Making it work

How one full-time mum finds time to stay active

With only twenty-four hours in a day, we can often find it tricky to fit in physical activity. By the time we prioritise our children and all the other tasks that need to be done, it can be a struggle to have any spare time, let alone the energy to make it happen.

Nikita, a proud Gunditjmara woman, knows the realities of this!

As a single mum to four beautiful children between the ages of four and fifteen and full-time carer of her one-year old niece, Nikita definitely has her hands full.

So how does she still find the time to prioritise keeping active both at the gym and at home?

She is ‘making it work’ for herself and the family.

Nikita is motivated by the positive influences that surround her children every time she makes it to a training session and the impact it can have on them. Currently training five times a week at a gym for boxing, she is getting ready to take on her second official boxing fight.

Getting to the gym five times a week is a huge commitment for her to make happen on top of the work involved with five kids in the house. In the beginning, Nikita wondered how she would be able to do this with all the kids! But as time went on, she found ways to make it work. When setting off to training, it starts with always packing the car with the kid’s bikes and scooters and a giant box of food to keep them occupied while she trains. Her youngest child Yindi, says she loves going to training because she gets to ride her scooter for ages!

When Nikita is not heading off to training, she has her very own punching bag set up in the backyard to ensure she can keep up with her activity. The kids also love putting on the gloves and doing some pad work with Mum. Nikita shares how this not only keeps the kids engaged in physical activity, but also allows them to show their emotions in a positive way, in a safe environment.

It may seem daunting trying to find ways to make physical activity work for you, especially if you live the busy mum life like Nikita, but her advice to other people trying to fit it all in around kids is to take them along with you, if you can, and just see how it goes.

Her story emphasises that “keeping active and fit is positive for them as well” and proves having a large family is no obstacle to achieving your goals.