Suggestions on getting in exercise.

nsalley99

I'm up at 630 and get off work at 4. By the time I'm home, cook and take care of house stuff I am beat. Getting up early is a challange. I am not complaining I am just at a loss. Suggestions on how you get yourself/ make yourself get moving when exhausted.

civilizedworm

After work, go directly to the gym. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $100.

TimothyFish

I have a similar schedule, though I start work at 6:00 and get off at 4:00. The first thing I do when I get home is hop on the bike for a 30 mile ride. The exhaustion disappears by the time you get 10 miles into the ride.

branflakes1980

civilizedworm wrote: »

After work, go directly to the gym. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $100.

^^This works for me! I get off at 4:30 go straight to the gym. Get home by 5:30 (gym is a block from my house) Start cooking dinner, do laundry, straighten up the house, get kids bathed, and in bed. I usually don't sit down until about 10pm but thats okay with me because I sit all day at work Good luck to you!

msalamun

I think you just have to commit to it. If it's important to you, you will find the time! For me, exercise is very important to me, so I get up at 5am to get ready and workout. That's the best time for me because it's before the rest of my day really gets started, and usually when I come home I don't have the same motivation as I do earlier. So getting up just a little earlier can definitely help.

Also, if you feel that strapped for time, have you considered a home workout program? Those tend to be around 30 minutes for a workout, and you cut out the time of going to and from the gym. If you find yourself strapped for time, this could be a great alternative.

DawnieB1977

civilizedworm wrote: »

After work, go directly to the gym. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $100.

This.

Take your gym stuff with you and go straight there after work.

I have kids now and am on maternity leave so I can go at different times, but before kids I used to be up at 6, and finish around 3:30-4 most days (teacher) and I'd go straight to the gym. Sometimes I'd go to a class around 7.

I'm doing spinning tonight at 6:30. My nearly 6 month old has a cold and I've been averaging 5 hours sleep a night. No excuses!

0somuchbetter0

I'm in a similar situation and I NEED to get back into an exercise routine. Six weeks ago husband's job transferred him to another state. I work full time and have two small kids. Coincidentally, around the time hub moved away I got walking pneumonia...I'm just now feeling better and I seem to have my energy back. By the time I pick up kids from soccer practice, etc., make dinner, catch up with laundry, and so on, it's 9pm and I'm ready to crash. When am I supposed to work out??

slucki01

This sounds like a pretty common schedule -- I get up at 6:30 and don't get home until 6:30/7. I walk on my lunch hour and go straight to the gym after work. I find that if I don't go on my way home, I don't manage to get my butt back out later.

mseslee

I pretty much have the same schedule. I'm up at 5:30 and home by 4:30. I make dinner, relax for about a hour then I'm at the gym by 7. I've learned that the hardest part of working out is, making it out the door. As long as I get dressed (even if I'm tired) and drive to the gym, it's too late to not work out since I'm already there.

BernadetteChurch

Getting off work at 4 should give you plenty of time to get some exercise in before settling in for the night. What is it that stops you doing that?

sixpacklady

I workout after work around 3pm. I make sure that I eat a good lunch and a pre-workout snack before to make sure I have enough energy for my workout. Its all about making priorities, make workouts your priority and you will find a way to do it.

Can you use your lunch hour for a workout or can you get up 30 min early to do a quick HIIT? Can you take 10 min breaks and do something in office, like walk around, climb the stairs etc.

If diet is in check, you don't need hours of exercise.

suzy0317

I am not an early workout person either. It's a struggle for me to get up 40 minutes earlier, but some days it's just worth it. If it's an afternoon workout at home or gym, I bring clothes and change before I leave work. Getting into the workout clothes before I leave helps put my mind into workout mode and I'm much more apt to actually do it. They tell me that logging the exercise first thing in the day before you do also helps.

Doone33

Like I have stated so many times before... I am a mother, a teacher and a nurse. I am not a 10.. I doubt I am a 6! LOL... I try to stay healthy! on that note... this is coming from someone who understands... I suggest you do it before you go home... or if you have a spouse who can help... talk to them. I ask my spouse to give me tues and Thursdays. I make those sandwich days for supper... I jog! You sound like me... I am such a selfless person... it is hard for me to not cook for my family and tell them I will be caring for myself. But the best advice I ever got... for this situation: If you don't care for yourself.. how can you expect to be here and care for your family in the future? Its so true! Take three hours a week to make sure your fit for the ones you love!

mmm_drop

Either you get up earlier, or you fit in gym time after work. When you really want this, you will make time. I get up at 5 or 5:30 depending on my workout and do it before I go to work. I've found if I wait until afternoon I lose motivation.

FitCurves444

You just have to schedule it in. When life is hectic, you have to plan to workout. It's like I tell my group of friends and family..... make a plan and then execute it. And don't worry about hours at the gym every day..... the first hurdle you need to get over is believing that you don't have time or energy. Energy will prodice more energy and you will want to stay longer or go more often. You'll see

dfranch

I work till 4:30 and have to make dinner when I get home. I usually work out after dinner @ around 8 PM.

0somuchbetter0

All of this advice is frustrating because no matter what I say it's going to sound like an excuse! LOL

I already get up at 5:30 and I'm NOT a morning person...I can barely speak in complete sentences at that hour, much less work out. If I work out after work I won't see my kids. They are my priority. I can't not feed them, help them with homework, wash their clothes, etc. to make time to work out. No help from spouse -- he's hundreds of miles away for the next 2.5 years.

So I guess that for me, the choice is clear: sleep or exercise. I can't do both. *sigh*

nsalley99

branflakes1980 wrote: »

civilizedworm wrote: »

After work, go directly to the gym. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $100.

^^This works for me! I get off at 4:30 go straight to the gym. Get home by 5:30 (gym is a block from my house) Start cooking dinner, do laundry, straighten up the house, get kids bathed, and in bed. I usually don't sit down until about 10pm but thats okay with me because I sit all day at work Good luck to you!

These both are good.

This.

Take your gym stuff with you and go straight there after work.

I have kids now and am on maternity leave so I can go at different times, but before kids I used to be up at 6, and finish around 3:30-4 most days (teacher) and I'd go straight to the gym. Sometimes I'd go to a class around 7.

I'm doing spinning tonight at 6:30. My nearly 6 month old has a cold and I've been averaging 5 hours sleep a night. No excuses!
[/quote]

I like your no nonsense attitude.

gobonas99

Looking at your profile, it sounds like you don't have kids. So do what I do...save the major housework for the weekends, and use that time to workout on weeknights.

During the week, I do dishes, pick up any messes, clean the litterboxes and maybe do a small batch of laundry one night (usually workout clothes, because they get to rank if I let them sit in the laundry too long)....usually 15-20 minutes a night, max. I save the dusting, mopping, vacuuming and full laundry for Saturday and Sunday - and I still have time to do a 1.5-2 hour bike ride one day and a long (1 hr +) run the other.

jgnatca

I'll brainstorm some ideas. Try what works.

• On the way home don't walk directly to the door but walk a few blocks around the neighbourhood.
• Walk at lunch.
• Why so tired after work? Is it hunger, dehydration? Try snacking and drinking water an hour before you get off work to re-energize.
• Play twister with the kids as an after-dinner activity. Or catch. Or tobogganing.
• Maybe you are tired. Take a weekend vacation to unwind.

Old_Man_McGucket

Try waking up earlier and working out first thing in the morning.

michaelachallis

civilizedworm wrote: »

After work, go directly to the gym. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $100.

this, or if you get a decent lunch break go then.
Once you get home after work it is hard to leave again.

Also precook some dinners so you don't have to worry about that.

csec6pak

0somuchbetter0 wrote: »

All of this advice is frustrating because no matter what I say it's going to sound like an excuse! LOL

I already get up at 5:30 and I'm NOT a morning person...I can barely speak in complete sentences at that hour, much less work out. If I work out after work I won't see my kids. They are my priority. I can't not feed them, help them with homework, wash their clothes, etc. to make time to work out. No help from spouse -- he's hundreds of miles away for the next 2.5 years.

So I guess that for me, the choice is clear: sleep or exercise. I can't do both. *sigh*

It sounds like an excuse because it is an excuse. I have 2 kids and work full time. My husband travels 75% of the time. I work out 6 days a week and still manage to see my kids.

We get home around 5:30 and if the weather is good, I load the kids right into the double jogging stroller or bike trailer. Dinner is sandwiches that they eat while I run. Either home made or sometimes we stop at Subway. We stop at the park and play for awhile. When we get home, I give them baths and have the rest of the evening to play, do homework, and relax.

If the weather isn't good enough for that, we make dinner and play as soon as we get home. My little guy is only 2, so he goes to bed at 7:30. Once he is in bed, I help my daughter with her homework. If she doesn't have homework, sometimes I let her watch a video or just play nearby while I do a workout video. The Jillian Michaels videos are good for this - only 25-30 minutes. If I don't have time to do a video before she goes to bed, I do it around 8:30 after she is asleep. I can still easily get to bed by 10 if I want to.

On the weekends I run or go to the gym during nap time if my husband is home. If he's not home, I either take the kids with me running or biking, or do a workout video while they nap.

I do very little housework on the weekdays. I clean up the kitchen from dinner and help the kids put their toys away before bed, and that's about it. Any heavy-duty housework gets done on the weekends, including laundry. (I do throw in the occasional mid-week laundry load.) We also have a cleaning lady who comes every other week and I highly recommend that if you can afford it.

Weeknight cooking is very simple and limited to things that take 30 minutes or less. Sandwiches, steamed veggies, whole grain pasta, brown rice, easy proteins like pre-cooked chicken or shrimp that can be tossed in a stir fry. We also use the crock pot a lot.

Exercise is more important to me that gourmet cooking or having a perfectly clean house.

0somuchbetter0

csec6pak wrote: »

0somuchbetter0 wrote: »

All of this advice is frustrating because no matter what I say it's going to sound like an excuse! LOL

I already get up at 5:30 and I'm NOT a morning person...I can barely speak in complete sentences at that hour, much less work out. If I work out after work I won't see my kids. They are my priority. I can't not feed them, help them with homework, wash their clothes, etc. to make time to work out. No help from spouse -- he's hundreds of miles away for the next 2.5 years.

So I guess that for me, the choice is clear: sleep or exercise. I can't do both. *sigh*

It sounds like an excuse because it is an excuse. I have 2 kids and work full time. My husband travels 75% of the time. I work out 6 days a week and still manage to see my kids.

We get home around 5:30 and if the weather is good, I load the kids right into the double jogging stroller or bike trailer. Dinner is sandwiches that they eat while I run. Either home made or sometimes we stop at Subway. We stop at the park and play for awhile. When we get home, I give them baths and have the rest of the evening to play, do homework, and relax.

If the weather isn't good enough for that, we make dinner and play as soon as we get home. My little guy is only 2, so he goes to bed at 7:30. Once he is in bed, I help my daughter with her homework. If she doesn't have homework, sometimes I let her watch a video or just play nearby while I do a workout video. The Jillian Michaels videos are good for this - only 25-30 minutes. If I don't have time to do a video before she goes to bed, I do it around 8:30 after she is asleep. I can still easily get to bed by 10 if I want to.

On the weekends I run or go to the gym during nap time if my husband is home. If he's not home, I either take the kids with me running or biking, or do a workout video while they nap.

I do very little housework on the weekdays. I clean up the kitchen from dinner and help the kids put their toys away before bed, and that's about it. Any heavy-duty housework gets done on the weekends, including laundry. (I do throw in the occasional mid-week laundry load.) We also have a cleaning lady who comes every other week and I highly recommend that if you can afford it.

Weeknight cooking is very simple and limited to things that take 30 minutes or less. Sandwiches, steamed veggies, whole grain pasta, brown rice, easy proteins like pre-cooked chicken or shrimp that can be tossed in a stir fry. We also use the crock pot a lot.

Exercise is more important to me that gourmet cooking or having a perfectly clean house.

Well, I didn't want to get into a tit-for-tat "my-life-is-harder-than-yours" sort of thing, but I get home from work around 6...7 or 7:30 if I have to pick up kids from soccer or the babysitter's or my mom's. My husband is never home, at least not until February 2017. My house is not perfectly clean nor do I have time for gourmet cooking. The kids go to bed at 9. So as I said earlier, my choice is work out or sleep. Obviously I'm going to have to get less sleep. No excuses here, just explanations.