💪🏾🍼 Burpees and Budgeting: My Not-So-Perfect Fitness Routine

Hey friends,

So… I did three pushups last week and called it a workout.

Well, technically it was two-and-a-half pushups before my toddler sat on my back and yelled, “Giddyup, Daddy!” So, depending on how you count it, I’m either getting stronger or entering my rodeo era.

Here’s the truth: trying to stay in shape as a parent is one of the most humbling things in the world.

You go from having a gym membership, protein powder, and a meal plan — to hiding in the kitchen eating cold dino nuggets after bedtime.

Once upon a time, I ran 5Ks for fun. Now I get winded carrying a sleepy 4-year-old up the stairs while trying not to step on LEGO mines. And don’t even get me started on the budget. Gym memberships? Boutique workout classes? Nah. We’re over here weighing that $30 against diapers, Goldfish crackers, and the Target dollar section.

But here’s the shift that helped me: I stopped aiming for perfect and started aiming for movement.

• Sometimes it’s a 10-minute YouTube workout in the living room while my kids pretend I’m a jungle gym.

• Sometimes it’s a stroller walk with my youngest, counting it a win if I break a sweat.

• Sometimes (okay, often), it’s stretching while watching Bluey and calling it “active recovery.”

And you know what? It helps.

Not just physically — though yes, moving my body again feels good — but mentally. Because in the blur of parenthood, it’s easy to lose yourself. To forget you’re more than snack-fetcher and tantrum-soother. That you matter, too.

Your body. Your health. Your sanity.

It’s not about six-packs or Instagram aesthetics anymore. It’s about having the energy to show up for your kids and still feel like you exist in your own story too.

So if you’re in that place — juggling a million things, trying to stretch both your time and your wallet — just know you’re not alone. Fitness as a parent isn’t flashy. It’s messy, loud, unpredictable. And yeah, sometimes you’ll skip it. Sometimes the win is surviving the day.

But the next day, you get to try again.

And hey — if your version of fitness right now is power-walking through Costco with two kids in the cart and one pushing from behind?

You’re crushing it.

'Til next time,
Keep moving, even if it's just from the couch to the fridge and back again 😉
— Elijah
Your Chief Parenting Enthusiast