Today, I’d like to tell you about one of my top favorite things from 2019. It’s called TeacherFit and it has brought me so much homeschool joy for the past six-plus months!
2020 UPDATE: Use the promo code POPPIES10 for $10 your TeacherFit or StudentFit membership.
But, first, the backstory…
How to Be A Happier Homeschool Mom with TeacherFit
From MomFit to TeacherFit
I had my first baby in 2008 and I was fortunate to avoid any sort of post-partum depression or anxiety. I had my second baby in 2009 and again I was lucky and did not suffer any post-partum challenges.
But then I had my third in September of 2011. At first, everything seemed fine. I was fortunate to be surrounded by family and a strong community of mom friends. Sure, I was extremely sleep-deprived and crazy-busy with three kids under four, but I had a great support community. Life was good! I was happy and grateful that my kids were healthy. Everything appeared to be going well…
… until one day, it suddenly didn’t.
It’s all a bit hazy now when I think back. I can’t recall exactly what caused my lightbulb moment, but I can remember exactly where I was- I had just sat down on my family room couch with my 4-month-old baby in my arms. Out of nowhere, I remember having this overwhelming realization, “Oh my gosh, I am anxious!”
It hit me like a ton of bricks. The jumpiness. The inability to sleep for more than an hour at a time. The intense need to be prepared for anything and everything. My inability to sit still and just be. The general sense of foreboding, as if some unknown darkness was lingering just up ahead.
Where had it come from? When did it begin? How could it creep in unnoticed? Had it slowly built up over time? Was I too sleep-deprived to see it happening?
I remember saying out loud, “How could someone trained in psychology not recognize anxiety?!”
At that moment, I resolved to find a good therapist and book an appointment. By the end of the day, I had an appointment on the calendar. The therapist was wonderful and I saw her for many months. I learned that postpartum depression gets all the press but that post-partum anxiety is likely just as common. I tried medication for the first time in my life and it helped start to feel like myself again. Then, a mom friend who knew I was struggling invited me to a new exercise class. It was called MomFit and it changed my life. Truly.
MomFit, circa 2014. We’re wearing shirts that say, “When I think about quitting, I remember who is watching.” I love this- as homeschool mamas, we can model healthy habits for our kiddos!
Exercise as a form of self-care
I am incredibly thankful that I realized I was struggling and that I went to therapy. My therapist was wonderful. The medication certainly helped. All of this was necessary for me to take that next step, but I know that MomFit helped the most.
MomFit met four times a week. It featured high-intensity interval training, something I had never tried before. We could bring our kids and Miss Jen would keep them safe and happy while she coached us through incredibly challenging workouts. The stress relief was immediate. The friendships I formed there will last a lifetime. I’ve always loved to exercise, but with MomFit I felt healthier than I had since I was in high school!
I attended MomFit religiously for four years until our coach moved away. After MomFit dissolved, I kept up with my high-intensity interval workouts. I tried CrossFit for a while at a few local CrossFit boxes (but this was tough to sustain as a homeschool mom without childcare). I took up running and bought a few DVDs.
And then an old MomFit friend moved back to New England and told me about a guy she’d met while living down in Virginia. His name was Nick Mann and he had created something called TeacherFit, an online fitness community for educators.
I signed up for TeacherFit that day and have been enjoying the program for six months. It is amazing and I want to share it with you all today because I think it can change some lives out there!
Why this homeschool mom loves TeacherFit
I think we all know that exercise is good for our physical health, but did you know it’s also an important component of your mental health? Exercise improves brain functioning and helps with learning. It works for kids, too!
(Don’t believe me? Check out this book and it will change the way you homeschool, I promise! We get moving before work every single day!)
I do my TeacherFit workouts in my dingy basement and write my results on the floor in chalk. This way, my husband and I can cheer each other on!
I love TeacherFit because:
- TeacherFit is super affordable.
- Minimal equipment is required.
- Coach Nick offers modifications for every exercise!
- The workouts are intense but they are all well under an hour.
- TeacherFit results in noticeable gains.
- I cannot tell you how amazing you feel after accomplishing a challenging workout first thing in the morning (or whatever time works for you).
- You don’t need a lot of space. I work out in our dingy basement and it’s totally fine!
- I can work out at my convenience, from the comfort of home.
- TeacherFit offers five high-intensity interval workouts a week plus two yoga workouts.
- I love the app! It builds a sense of community. I have homeschool mama friends working out with me!
- My husband loves it too. He wakes up religiously at 5 am and has done P90X for years but he has seen significant gains in fitness since adding TeacherFit to his daily routine.
- My kids often work out with me and they have learned more about the benefits of making exercise a priority.
- I wholeheartedly believe in Nick Mann’s TeacherFit mission.
What is TeacherFit?
Nick Mann is the brainchild behind TeacherFit. Nick is a former Marine Infantry Officer who offers online fitness and nutrition programs for teachers and students. He wants to make an impact on urban youth. He offers after school programs for youth and realized that the best way to impact students is by impacting their teachers. As a former urban school psychologist, I fell in love with this mission from the get-go!
The TeacherFit membership includes the following:
- 5 new video-based workouts each week
- 2 new yoga classes each week
- Access to a workout program app where you can track progress and keep up with other TeacherFitters
- Nutrition tips and recipes
- Access to an online support community where you can ask questions and receive coaching.
What do you need to get started with TeacherFit?
To participate in TeacherFit, you need only a set of dumbbells and maybe a kettlebell.
That’s it!!!
How to Join TeacherFit
You can join TeacherFit for just $9 a month! I think this is an incredible value. I am so thankful for this resource!
If you are interested in checking out the program to see if it might work for you and your family, you can access a free TeacherFit workout and yoga course here.
Be sure to follow TeacherFit
You can follow Nick Mann and TeacherFit on Instagram and Facebook.
Did you enjoy this article? If so, you might like these:
- Where’s My Zen? Homeschooling and Exercise {Episode 8} | The Homeschool Sisters Podcast
- 10+ Games to Get Kids Moving
- Q and A: Our Self-Care Routines {Episode 41} | The Homeschool Sisters Podcast
- How to Fight Nature Deficit Disorder this Fall and Winter
- What’s in Your Introverted Mama Survival Kit? | Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley, The Homeschool Sisters Podcast
- How to Homeschool Little Ones (Without the Overwhelm)
- Dear Overwhelmed Homeschool Mom
Hi Cait!
This post is timely! I’ve been through a couple years of chronic migraines and fatigue during which I don’t think I could have done any regular exercise. A new medication finally came out that reduced my migraines drastically. I still have to manage them a bit and I am still dealing with fatigue and requiring obscene amounts of sleep. This week I decided to try once again to make time for exercise – yay for medication being a bridge! The last two days I have gotten up at 5 to do Ana Brett’s Kundalini Yoga videos, which make me feel amazing mentally and physically. I also occasionally do a walking work out or use a mini trampoline (I can’t do anything too intense). I have felt amazing the past two days and am praying that the reduction in sleep isn’t too much for me (last night I only got 7.5 hours. I really do best with about 9 hours, but it’s so hard to find that much time to sleep anyway). I have three kids ages 9, 6, and 4. I’m trying to picture how I would fit in some physical fitness with them at the beginning of our days. It seems like we have wake-up time, breakfast, clean up and a few distractions and before it know it my morning is almost over and I’m stressed about not getting started with “school”. Simply taking a walk seems to take forever and it is only going to become more difficult when the snow arrives. How do you do it? I think I need to do my own exercise before they wake up, otherwise they are needing one thing or another, but I’d like them to have some regular physical activity as well.
Thanks,
Tess