How to get exercise into busy schedule.
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Miaslifejourney
Posts: 13 Member
Hello everybody. I have a problem and am hoping I could get some tips/advice. I'm trying to figure out a way to work around my schedule while trying to lose weight. My spouse and I have erratic schedules, my daughter starts school soon, and I am the only one that drives.
(when school starts, most days are something like this)
Get up at 7
Get my daughter ready for school, leave the house a quarter till 8.
Come back home, get myself ready for work as well as my spouse, leave the house a quarter till 9.
Most days I work 9-6 and my partner will work 11-8.
She goes in with me and takes the free-time to work on school work
When I get off, I come home and get dinner on the table.
Afterwards, I sit until it is time to leave a quarter till.
When we get back home, it is my daughters bedtime we will do the bedtime routine.
By 9 o clock, my spouse and I are in bed relaxing for the day until we are tired.
She falls asleep sometime between 9 and 10, never fails, but I tend to stay up until midnight to 2. It's hard for me to fall asleep.
So, how do I work in exercise. I usually get about 10k steps a day or more at work alone and by the time I get home, all I want to do is. Standing on my feet nearly 9 hours straight is hard on my knees and ankles, especially with all of this extra weight. It is down right painful. I want to exercise, walking is great way to get the blood pumping, but it is hard to be motivated to do it when you are in so much pain. I've tried the morning exercise idea, but I have never been a morning person. It is hard enough for me to get up at 7, let alone any earlier. My brain doesn't shut off until close to 2 o clock. I have been this way for as long as I can remember, and as much as I try, it just won't change.
So please, any advice would be wonderful!
(when school starts, most days are something like this)
Get up at 7
Get my daughter ready for school, leave the house a quarter till 8.
Come back home, get myself ready for work as well as my spouse, leave the house a quarter till 9.
Most days I work 9-6 and my partner will work 11-8.
She goes in with me and takes the free-time to work on school work
When I get off, I come home and get dinner on the table.
Afterwards, I sit until it is time to leave a quarter till.
When we get back home, it is my daughters bedtime we will do the bedtime routine.
By 9 o clock, my spouse and I are in bed relaxing for the day until we are tired.
She falls asleep sometime between 9 and 10, never fails, but I tend to stay up until midnight to 2. It's hard for me to fall asleep.
So, how do I work in exercise. I usually get about 10k steps a day or more at work alone and by the time I get home, all I want to do is. Standing on my feet nearly 9 hours straight is hard on my knees and ankles, especially with all of this extra weight. It is down right painful. I want to exercise, walking is great way to get the blood pumping, but it is hard to be motivated to do it when you are in so much pain. I've tried the morning exercise idea, but I have never been a morning person. It is hard enough for me to get up at 7, let alone any earlier. My brain doesn't shut off until close to 2 o clock. I have been this way for as long as I can remember, and as much as I try, it just won't change.
So please, any advice would be wonderful!
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Replies
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I'd either exercise after dinner when you are waiting to leave, sometime between 10p-2am or adjust your body to going to bed earlier and get up and do it before 7....0
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"Afterwards, I sit until it is time to leave a quarter till."
So, uh ... do something then so you're not sitting perhaps? Just go for a walk, take the kid. Walk around the house. My husband totally walks around the kitchen table and living room for 20-30 minutes at a time while making meals, or with a movie on TV.0 -
Where there's a will there's a way...noone can give you the motivation to not make excuses and just do it. It's something you have to want and just get up and do on your own.0
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You know...your inability to fall asleep at night is probably due to you not getting up early enough. Your circadian rhythm can be changed, it just may take a week or two to adjust to. Saying "I just was never a morning person so I don't wake up early" is a cop-out, and a fixed mindset. ANYONE is a morning person with the right attitude and effort.
If you physically cannot work out after work, then the ONLY option is before work. If you do not want to get up earlier to work out, then I (or anyone, for that matter) don't know what to tell you.
Psychologically speaking, waking up early to work out will serve three purposes, and I know this through experience. First, you will train your brain to get up early, and you will eventually start beating the alarm. Second, your circadian rhythm will change, and you will more often start getting tired soon after dark. Third, if you work out before work, you will deal with MUCH less pain during the day.
Also, just for sleep's sake, any electronic screen produces blue light. Blue light keeps people awake. So if you are on the phone, computer, or watching television, your brain will still think it needs to be awake, and will produce less melatonin. So, cut off electronics (to some degree) and use yellower lights, such as reading lights or light from a fire, and you might fall asleep easier. You can also have something rhythmic going in the room, such as a fan or fish tank pump, and that will act as white noise. That white noise will buffer out other sounds that tend to wake you up.
That is about all I have for you. Best of luck! Just renember: you get out what you put in.0 -
I am on my feet all day when i work. I also have no motivation to work out after work, although I'll admit it is easier to do so now that I've lost 50 lbs.
Honestly, i save my workouts for my days off. Since i have to be at work absurdly early, there is no chance I'm doing it before work. Not ideal, but if you want to exercise, it's better than nothing.
Exercise isn't essential to losing weight, though. And if you're doing it in order to gain extra calories because you are always hungry, since you are somewhat active already, set your activity level to at least lightly active (or active, depending on how much you move at work), and consider a slower weight loss goal (1 lb per week instead of 2, etc.)
Not sure if any of that will help you or not, but i tried! Lol good luck0 -
PrizePopple wrote: »"Afterwards, I sit until it is time to leave a quarter till."
So, uh ... do something then so you're not sitting perhaps? Just go for a walk, take the kid. Walk around the house. My husband totally walks around the kitchen table and living room for 20-30 minutes at a time while making meals, or with a movie on TV.
What are his lap times? Does he hit the wall? If he hits the wall, he may be loose and need a chassis adjustment.0 -
RockstarWilson wrote: »PrizePopple wrote: »"Afterwards, I sit until it is time to leave a quarter till."
So, uh ... do something then so you're not sitting perhaps? Just go for a walk, take the kid. Walk around the house. My husband totally walks around the kitchen table and living room for 20-30 minutes at a time while making meals, or with a movie on TV.
What are his lap times? Does he hit the wall? If he hits the wall, he may be loose and need a chassis adjustment.
I'm the one who runs into walls.
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You make it a priority and find time. I go to the gym after my daughter goes to bed. It means I am there until the gym closes at 10, and sometimes my workouts get really rushed, but it is the only time I can fit in, so I make it work.0
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Miaslifejourney wrote: »Hello everybody. I have a problem and am hoping I could get some tips/advice. I'm trying to figure out a way to work around my schedule while trying to lose weight. My spouse and I have erratic schedules, my daughter starts school soon, and I am the only one that drives.
(when school starts, most days are something like this)
Get up at 7
Get my daughter ready for school, leave the house a quarter till 8.
Come back home, get myself ready for work as well as my spouse, leave the house a quarter till 9.
Most days I work 9-6 and my partner will work 11-8.
She goes in with me and takes the free-time to work on school work
When I get off, I come home and get dinner on the table.
Afterwards, I sit until it is time to leave a quarter till.
When we get back home, it is my daughters bedtime we will do the bedtime routine.
By 9 o clock, my spouse and I are in bed relaxing for the day until we are tired.
She falls asleep sometime between 9 and 10, never fails, but I tend to stay up until midnight to 2. It's hard for me to fall asleep.
So, how do I work in exercise. I usually get about 10k steps a day or more at work alone and by the time I get home, all I want to do is. Standing on my feet nearly 9 hours straight is hard on my knees and ankles, especially with all of this extra weight. It is down right painful. I want to exercise, walking is great way to get the blood pumping, but it is hard to be motivated to do it when you are in so much pain. I've tried the morning exercise idea, but I have never been a morning person. It is hard enough for me to get up at 7, let alone any earlier. My brain doesn't shut off until close to 2 o clock. I have been this way for as long as I can remember, and as much as I try, it just won't change.
So please, any advice would be wonderful!
I got up this morning at 6.30am to fit mine body combat in and a shower afterwards
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If it only takes you less than 15 minutes to drive to work, you probably have time to walk to and from work.0
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If it only takes you less than 15 minutes to drive to work, you probably have time to walk to and from work.
This was exactly what I was going to post too. Walk or run to and from work.
Also you could get a bike to take your child to school instead of using the car.
Or since you are the first back home and the one who spends most time with the child, leave the bedtime routine to your partner, so they too can have some alone bonding time and go to the gym for an hour.0 -
I find leslie sansone walk at home really helpful for those busy days I just do the 15 min 1 mile walk. It is not just a walk but a whole.body workout....Google. it it is amazing0
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Theres a thing called blogilates, you can get the app on your phone or go on YouTube, its abit like pilaties they do anywhere from 3 minutes to half hour work outs, I do afew small ones a day and you can really feel it. Its great for if you havent got time, whats 3 minutes of your day? And on the app you can pick which area you want to work on. Hope this helps
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You have a challenging schedule and I know it would be hard to fit it it. I'd say a) take melatonin and go to bed as early as possible (10pmish) and wake up early (6am) to do a workout and/or b) try to fit in little exercises throughout the day. For example, doing squats while you brush your teeth, doing calf raises while you're preparing dinner, lunges when waiting for your partner to get home. These strengthening exercises add up and can help tone. Jumping jacks or "pretend" skipping rope are my go-tos for raising my heartbeat - when I don't have space or time to go jogging. Try that - with some pushups/burpees or anything that moves your body intensely. You don't need to do it for an hour. Just try 15 mins at first - and it can be anywhere - your bedroom, living room, kitchen...
To stick with a good exercise regimen - you need to make it easy on yourself. Forcing yourself every morning to get up at 5am to run might be doable for a week - but after that you'll resist and your motivation may give up. If you set small goals of squeezing in 100 squats for the day, plus 20 pushup and 100 jumping jacks - it will be attainable and you'll see improvements. I'll do 20 here..20 there..and try to get them all in.
Best of luck!!0 -
i run with my daughter, i get exercise, she gets to skip/run/play. we then do stretching exercises which sorts out one of her 3 times a day physio sessions
i also take her into the gym with me. they have an area with tables, chairs and vending machines so i sit her there with a book, some colouring crayons and paper and a drink. i check on her periodically and since its just an hour ( i shower and change at home ) shes happy enough0 -
Sounds like you have a block of time available between 9 PM and 7 AM, Need to find out why you lay wake for 2-4 hours.
Personally, I go to bed at 10, asleep in less than 5 minutes 95% of the time. Up at 4:10, eat, get to gym when it opens at 5. Workout shower and be at my desk 45 minute commute away around 7:15.0 -
There are some great suggestions here. Ultimately you just have to make it a priority and find the time.
You seem to have a slot of time after your daughter goes to bed. I'm sure that's a time you and your partner catch up but maybe for 30 minutes you can get some exercise? Find some work outs on YouTube, Fitness blender etc that you like and do it! If you're a night owl then maybe working out at 9:30pm will work for you. Alternatively as PPs suggested cram in 10 minutes here and there - some skipping, some squats, some pushups. Ultimately the exercise will give you more energy and you'll find it easier the more you do it.
Here's some additional motivation to prioritize yourself and some time to exercise!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S91wzCSySkQ 0 -
I have a two year old and get up at 5:15 am in order to workout before I get her up for nursery : )
It's difficult at first - but you soon get used to a new schedule : )0 -
She falls asleep sometime between 9 and 10, never fails, but I tend to stay up until midnight to 2. It's hard for me to fall asleep.
This is the time you can exercise since you are finding it hard to sleep. . after a nice shower you hopefully will drift off to sleep.0 -
Do you get a lunch break at work? I know it wouldn't work for everyone but I go to the gym on my lunch hour. Means I can fit in a 30 minute run or some circuits without really using up any of my spare time.0
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