Babywearing Exercises

Last Updated: July 7, 2026

Post in collaboration with Kelli Roschak, creator of The Babywearing Workout, a 30-minute babywearing exercise video that you can do with your baby in the comfort of your own living room. All you need is your baby and a soft baby carrier, and you’ll have everything you need to get fit while keeping your baby right where she should be, on you.

Babywearing is excellent weight-bearing exercise, and what better way to include your baby in your daily activities than by carrying them in a baby carrier?

If you’re like me, you probably wear your baby/toddler a lot of the time, which makes it easy to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Just wearing them while you are doing the dishes or folding the laundry will give your core a good strength building workout. While your at it why not throw in a few squats and leg lifts here and there. Going up and down the stairs, if you’ve got them, a few times a day will also burn off more of those extra calories than you would if you weren’t wearing your little one. Taking a walk to to the park while wearing your baby or toddler is a much more intense workout for your body than if you were simply rolling them along in a stroller.

In addition to all of the other amazing benefits of babywearing, this is teaching our children an invaluable lesson about healthy living. They’re learning, by example and participation, that incorporating exercises into their daily routines can be easy and fun at the same time. Learning this kind of a lesson long before they are even crawling, is one way to help keep them from joining the staggering and heartbreaking statistics of childhood obesity that we are struggling to fight here in the USA. What better way to help ensure that our next generation will understand the deep and lasting benefits of an active lifestyle that they may not outlive their own parents than by babywearing and remaining active ourselves?

When my darling girl was still tiny, aside from walking, I got the most exercise by babywearing her during nap time or at bed time. Instead of using a swing or rocker to help put her to sleep, I would put her into a mei tai on my front and get to work! Below, I’ll share a few of the moves I would do. They’re the ones that felt the best for me and seemed to put her to sleep the fastest:

The Torso Twist

• Put your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly.
• Place your hands on your shoulders with your elbows up even with your shoulders.
• Engage your stomach muscles and twist from left to right and back again.
• Make sure you are keeping your hips stationary and all of the work is happening with your torso only.
• Keep at this for as long as you can or until your little one falls asleep. You can speed it up or slow it down based on what seems to work best for your own baby.

If you want to take this to the next level you can even add a little bounce while you are doing it….that was usually the final KO for my girl!

The Yoga Ball Bounce

• Sit straight up on your exercise ball with your feet flat on the floor at about 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock.
• Now bounce, but don’t just let gravity take over.
• Engage your core stomach muscles as well as your quads, use the ball more as a support.

Sometimes I’d add a modified Torso Twist to each bounce to take it up a notch. Again, do this for as long as you can or until your little one is down for the count.

The Bouncing Mini Squat

• Put your knees shoulder width apart and bounce into mini squats.
• Don’t go down all the way, just what feels natural as a bounce. It should be soothing, not jostling, for your baby on your chest.
• Make sure your knees stay over your ankles so you don’t injure yourself.
• Now bounce, bounce, bounce until your legs are burning and you can’t take any more!

Sometimes I’d rotate all of these moves throughout one nap or bed time routine, depending on how long it took for her to fall asleep.

Put on some soothing music, sing or hum to your baby while you are doing this and you’ll find that it’s really very enjoyable for the both of you.

You can do these exercises as much as 20 minutes, a couple of times per day, like I did. Depending on your little one’s age and how many naps they are taking a day, you will get yourself into great shape!

Take A Hike

Hiking with your children is a wonderful way to show them the beauty of their natural environment and get some great exercise at the same time. The sun, fresh air and your movement is sure to lift your spirits. Wondering where to find a local hiking spot? Here’s a helpful post that can help you do just that, no matter where you are.

Good Ol Dancing

Throw on some music and dance around your living room, your bedroom, your kitchen while you cook…wherever you are. All you need is your baby, you carrier and some music. What’s another bonus, aside from an excellent weight-bearing exercise? You might find that the music and your movements put your baby in a good mood, too. You might even end up with a sleeping baby. And we all love a sleeping baby, don’t we?

And remember, most people feel things are “back to normal” in about a year, so be gracious with yourself. It’s just important to get out there and stick with it! Exercise not only helps you get back into shape, but it also pumps those endorphins through your body so you can bust the baby blues, give yourself some extra energy, and bond with baby.

You’ve got nothing but the bulge to lose and lots of great babywearing time to gain! So go on, mommas, get fit. Do it for yourself, do it for your baby.