WOH FT mamas - when do you find time to work out??

[♥ms.pacman♥]

There aren't enough hours in the day!

It took me a few years even as a SAHM to find the time, join a gym and complete a couch-to-5k program. Now that I work fulltime though, I don't know HOW i will find the time to work out. I have a membership at a pricey gym (that i really like) and i feel bad that I haven't gone in few months.

Thing is, I have a good 30 minute commute each way (which I know isn't too horrible..i grew up in SF area and lived in LA, lol). I leave around 7:30 or so and I usually get home around 6pm. I feel bad working out in the evening bc I just want to spend time with DCs. But in the mornings...i am so tired, cold and groggy. I struggle just to wake up at 6:30 and get everything ready. I do have an elliptical at home, in DH's office..but, i haven't used it in months :bag

I feel bad too bc DH already helps out A TON when he is here (he drops off and picks up kids from daycare, and prepares dinner every day). I'm embarrassed to admit how much he helps out...as we speak he is at the grocery store shopping, and ordering DS' birthday cake for this weekend (he does all this without me even asking, he rocks). Though despite all that...i still feel busy and tired and have no idea when I could work out during the week. I do go for a run on the weekend while he stays with the kids, but during the week...it seems like as it is, it's a mad rush to get to work, then to get home from work, etc.

suggestions appreciated!!

[janine]

I don't. There is no time to work out. My commute (1hr 20mins with cars, trains and walking) is my work out. As it is late night hours (after midnight) are for deep cleaning and prep for next day and not exactly when I want to go hit a 24 hr gym. Weekends are jam packed with laundry/groceries and I'm frankly not doing enough extra curruculars with the kids (probably notice it more as they get older).

Maybe if I was more committed I'd somehow "find" or make the time, but just haven't.

[TwoBees]

I don't. There is no time to work out. My commute is my work out.

:yeahthat: Except my commute is 3 hours of sitting on my behind while driving.

The rest of my workout involves running errands and running up and down the stairs multiple times nightly for bath, bed, laundry, etc.

[Tinkerbell313]

I do not have the time to workout either. I have changed my eating habits (gluten free and paleo) to eat healthier for my life style. Also, with all the chores and running around I do, I feel that while its not cardio active...I am still active enough...I do park farther away from stores instead of getting the closest spot. I will use the stairs and not the elevator/escalator, etc.

[mushka]

I workout in the morning. I wake up at 4:30, workout 5-6. Take a quick shower and get to work by 7. This is the only time I can get a workout in. I'm just too tired in the evening.

[Philly Mom]

My DH is like yours. When he is around, he does tons. I still don't have time. If I was really committed, I could get up at 5 or even 6 and run for 30 mins or something, but I am not. I have friends who did that when they worked.

[fivi2]

I don't. But I have tried to make time at lunch for some strength /bodyweight exercises. I also try to walk or do the stairs at lunch. Things I can do in or around my office without getting too sweaty. I am not always successful but that is the only time I have found. Other than trying to be more active with my kids (skating, swimming etc)

[egoldber]

We have a full gym at work and I work out at lunch. If I didn't have that, then I doubt it would happen.

[AnnieW625]

I joined a large chain gym near my work and go at lunch. It isn't the best workout by any means, but I at least get 30 minutes of cardio in, or 15 minutes of cardio and about 20 minutes of weights in. If I had an eliptical at home I would most likely do that portion of my workout at home, and just do weights during my lunch hour.

Now that I have Weight Watchers at lunch on Tuesdays I am going to force myself to go from 5 to 6 am on Tuesday mornings (I am supposed to be at work by 7, but 7:30 at the latest). I have gone in the mornings in the past and it is hard, but I always feel great after I go. It is easier for me to do it in the summer based on my past habits of doing it.

My kids have never been to the gym daycare because I flat out refuse to pick them up from one daycare and drop them off to another one. I totally get that. Sometimes I do go to a 7:30 yoga class on Monday nights, but DH is home then.

[mommylamb]

I have just started trying to work out again after nearly 2 years of not doing so between being pregnant and just the first year with DS2. I started taking a 1-hour zumba class once a week and I'm planning to start a half hour toning class once a week too. OMG, I am going insane on the zumba nights! There are too many things to do and adding this in is just really hard. And I feel like I barely see my kids on those nights. I have about an hour commute each way. DH works from home 3-4 days a week, and I am so grateful for that because without it nothing would ever get done.

I'm feeling super overwhelmed today.

[elizabethkott]

The only way I get anything in is walking the dogs at night. So DH and I will divide and conquer the boys (I'll take Stevie, since he goes down a bit faster) and DH will do books and put James to bed. I take them for at least a mile and a quarter every night (about 20 minutes, so not exactly speed walking) and I try to do the 2 1/2 mile route at least three times a week. They are my motivation; without their walk, they are a total PITA. ;)
Until I insisted that DH help me split bedtime, he wasn't doing it. When I told him I either take the dogs every night or he never gets to play tennis on the weekend, he got it. :)

[kara97210]

Do you have a gym at your office? I block an hour and work out during the day at my company gym. Other days I walk with a woman I work with around our corporate campus. It's more gossip than cardio, but I figure it's 45minutes not sitting at my desk.

Before I used to get up early (5:30) and work out, but I did it less regularly then. Last summer I did a boot camp that was 5:30-6:30 am, really close to my house. I'm definitely not a morning person so I'm not crazy about working out early. I do like how I feel the rest of the day when I work out, but I hate pretty much everything else about it.

[BabbyO]

My DH is like yours. When he is around, he does tons. I still don't have time. If I was really committed, I could get up at 5 or even 6 and run for 30 mins or something, but I am not. I have friends who did that when they worked.

I don't either...but I need to start as I've noticed my knees are getting sore. I have an hour commute each way and feel the same way you do about spending time with the kids...and have been terrible about getting up early. I was up every day at 4:30 for the last year so that I could nurse Peanut, have everything ready to go, pick up a commuter and be to work by 7 am to accommodate pumping time. Now I'm enjoying my ability to sleep in till 6 or 6:30!

My most successful attempt at working out is walking on a trail right behind my office....but I haven't done that regularly since DS1 was born.

I also *try* to get to yoga 1x per week....but that also happens to be the only night I can get my hair cut and I'm often just plain exhausted by Thursday pm.

We should start a group here that checks in with each other....just to try to keep us accountable to someone. Like "Hey, I worked out this AM...or heading out for a walk at lunch time....

Really my options are get up earlier or walk at lunch.

ETA: I also have an awesome husband who takes kids to daycare every AM and makes dinner every PM. (He works from home...so when he's done at 5 he just goes upstairs and makes dinner. Though the kids get dropped of at 5:15...so he's also watching them.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

My DH is like yours. When he is around, he does tons. I still don't have time. If I was really committed, I could get up at 5 or even 6 and run for 30 mins or something, but I am not.

yes, u summed it up, this is exactly me! if i got my act together i could easily work out from 530-630, shower, get stuff ready and leave by 730 i just don't do it because I would prefer the extra hour sleep :bag though i do recognize that in the long run, i feel better and am less stressed in general when i exercise.

and there is a small gym here at work that has treadmill, elliptical, some weights. though the thing that i always think of is: aren't you all sweaty afterwards? Do you shower there too? Like, if i worked out for 30 minutes during lunch, i would feel weird changing back into work clothes all sweaty. But then it would be tough if i took a shower there..that would add another 20 minutes, at least (i have long hair and it would take a while to comb thru & blowdry). i am jealous of guys who can literally take 5 minute showers and don't have to worry about hair..that is not the case at all with me.

[egoldber]

because I would prefer the extra hour sleep

No need to be ashamed of this. Sleep is very important. I could also get up at 5:30 and work out. I got up at 5 for two years to get to work early and I was a walking zombie at the end of those 2 years. I could not get to bed any earlier and I was not a happy person.

I would try the gym at work. I find that I don't need to shower after just using weights or the elliptical. If I run, I do need to shower, but I don't wash my hair. I have a shower cap and just cover it.

[twowhat?]

Not a WOHM, but when I was, I used to go to the gym right next to work before lunchtime. And yes, I'd shower afterwards but what I used to do (also long, thick hair) is to wash my hair and then immediately twist it up into a bun. And there it stayed (a wet bun) for the rest of the day. So if it's an option to get in a 20 min workout and then quick shower at your office, you don't HAVE to blowdry your hair:) Good luck. I WAH but with all the overtime I've been working, I can't find time to work out unless I cut into my sleep.

What I want to do is at least get a balance ball...so that at least while I am sitting at my computer I can be "working" on my core.

[KHF]

I'm still trying to figure that out. Right now I have a goal to try and get to our gym 2 days per week. I go right after work on Fridays and take the kids. I work 7:00 to 4:00, so I pick up the kids about 4:45 and we can be at the gym by 5:10 or so. Our gym has a huge kids gym area with 2 story tall climbers and slides and on Fridays they blow up the huge inflatables in the gymnastics room. So that takes care of 1 day...then I've been trying to get there at some time on Sunday as well. DH can handle the kids for 2 hours on a Sunday...and if he's in a bad mood, I just go while DS is asleep or I take the kids with me after DS' nap.

I've also been trying to do lower-key home workouts incorporating the kids. We do a Yoga DVD a couple of times per week together and then we also try and play Just Dance 4 (Christmas gift) a few times per week as well.

In a perfect world, I'd leave the house about 5:15 since my gym opens at 5:30 and get in a couple of morning workouts per week. That won't happen until the kids get better at morning routine though. DH would not handle things well on his own right now. We all leave early though (by 6:30, up by 5:00....5:30 at the latest), so once they're better about morning routine, I can probably do this if I try and lay out clothes and pack lunches the night before.

[almostmom]

It is hard - that's for sure. But I started working out in the morning a few years ago, and it has worked out well.

Now, I am someone who loves my sleep - I am not a morning person (or a night person, unfortunately). My bed is cozy, and I would love to stay in there as long as possible. But I just got fed up with my body and needed to do something consistently, and started rolling out of bed at 6 am (or more like 6:30 these days which is very tight) and turning on an exercise video. And I've gotten a bit hooked. I started with Jillian Michaels a few years ago, and moved on to P90X (which unfortunately are long, but the bus doesn't come to 8:30, so I don't have to wake my kids up until 7:45, so it can work - I know your schedule is tighter).

Once I get into a groove, I sort of even crave it - during the day I'll look forward to the next morning. But when I get out of the groove (which happens every few weeks), man it's hard to start again. The idea that I could sleep until 7am on workdays is so tempting. But eventually I kick my butt out of bed again, and realize that I actually wake up pretty quickly, and that the extra 45 minutes of sleep wasn't that necessary after all (especially because I have more energy when I exercise!).

But it's hard - no question. It's one of the reasons I wish I was a stay-at-home mom now that the kids are in school! The idea of sending them off on the bus, cleaning up the dishes, and heading to the gym is dreamy.

But instead, I changed a pattern I never thought I could - prioritizing sleep, and started waking up in the mornings to exercise at home.

[arivecchi]

I used to be a gym rat so I love to work out. Since going to the gym is no longer possible, we bought an elliptical and free weights which we have in the basement. I get up every day at 5 am to work out for 45 minutes. I have a longish commute (I catch a 7 am train to DT) and barely sleep (I usually go to bed around 11-11:30), but I have to get my work-outs in or I feel like a slob. I also work out on weekends whenever I can - but I aim for at least 5 days a week. It's exhausting and I totally crash on weekends, but it's worth it IMO.

[wendibird22]

I work out at the gym on campus. My work hours should be 8-4:15 with a 45min lunch. My boss allows me to start at 8:30 and work through lunch. So I drop DD1 off at the before school sitter at 7:30, arrive at work at 7:45 and go straight to the gym (have a locker there with 5 days worth of gym clothes that I bring home on weekend and bring back clean on Monday). I work out on cardio for 20-30min, slap on deodorant and my work clothes, freshen up my hair and go. Luckily I'm not a sweater at all. The only thing that ever makes me sweat is spinning. When the weather is nice I'll walk during lunch instead of going to the gym in the a.m.

I'm up at 5:45am and just don't have the motivation to get up any earlier because any noise wakes the kids up. If I'm up then they are up and I'm not going to get any exercise done. Plus, even if I did manage to get up early and keep the kids asleep I'm not sure what I'd do. I live rurally w/ no sidewalks and its DARK out. So a walk/run would make me nervous for my safety at 5:30a.m. We don't have any home equipment. So I'd have to do a DVD or tv channel workout and well, see my issue above about waking the kids. I chose not to go at night because I just don't want to workout after 7:30pm. I'm not a night person and I don't think I could wind down enough to go to bed by 10pm.

[PunkyBoo]

I'm another one in the I don't work out camp. I am up at 5:15 at work 630 to 4:30 and when I get home I want to be with my kids and get dinner ready and do everything else needed to keep the household afloat. I do try to take stairs at work and I keep a pair of sneakers at my desk so I try to get in a fast-paced walk at lunchtime for 30-40 minutes. We have a few bridges by my office so the incline from those is as strenuous as I can handle in the short time. Like you, I just can't deal with the sweaty-how-to-fix-my-hair business at work. So I avoid sweating.

[buttercup]

Frankly I don't, not on a regular basis. I could work out more than I do on weekends, but I like hanging out with the kids/catching up on my reading then. So I am out of shape, and I look OK with clothes on only by dieting.

This is because I prioritise sleep above all else. And I hate working out. When I do go, it's for 20 min on the stairmaster.

[chottumommy]

I do yoga at home 3 days a week - get up at 5:30, finish by 6:30, get ready and at work by 8. That's the only way I can get some exercise. I'm too busy at work to work out at lunch, most lunches are working lunches, meetings or my chance to catch up on my emails.

Weekends, I go to a yoga class for 1.5 hours - Saturday morning 9:45-11:15 while DH does grocery shopping. He goes for the class on Thursday evenings.

[Simon]

Currently, I don't. Ds3 is still nursing in the AM and Ds2 often wakes around 4-4:30am so I am up but I am needed. At night I am home alone with the boys often and Ds2/Ds3 are too unpredictable in their sleep.

In the past, I have done c25K at home on a treadmill if I started immediately after the boys went to sleep. I would change into work out clothes when they put on PJs and then take a baby monitor down there with me. If I didn't go straight down, then I'd get side tracked into something else. This was pre-Ds3 but I hope to re-start in May/June.

I also had the rule that I worked out every other day, no excuses, for at least 10 minutes. Even if I just slogged out a slow 10 min. walk in my work clothes, I had to stick to that schedule.

I

[daisysmom]

When I was full time, I largely did it at lunch. For my DD's first year, I didn't really do it at all honestly. But now, mentally, I need it so much. I am a different person when I don't get my workout in ---- I am much more edgy, quick to fly off the handle, feeling stressed and depressed, overeating, etc. It all builds on me. I need the endorphins.

To me it was worth booking it over to the Y that was next door to my office and getting in 30-45 minutes of cardio, taking a very quick shower with no hair wash, and going back to work redfaced to eat lunch at my desk.

Now, I am part time, and I largely do my workouts in the morning right after I drop my DD off at kindergarten, and I do Jillian Michaels either 30 day shred or Body Revolution. The weight training is really what my body responds to. So I will do them when I get back home at 8 am after dropping her off, then get to the office by about 9:15 or so.

I also got a fitbit for Christmas that I love, and I do walking laps at the office often inside, or take 45 to walk outside.

I can understand when people don't have the time. But I just mentally need workouts every day. Days that are hard to fit it in b/c of other obligations, I will do a tape at 10 pm before going to bed.

[babyonway]

I am able to do it during lunch at work (my work has a full gym) but if it didn't I would do it in the AM. Before I had this job and before I had DD I I worked out at a gym at 5 am.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

[kara97210]

and there is a small gym here at work that has treadmill, elliptical, some weights. though the thing that i always think of is: aren't you all sweaty afterwards? Do you shower there too? Like, if i worked out for 30 minutes during lunch, i would feel weird changing back into work clothes all sweaty. But then it would be tough if i took a shower there..that would add another 20 minutes, at least (i have long hair and it would take a while to comb thru & blowdry). i am jealous of guys who can literally take 5 minute showers and don't have to worry about hair..that is not the case at all with me.

I get sweaty so I do shower at work, but I don't wash my hair (wear it up to work out). I have a toiletry kit that keep in my workout bag, which is really basic. I also pack a new bra/underwear to wear after working out, but wear the same clothes as before. The only thing I don't love is that my face is kind of red for about an hour after I work out, but it's definitely not a big deal.

The other thing I've done is work out at the office gym at the end of the day (4-5) and then driven home in my work out clothes. Also a couple of times, when I've had plans for after work, I will bring in another outfit and then work out after 5 and then change and go out. I made plans to get drinks and see a movie with some friends before the holidays and this is what I did. It's a kind of a pain, but it definitely saves time.

If I had to drive from my office to the gym (park, check-in, go to the locker room, etc), I would never make it. I can go from my desk to the treadmill in 10 minutes, it's the convenience that makes me go.

[AnnieW625]

.......
I would try the gym at work. I find that I don't need to shower after just using weights or the elliptical. If I run, I do need to shower, but I don't wash my hair. I have a shower cap and just cover it.

:yeahthat: I usually just pull my hair back, but a shower cap is a good idea. I don't need a shower after eliptical, treadmill walking, exercise bike or weights, but running is a given for needing to take a shower.

[egoldber]

To make things easier on me, I bring in a full week's worth of workout clothes at a time. I put each set in its own bag and then I just put a new set in my gym bag (which stays at work) every day. I also keep toiletries, etc. and everything I would need at work.

[theriviera]

I was a WOHM until December. I worked out MWF at 6 AM. I either went to a pilates class right by my house or went for a walk with my neighbor. It sucks to wake up that early and I often had to have a cup of coffee before I could go (which of course means waking up even earlier!). However, to me it was totally worth it. I felt great after, taking care of myself first before I had to take care of everyone else.

Good luck, it's so tough and took me a while to get into that routine.

ETA: When I first started it was with a trainer that came to our house 3x a week. Then I moved on to walking with a neighbor. The accountability of having someone that was counting on me really helped me to get out of bed. Do you have someone that you could exercise with?

[BayGirl2]

I almost wrote this post yesterday!

I work professionally for an company but 95% of the time from home. (So I never know if I'm truly WOHM or WAHM, neither acronym feels right.) My kids daycare is 1 mile away and DH is a very big contributor to the household. So you'd think I have plenty of time to work out, but I've sucked at it for the last 3 years.

I start work early in the morning and I need sleep so mornings are unrealistic. My goal has always been to finish early (I can do this but I usually end up online) and work out before getting the kids. I've been looking at gyms though and classes are rarely at 4:30/5:00. So I may need to get the kids early and take them to a gym daycare. I'm still thinking this through. I think I need the class time a the gym for motivation.

When I worked at a company with a gym I would go at lunch and take a quick shower. Another option is to go at the end of the day for 30 minutes before you pick up the kids. At least then you can leave in workout clothes.

Watching this thread for ideas. I really need exercise, I feel my body deteriorating.

[wolverine2]

I do it in the morning- when I go to the gym, I leave the house at 5:45am to get to a 6am class. When I don't, I leave the house around 7am. DH gets the kids on the bus. I already feel bad about missing time w/ them, so I wouldn't want to get home any later, and there is no option for me to do it during the day. I am toast after the kids are in bed. I've found that the more I work out in the morning, the more energy it gives me, so getting up isn't as miserable as it used to be. And I don't make it every day, but I try to do 3-4x/wk.

[lcarlson90]

I am in the same situation as you OP. I have to leave my house at 7:15 am to take my DS to school so my only option in the morning is to get up at 5:00 am to work out at home and I just can't seem to get out of bed that early. I tried going to the gym at lunch but I don't like going back to work sweaty. I don't get home until about 6:00 pm and then I am too tired most of the time. I was doing the 30 day shred DVD in the evenings for awhile and I liked it because it was only 30 minutes so I could sneak it in pretty easily.

[mom2khj]

I don't have time. I leave the house at 5:15 AM and don't get back until 5:15 PM. Nights are spent with my kids and once they are in bed, I'm too pooped to do anything else but veg.

I supposed I could fit in something at 9PM, but I don't have that much willpower to do so.

[lovin2shop]

Lunch, well actually late afternoon, but it is when I take my lunch break. I do feel like I have to pretend like I'm going "out" to lunch instead of working out. It is very annoying, but working out during office hours is seen as slacking around here, even though no one goes to lunch together or meets clients or anything productive. Very annoying!

ETA: I do take a quick shower, but don't wash my hair. My goal is to 4 days a week at work, but I'm still happy if I make once or twice and then I try to go both days of the weekend.

I'm also trying to get motivated for a morning workout since I don't have to get up early, but I really haven't gotten there yet.

[TxCat]

I don't find time lately. Part of it is that I feel crummy lately, but part of it is that I feel guilty going after work. Once I start feeling better, I may try early mornings.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

I spent years not working out because I just couldn't figure out where to squeeze it in. Then I had an evolution of working out. :)

About 2 years ago, I started by trying to do a DVD a few times a week and running once or twice a week at work. Then 1.5 years ago, I added master's swim 2 days a week, M/W 6-7 am and then I started running with some neighbors T/Th at 6:30 am. This was in the summer and once school started up, the running was to late to keep up with, so I would just run with the neighbors on one weekend morning.

Then 1 year ago (after last Christmas), I joined a bootcamp. It meets 5:30-6:30 AM about 5 minutes from my house. It goes 4 weeks on, 1 week off, typically.

So now what I do is bootcamp MTThF, 5:30-6:30 am and W I do the swimming 6-7. The swim days are tough because it makes the morning VERY rushed. I need to be out of the house at 7:50 with the 2 kids. I love having a routine and I do the bootcamp with 5 or so of my friends, so it is a lot of fun. I will say that I am very tired and I've dropped some other things due to being tired (like updated my photo blog for family). I like to go to bed by 10 now.

I also will do something on the weekends if I have friends doing something. I'm very friend dependent for exercise. :p

[emily]

I haven't worked out since I was pregnant with my first. My one and only resolution for the new year is to fit in exercise. With 3 kids, a FT WOH job and a 3 hr RT commute, I'm starting small. I got a couple of the Jiliian Michaels DVDs. I figure I can fit in 30 minutes a few times a week after the kids go down for the night around 9PM. My alarm already goes off at 5:00 so no way I could get up any earlier.