, no matter what!

• Integrate your baby into your workout!

• Forget the laundry and just exercise instead!

But even with conscious planning, life may still get in the way of finding those precious 30 minutes each day.

So what happens if (when) you CAN'T fit 30 minutes of exercise into your day?

Should you just give up? No!

Should you beat yourself up or shame yourself? Double NO!

Instead, focus on giving yourself grace and flexibility during this intense and special period. If there's no way to fit in 30 minutes of exercise on a busy day, what about 10 minutes of purposeful movement? What about 5?

Because here's the thing: Even short exercise sessions (think 5-15 minutes) have been shown to have amazing benefits!

• 10-15 minutes of exercise can increase feelings of well-being and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression

• Just 10 minutes of exercise per day can increase your lifespan!

• Doing any sort of recreational physical activity can greatly reduce your chances of gestational diabetes!

It's clear: finding just a little time each day to do some purposeful movement, while not perfect, can still help you a lot! And, even if you can only find 5 minutes today, taking those 5 minutes to move and to prioritize yourself keeps you on track in your perinatal exercise journey.

So... Can't fit 30 minutes of exercise time into your day? Here are some ideas that may feel more manageable:

• Find 5 minutes here and there to do your two favorite Pilates exercises (If you want a little guidance, check out a 5 Minutes of Movement Session inside my program, Bump to Baby... and Beyond!)

• Do some 360 Breathing for 5-10 minutes right when you wake up or right before going to sleep (and throw in some meditation at the same time for double benefit!)

• Run around with your kids at the park, or take a walk around the block and soak in some sunshine.

Now, if you can find 30 minutes or an hour to move with purpose, do it! 30 minutes of exercise per day is a great goal, It will help you to improve your strength and posture, ease the aches and pains that are so common for Mamas and Mamas-to-be, and help you reduce any feelings of depression or anxiety while increasing feelings of happiness and well-being. Making purposeful movement a regular part of your perinatal life is essential to cultivating both a healthy body and mind!

Why this matters to me:

Personally, when my second baby was very young and I was dealing with postpartum depression, I was finding it impossible to fit in the longer exercise sessions into my day. And instead of adapting, I'd skip out on any movement that day, say "maybe I'll do it tomorrow", and feel bad about myself.

One day, I woke up and decided that I'd try to fit in just 5 minutes of Pilates that day. And I did! Over the next few weeks, I made it a purposeful part of my routine to get at least 15 minutes of purposeful movement each day, even if I had to split it into 5-minute chinks. When I shifted my mindset, as I'm suggesting you do here, I was able to build and maintain a consistent exercise practice. And I knew that even on days when I couldn't find the time for a longer session, I was still getting my 15 minutes, still getting stronger, and still healing my postpartum body.

When I created Bump to Baby Pilates, I wanted to make sure I included Pilates sessions of all different lengths (from 5-55 minutes), because I know from experience that sometimes having the option to do something shorter means that you'll move for a little, rather than not moving at all!

So what's the TRUTH about how long to exercise as a Mama or Mama-to-be?

Here's the thing. I don't want you to think about a set number of minutes that you have to exercise each week. What I've found to be more helpful, both for me and for my clients, is to find consistent time in your week for purposeful movement that fits into your life. Make an exercise schedule that you can maintain without feeling stressed or burnt out. Because more than the total time spent working out each week, what matters is that you are consistently moving with purpose.

Moving for 10 minutes a day every day is vastly better than moving for 30 minutes but only on rare occasions.

And as you move though your busy life, as you navigate all the changes that come through pregnancy and into postpartum... having a consistent, dependable movement practice can start to be a source of stress-relief and stability, offering not only physical benefits but also emotional grounding and mental clarity.

One Busy Mama to another... I salute you. And even when things get hectic, always remember that You Got This.

Shauna Grasso is a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher and Perinatal Pilates Specialist. She has been teaching Pilates since 2014 and is constantly amazed by the power of Pilates and the resiliency of the human body. She lives in the Nevada mountains with her husband, their dog, and their two beautiful children.

Here are some references to things I mentioned in this article. Check them out if you want!

Kırıcı, P., Nacar, M. C., Karaçor, T., Bülbül, M., Baktıroğlu, M., Mavral, N., & Kaya, N. (2022, August 4). Pilates workouts can improve the labor and newborn outcomes: A case control study. Journal of Surgery and Medicine. https://jsurgmed.com/article/view/951898

Linne, Y., Harding, A.-H., Jovanovic-Peterson, L., Avery, M. D., Richardson, M. T., Clapp, J. F., Klebanoff, M. A., Dorner, G., Silverman, B. L., Suhonen, L., Damm, P., Young, J. C., Yki-Jarvinen, H., Dye, T. D., Solomon, C. G., & Garcia-Patterson, A. (2004, June 22). A case-control study of maternal recreational physical activity and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168822704001056

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2023, December 23). Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495#:~:text=But%20even%20small%20amounts%20of,to%20make%20a%20big%20difference.

Stamatakis, E., Ahmadi, M. N., Gill, J. M. R., Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C., Gibala, M. J., Doherty, A., & Hamer, M. (2022, December 8). Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02100-x