Actress Nicole Kidman has an enormously busy professional life, but she prides herself on her close family ties. She says she is happiest when she’s spending time with her family: country-singer husband Keith Urban and children Sunday Rose, Faith, Isabella and Connor. Among the jobs she juggles is keeping fit.

How do you balance training and a career with being a mother?

I’m sure all working mothers can relate to how hard it is to juggle a family while keeping healthy through diet and exercise! That’s why I’m a fan of all types of training. I run, ride my bike, do yoga, whatever I can do and wherever I am in the world. We try to exercise as a family, which makes it much easier to squeeze in among everything else and, of course, much more enjoyable.

Do you have special diet and fitness regimens?


There’s certainly no secret regimen. I wish there was. I’m actually not that strict with my diet. I pretty much eat anything, but all in moderation. Likewise with fitness, I try not to be too strict with it and mix it up to make sure it stays fun. I take a Swisse [Wellness brand] multivitamin daily, which helps fill any nutrition gaps I have when I’m on the road.

What types of exercises do you do to keep fit? How do you keep motivated?

Variety is the best way I’ve found. If you think you are going to wake up and run five miles every morning for the rest of your life, you’ll get bored and hit the snooze button after a week. So I try and mix it up with sports, running, yoga and even just going for a walk with my husband and the kids. Living in Nashville makes this easier, as it’s so nice just being outside, especially this time of year. I also love Spinning. I try to get everyone to Spin.

I hear you grew up in a marathon-running family? How has that influenced you?


Sort of half marathons and a thing called the City to Surf. I never really thought about it when I was growing up, but I think it instilled in all of us the importance and pleasure you get from staying fit and healthy. Growing up in Sydney, we were always running around as kids, and we all just thought this was totally normal, and to be honest it is. With rising obesity levels in developed countries across the world, it’s so important that we teach our kids the benefits of an active lifestyle.

What lessons have your learned that you try to teach your children so they will stay healthy and fit?

Get out with your family, have some fun, don’t take it too seriously and make health, fitness and nutrition an important part of your life. Ultimately your health, both physical and emotional, is the basis for everything.

health@latimes.com