How to get exercise into busy schedule.
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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.
Even at only 20 mph, which is a very low estimate, this is about four miles which would take over an hour. And who would want to work with a hot sweaty person who just walked over an hour to get to work? It takes me 15 minutes to get to one of my client's office ten miles away. That would be 2-1/2 hours of walking for me, and on the highway, where I'm not allowed. Really!0 -
Miaslifejourney wrote: »...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.
Hi @Miaslifejourney - I'm going to address just the knee pain issue to start. What do you do for work? Are you standing in one place where you or your employer could add mats? I've worked in kitchens with these, and they help a lot. I have decorative (and considerably cheaper, but still helpful, although less effective) ones in my own kitchen.
Have you been to a doctor about your knees? They will most likely tell you to lose weight, which tends to be accurate. I have knee issues and good footwear is crucial. Am currently wearing Asics Gel Enduro, which I believe were discontinued, but they have other Gel. My brother-in-law, an orthopedic surgeon, approves. If you can't wear sneakers at work, what about shoes designed for nurses?
My official diagnosis is "pain with activity" which isn't especially helpful, although the doctor did give me exercises and positions to avoid, like kneeling, lunging, and squatting, which was helpful. I can now hold lunge and squat positions as part of my yoga routine, however. Tried kneeling recently and the pain came back.
My doctor gave me these exercises to do:
I have been working since April to strengthen my knees, and except for that time I tried the kneeling position in my yoga routine, they've been much better. I walked around for 2.5 hours Saturday and they were fine.
Exercise I could still do when my knees were in bad shape in April:
No gym membership required:
1. Walk in the woods (not pavement)
2. Yoga
3. Garden
4. Swim (weather dependent or use a gym with a pool)
At the gym:
5. Recumbent bike
6. Some treadmill (prefer the track)
7. Over-head track
8. Some elliptical. (I can only do a few minutes at a time so worked this in between other things.)0 -
Miaslifejourney wrote: »Get up at 7
Get up earlier, see below.Miaslifejourney wrote: »Get my daughter ready for school, leave the house a quarter till 8.
Wasted trip. Combine with your trip to work or drop her off, then go to gym and get cleaned up there.Miaslifejourney wrote: »Come back home, get myself ready for work as well as my spouse, leave the house a quarter till 9.
Your spouse can get ready by herself.Miaslifejourney wrote: »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.
So are you your spouse's transportation as well? That's seems to be the problem. Your spouse needs to figure out her own transporation.Miaslifejourney wrote: »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.
Again, the problem is you are the only means of transportation.Miaslifejourney wrote: »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....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.
I was the same way. Exercise will help you fall to sleep. I now get up 5-5:30. In bed around 10 (with the TV on) and can typically fall asleep within 10 minutes of my head hitting the pillow.
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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!
First issue you need to address is why you aren't getting enough sleep. If you starting waking up early enough, you should be tired enough to fall asleep much earlier.
Also, is there a reason why your partner can't get your daughter ready for school? Even if you don't wake up earlier than 7, if your partner takes on that responsibility, you'll have 7am-7:45 to exercise. Then your partner will have plenty of time to get ready from 7:45 until 8:45.
There is also the suggestions above to workout after you make dinner.
You don't seem to understand that you really have more time on your hands than you realize. My kids are awake at 5:45. This 7am wakeup time is a luxioury.0 -
this is true for me toocrazyjerseygirl wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »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.
This! 5am workouts cured me of insomnia!
I used to have to take stuff to help me sleep and now between 5am runs and yoga, I fall asleep in ten min.
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this is true for me toocrazyjerseygirl wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »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.
This! 5am workouts cured me of insomnia!
I used to have to take stuff to help me sleep and now between 5am runs and yoga, I fall asleep in ten min.
Add me to the 5 am workouts curing my insomnia crew! And I have tons more energy during the day!0 -
Sounds like daughter's school & your work are fairly close to home...start parking a few blocks away & walk the rest of the way. Great way to spend some Mommy & Me time w daughter, plus get her in fun exercise habits, and it won't make you have to rise too much earlier. Definitely after your partner goes to sleep, do something...the exercise will probably make you sleep a lot better.0
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You have time for a 20-30 minute workout. You just have to do it.
There are lots of workout videos on you tube. There are even some chair based workouts you could start out with- jessica smith tv, live exercise, prority one have some chair based workouts.0 -
Go to bed earlier and get up earlier.
Getting up earlier will help you go to sleep earlier. Doing an am workout will get you charged up for the day and ready to go.0 -
Thank you everybody for the advice.
It would take me an hour and a half just to walk to work. I live in Florida. I would be hot, sweaty, and nasty by the time I got to work then getting back home, I would have even less time with my daughter.
Since so many people are saying their 5am work out fixed their insomnia, I will give this a try. I am in the process of changing my bad habits one at a time, so this will be the next thing I work on. With my history, my sleeping habits have been rather erratic. It feels like, no matter how much sleep I get, I am always exhausted. I go days where I only have 5 hours of sleep and am completely useless to 8 hours and still feeling tired through out the day but this seems to be the best amount for me. I have even slept for 10 hours because I was so tired (not anymore, this was before I had my daughter). It doesn't matter, I am always tired. Also, I can lay in bed all I want, but if my brain doesn't stop, I won't fall asleep. I always have my fan on, no TV, on occasion there is music, but other than that, it's me and the ceiling.
I truly want to lose weight and I fully understand that excuses are only hurting myself. But I also understand that when my body is telling me it is in serious pain, I need to listen to it. I never thought about sitting to workout. It just seems odd. I'll give that a try as well, it is definitely better than nothing.
My job requires me to stand in one spot for the majority of the day, we aren't allowed to have any mats. We used to have them, but we were told they were not allowed anymore. My work area is concrete floors. No tile or cushion whatsoever. I know the knee pain is from my excess weight. Everyday, by the time I get home, my ankles are swollen to the size of grapefruits. I have never had this problem before. I know it is due to my weight though, this is one of the many reasons why I want to lose weight.
15-30 minutes of exercise sounds so much less intimidating than the hour/s I was thinking I needed to do.
Also, I don't get my partner ready, that was a typo. My partner does help in the morning, she takes care of preparing the lunches and takes care of the dog in the morning among other things, she definitely does more than I could ever ask.
Thank you Kshama for sharing the knee exercises.
I'll tweek my schedule with some of these tips, thank you again everybody.0 -
brightsideofpink wrote: »Crockpot meals or sandwiches 3 days a week will make more time for you.
My mom had 5 more mouths to feed. Although she didn't work out, she didn't want to slave away in the kitchen every night. So, sometimes she made stew, or lasagna, or something that would only need to be reheated to eat again. Saved a bunch of time for her. Also, sometimes she would give a free night: anything is game if you make it yourself. You can do something like that!0 -
you have to schedule it in like you schedule work and school. If you just accept things as they are nothing will change. You need to go to bed earlier, and get up earlier. I get up at 430 to work out. I have four kids (12, 9, 2, 1), a job, and school. my older boys are in different sports after school. Everything is on me since my husband works 70 hour work weeks.0
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It is also worth mentioning that some bigger clubs have babysitting available. That might be worth looking into.0
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Do it right when you get home, before you prepare dinner, you've got a bit of time there before you put your feet up for a bit. You're in active mode anyway, bc of making dinner, might feel good to move after the kind of work you do.
I would do a 30 minute DVD (like Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred) and cut some time out of cooking, either by doing fast meals like stir frys or other things that can be done in 15-30 minutes (that would be my preference), or by batch cooking on Sunday.0 -
The (5am or 9pm) workouts should give you more energy to fuel more workouts. That's what exercising does for me!
Mind you, you're already doing 10,000 steps a day, so it's not like you need more exercise per se. You're already on your feet all day, so there's that to consider.
I'm concerned that you haven't seen a doctor about your swollen ankles. This is a big risk to your health, and you may need medication. Ignore this if you've been assessed. But if you're seeing a doctor, get your sleeping checked out.
I just want to reassure you that you're already doing enough walking, and while you may need to use more energy to sleep better, the main factor in losing weight is controlling your calories ingested to be less than your calories expended.0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »If it only takes you less than 15 minutes to drive to work, you probably have time to walk to and from work.
Even at only 20 mph, which is a very low estimate, this is about four miles which would take over an hour. And who would want to work with a hot sweaty person who just walked over an hour to get to work? It takes me 15 minutes to get to one of my client's office ten miles away. That would be 2-1/2 hours of walking for me, and on the highway, where I'm not allowed. Really!
Calm down, I was factoring in parking and congestion time.
It takes me 10 minutes to walk to work, but it can take 10 minutes to drive that far.0 -
I get up at 5.30am, work out till 6.30 am, leave the house by 7.20 am to be at work by 9am. But I don't have a kid. However, I go to bed like you do, around 22.00pm, and fell asleep within 30 min - 40 min. You can get up at 6 am, work out at 7am. Wake up the kid at 7am and carry on with the day. The only problem is to make yourself o fell asleep by 23.00pm latest. Try some sleeping medicine. Whenever I'm out of my routine I like to take zzzquil (half dose). It helps me to fell sleep in right time. Morning exercises are so much better, by 7 am you already feel yourself full of energy. In the evening is twice harder.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!
Ok so you're in bed at 9pm and won't sleep until midnight, that's 3 hours, you could fit a 30 minutes workout in there. Or get up at 6.30am and do a workout then.
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Miaslifejourney wrote: »I truly want to lose weight and I fully understand that excuses are only hurting myself. But I also understand that when my body is telling me it is in serious pain, I need to listen to it. I never thought about sitting to workout. It just seems odd. I'll give that a try as well, it is definitely better than nothing.
15-30 minutes of exercise sounds so much less intimidating than the hour/s I was thinking I needed to do.
You can lose weight without doing any exercise at all. Just stick to your calorie goal MFP gave you.
I did the chair based workouts for a time due to foot pain. It is better than doing nothing.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-3ha1N51FWOHt_G7xKX_Eq_94_NFsVk1
https://youtube.com/watch?v=OA55eMyB8S0&list=PLySdLXx0-oyvf5635ap84FstzlvSCIgn2&index=13
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1xC9khisFPA&list=PLySdLXx0-oyvf5635ap84FstzlvSCIgn2&index=18
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My day starts at 330 am. I have 3 kids under 2 and 3 older kids as well. My husband is up and out the door by 530 and I have to get kids ready for the bus by 7. I don't like getting up so early, but if I don't do my workout before everyone gets up and the day is in full swing, I can bet on never getting it in. I decided that if I wa going to commit to getting my body back, I had to make the time. I might lose an hour of sleep, and there's days where I'd rather stay in bed, but results don't happen not doing it.0
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Miaslifejourney wrote: »...My job requires me to stand in one spot for the majority of the day, we aren't allowed to have any mats. We used to have them, but we were told they were not allowed anymore. My work area is concrete floors. No tile or cushion whatsoever. I know the knee pain is from my excess weight. Everyday, by the time I get home, my ankles are swollen to the size of grapefruits. I have never had this problem before. I know it is due to my weight though, this is one of the many reasons why I want to lose weight.
I strongly suggest you see a doctor and have him/her write you a note that you have a health condition that requires you to stand on a mat. Over the years, I've had doctors write me notes for a variety of things, always with success.
Your company probably has some silly, and not legitimate, excuse that the mats are a hazard which I doubt is true as the industrial mats are designed for workplace situations.
Meanwhile, what kind of shoes are you wearing?0 -
mats are tripping hazard-so I've been told. that's probably the lousy excuse they are using
do legs up the wall to help with swelling. five min or more should help
I might suggest a sleep study. it might help. It sort of sounds like sleep apnea.
also, realize that there is a difference between issues falling asleep and staying asleep. meditation can help with both, or body scan and inventory thoughts of the day. which could be done while you do legs up the wall0 -
I have always had problems falling asleep, too - it's only in the last few months that I'm starting to get on a normal rhythm with sleep and am able to fall asleep a few minutes after going to bed. I do think part of that is due to more exercise and activity, but I've also started putting my electronics away 30 minutes before bed (I think they recommend an hour, but I read on my iPad). That definitely helps.
Does your daughter do any activities? My son just started football practice every night so I literally have two hours while I'm at the field every night (he's only 8 and doesn't feel comfortable with a drop-off). I'm taking my running shoes and am doing the C25K program on the track during practice (I also feel less guilty about parking it in my folding chair afterwards and binging Netflix for the next hour). Can you do something while waiting for your spouse to get off of work?
I have a weird schedule with my husband's work, too, so trying to make it to the gym in a conventional way only happens on the weekends. There are ways to make it work, though.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Miaslifejourney wrote: »...My job requires me to stand in one spot for the majority of the day, we aren't allowed to have any mats. We used to have them, but we were told they were not allowed anymore. My work area is concrete floors. No tile or cushion whatsoever. I know the knee pain is from my excess weight. Everyday, by the time I get home, my ankles are swollen to the size of grapefruits. I have never had this problem before. I know it is due to my weight though, this is one of the many reasons why I want to lose weight.
I strongly suggest you see a doctor and have him/her write you a note that you have a health condition that requires you to stand on a mat. Over the years, I've had doctors write me notes for a variety of things, always with success.
Your company probably has some silly, and not legitimate, excuse that the mats are a hazard which I doubt is true as the industrial mats are designed for workplace situations.
Meanwhile, what kind of shoes are you wearing?
I'd be interested to hear the reasoning behind taking the mat(s) away.0 -
Get some free weights and do the 15 minute Leslie sansone thing some days, lift the weights/do planks/squats/pushups for 15 min on other days, do longer workouts on your days off work?0
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Miaslifejourney wrote: »With my history, my sleeping habits have been rather erratic. It feels like, no matter how much sleep I get, I am always exhausted.
Have you seen a doctor? Insomnia is one thing, but if you feel exhausted even if you get a lot of sleep, you might be suffering from anemia or some other condition that can be treated.
I also find that a sleep mask sometimes helps me fall asleep. I have a Tempur-Pedic one that fits snugly around the edges but doesn't press on my eyes. It creates total darkness.0 -
You stated that you are always tired - whether you sleep 5 hours or 10. As previously mentioned, please consider a sleep study. You might have sleep apnea in addition to your insomnia. I do, and folks that are overweight are more likely to suffer with it. My treatment includes a cpap machine, and I was able to see improvement in daytime sleepiness within a week. In my case, I usually went to sleep OK, but couldn't sleep through the night. Five hours would be a good night. Better sleep has allowed me to also exercise before work. It seems like there's always other stuff going on in the evening which prevents me from after work activity.0
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Get up early and work out. I'm up at 4:30am for work so I can be there by 6am which means I work out at night when I get home at 9pm when the baby is asleep. Do what you can.0
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Those knee exercises are awesome. I had an orthopedic surgeon give me the same set. It made a big difference.0
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