Bonding over burpees, not brunches: Moms turn workout buddies

Bonding over burpees, not brunches

'Come on! Five more seconds to complete the set.'

That is what motherhood sounds like in many urban homes right now. Alongside reminders to eat properly and study on time to their kids, mothers are also counting out reps during gym sessions, discussing marathon timings over breakfast, and arguing over who skipped leg day this week. And the kids aren’t complaining either. Family bonding once meant movie nights and Sunday lunches. In 2026, it has taken a high-intensity turn with fitness routines.

Better health, better relationships

For mother-daughter Dhanashree and Anvi Bendre, workouts are about Dhanashree pushing through treadmill intervals, with Anvi unofficially becoming her motivator. “If I slow down during a difficult set, she immediately starts cheering me on,” says Dhanashree. The toughest challenge for Dhanashree was when she decided to attempt her first half marathon in her late forties. “I kept doubting myself, but Anvi had more confidence in me than I had in myself. She kept encouraging me,” she says.

On her part, Anvi says these sessions have dual benefits. “Helping each other during workouts has changed my health and our relationship. My endurance is so much better now, and somewhere between sets we end up talking about everything - college stress, random life updates, even family gossip. Those conversations happen much more naturally when we’re working out together,” says Anvi.

Mudgar drills and endurance

For Pallavi Gagre and her daughter Ayaana, workouts are less about treadmills and more about functional movement training. Their sessions involve mudgar exercises, mobility drills, endurance circuits, and balance training. “If one of us slows down during a difficult drill, the other immediately starts counting louder,” Ayaana laughs.

Pallavi says her daughter has become her biggest accountability partner. “On days when I feel lazy or want to skip training, she’s the one dragging me out of bed,” she says. Ayaana adds, “My mother is genuinely the best gym buddy I could ask for.”

Workout x bonding time

It’s 7 am and 51-year-old Shalini Gupta drives to the gym accompanied by her 18-year-old son Arjun. They spend 50 minutes in a gruelling session with three sets of assisted pull-ups. This is followed by lying leg curls, leg press, and squats. Thrice a week, the mother-son duo works out regularly, encouraging and setting goals for each other. What started as a New Year's resolution has now become a special bonding time for the mother and son. “I usually work out with my friend, but since my mom has started working out, I like to spend three days a week with her at the gym. This has now become a bonding time for us,” says Arjun. Shalini, who is hard-pressed for time due to her job, says she has finally found time to focus on her health, while spending time with her son. “We would barely meet each other earlier. But I am glad that my son doubles up as my gym instructor and pushes me to focus on weight training. It’s a lot of fun just to spend time at the gym with him.”

For Trupti Rao and her son Ninad, fitness started with lockdown walks and eventually evolved into early-morning running sessions, badminton matches, and gym workouts together. “We intentionally kept our workout timings the same,” says Trupti. Ninad adds, “No matter how tired she was, she never skipped workouts.”

Celebrity moms are lifting too

Sushmita Sen regularly posts workout videos with daughter Alisah, while Bhagyashree and son Abhimanyu Dassani have turned fitness into playful online content. Sara Ali Khan has often credited her mother, Amrita Singh, for supporting her through her fitness journey, and Malaika Arora continues to make wellness look like a family lifestyle with son Arhaan Khan.