Postpartum Fitness in 4 Minutes a Day: The Ultimate Fitness Routine for New Moms

Discover simple, four-minute routines designed to help new moms regain strength, reduce back pain, and feel energized—all without leaving home.

Being a new mom is already a full-time workout in many ways: it's emotionally and mentally challenging as you experience profound levels of sleep deprivation as well as adjusting to new responsibilities and a budding relationship with your beautiful child, but it's also physically demanding in terms of a nonstop schedule of lifting, carrying, feeding, and cuddling.

Many moms aren't ready for this change and experience back or neck pain, stiffness, and soreness in this phase, continuing as their baby grows. But did you know that just four minutes a day of simple bodyweight strength training at home can help you feel stronger, prevent pain, reduce stiffness, and restore your energy? Whether you’re recovering postpartum or chasing a busy toddler, this ultra-efficient approach makes both fitness achievable and sustainable. My book, Movement Matters for Moms, introduces tailored, four-minute routines designed specifically for moms navigating early motherhood. It worked for me to dissolve my lower back issues, and has worked for many other moms who regularly practice these simple exercises.

Here’s an example of a quick, daily routine:

1. Air Squats With or without your baby (you can hold them, or carry a toddler on your shoulders), stand with feet under your hips, pointing straight ahead. Press your pelvis forward slightly and squeeze your glutes firmly, before descending down into the squat, arching your pelvis back as if you want to touch your butt to the baseboard of the wall behind you. Keep your chest lifted and back straight throughout, squatting down only as far as it's comfortable. Press down into the full footprint of your feet to stand again, and press the hips forward, squeezing your glutes at the top. Repeat 10 times. Then, circle your hips clockwise for 10 reps, and counter-clockwise for 10 more reps.
   

   
   

   

   Air Squats

2. Lunges Stand with feet in parallel. Step one foot behind you and descend into a lunge until your back knee nearly touches the floor, then return to standing. Keep your torso upright and your waist long throughout. Repeat with the other leg. Repeat alternating sides up to 20 reps. Vary the placement of your stepping foot: try stepping behind and across your standing leg (Curtsy Lunge), or to the front or side. If you want to, add a spring to your lunges as you switch, so you increase your speed, working toward jump-lunges.
   

   
   

   

   Lunges

   
   

3. Isometric Leg Balance Stand tall on one leg, and stretch the other leg out as long as you can in any direction, low to the floor but not touching it. Tighten the glutes of the standing leg and hold. Keep extending your waist long and head tall throughout. You can also use this opportunity to stretch your arms upward or out in any direction that feels good (I like to interlace my fingers and press my palms up toward the ceiling). Change and do the same on the other side. Repeat this exercise the second time round with the standing leg bent.

   
   

   

   Isometric Leg Balance

4. Crawling Get on all fours and very slowly, begin to crawl forwards, and then backwards. Enjoy the massage on your joints from the pressure of the floor rising up through your wrists, knees, hips, elbows, and shoulders. Lengthen your waist and draw your belly closer to your spine as you crawl. As you begin to feel more confident, you can lift your hips higher and float the knees off the ground, exploring different ways of walking on all fours: forward, side, and back. This is a great one to explore as you play chase with your baby or toddler, too, or encourage them to ride on your back!
   

   
   

   

   
   

These moves target key areas like your glutes, abductors, core, legs, and shoulders. Even with a few minutes a day, the results build over time. Discover more simple, practical routines in my book Movement Matters for Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Prenatal and Postnatal Embodied Fitness in Four Minutes a Day.