Moms and Dads: When do you fit your exercise in?

Iloveeyore78

I work out after my 2 year old goes to sleep (8:30 pm). A few times a week I take him on an "exploring walk". We go through the neighborhood looking for things like birds, cats, people walking, running, bicycling and the like. He knows the difference between trucks, cars, suvs, vans and VW bugs so he points those out. We also have begun counting them. It makes my 4 mile walk about 10 minutes longer but he gets out and is stimulated and I get my exercise as well as we get time together.

He now gets so excited I almost can't get the stroller set up quick enough!

cathymarie75

I have to do it before they wake up. I have a 4 and 18 month old

mkakids

If your a stay at home parent, I would join a gym and bring them to the childcare. Thats what I do. If you work out of the home your options are limited to before and after wakeup, unfortunately.

mkakids

I work out after my 2 year old goes to sleep (8:30 pm). A few times a week I take him on an "exploring walk". We go through the neighborhood looking for things like birds, cats, people walking, running, bicycling and the like. He knows the difference between trucks, cars, suvs, vans and VW bugs so he points those out. We also have begun counting them. It makes my 4 mile walk about 10 minutes longer but he gets out and is stimulated and I get my exercise as well as we get time together.

He now gets so excited I almost can't get the stroller set up quick enough!

This is good advice. My 5 year old keeps a nature journal, so sometimes I put the 2 and 3 year olds into a stroller and we go for hikes while keeping an eye out for cool things to document in the nature journal. Not as many calories as an hour of jogging, but still sone. Maybe push the 3 year old in a jogging stroller and let the 8 year old bike or roller blade?

Booksandbeaches

I work out mostly in the evenings or nights. On the weekends, I get my exercise in the morning or afternoon. Sometimes I'll go to a gym near my child's extracurricular activity. That way I'm not just sitting and waiting for her to finish her activity. I also accomplish something in the same time frame. If I can't get to a gym for whatever reason, I pop in a good exercise DVD (I like P90X, Power 90 by Tony Horton, Jillian Michaels..) at home. We have a good set of weights and bands at home.
Another poster once told me somewhat harshly that I had to make time. Everyone has the same 24 hours. I also have a child with a serious disability, so I have to find and make time otherwise it's easy to let it slip. If a person has 1 hour to watch American Idol or Dancing With The Stars, they can use that one hour instead to exercise.

JenRunTriHappyGirl

I have a 10 yo and a 3 yo who is attached to my hip as well! My husband loves to workout so we try to take turns in the evenings and on the weekends. Since your wife gets up at 6 pm, can you go then? I also workout at home and do it in the living room where my kids watch TV... that way the little one still feels close to me but is entertained by something other than me. This works esspecially well if I do it as soon as we get home. Get the boys a snack, turn on some Spongebob and boom I have 20-30 minutes of workout time!

gsop22

I'm a soon to be dad and I was wondering about when to work out once the baby arrives also. I am currently doing Insanity and it is great. I do it once I get home from work first thing. I tried to workout in the morning and wake up early but am not a morning person and always feel drained. I also tried P90X for a while and thought it was great but the videos are too long. I think what I will do is get the T25 videos in a few monthes and do them right after work and hope I can squeeze that in. Good luck to you

HollyTsab

How are you liking Insanity? I can't wait to start T25 but I want to finish P90X first. You're right...too long. But I skip over Tony's talking a lot and just move on. (I want that tshirt though LOL) Congratulations on your expecting baby!

gsop22

How are you liking Insanity? I can't wait to start T25 but I want to finish P90X first. You're right...too long. But I skip over Tony's talking a lot and just move on. (I want that tshirt though LOL) Congratulations on your expecting baby!

Thanks, I think Insanity is great so far, the only thing it's missing it the upper body workout(only an through half way so ill have to finish to know for sure). I would love to try a p90x hybrid but one thing at a time. . When I did p90x I use to skip over some of Tony's talk too.

Jcao1214

I usually work out in the evenings, often after the kids go to bed. On the weekends however I will bring my kids with their toys and iPads to the basement to keep them occupied while I work out. My 3 year old is actually pretty good about not interrupting me too much during a 30 minute workout. If you're looking to mix things up I also recommend t25. Not quite as intense as Insanity but still a very good workout. As my once a week treat I also work out with a personal trainer for an hour. With all that you do with the kids during the day sounds like you definitely deserve to treat yourself for an hour also!

RunnerElizabeth

I'm a single mom of a 3 yearold and I work full time. The little one and I also commute together by subway for an hour each way so time is tight. We are gone from 7:30 to 7 each day. So I fit my workouts in when I can. I run 3 days a week on my lunch break. I do body weight strength after my daughter is in bed and chores are done using the You Are Your Own Gym app. The program is 20-30 mminutes 4 or 5 days a week, but I usually combine 2 to workout for an hour 3 days a week instead. I recomend it because it isn't ahuge time commitment and using the app, I do it while watching tv (the only time I watch tv) so I don't find it boring like I do workout dvds. And you don't need equipment just stuff you have in your house.