Hello

SaraErle

My name is Sara, I live in a small town with fitness options and work for a hospital that has a wellness center. I struggle with time management and feeling wore out mentally at the end of the day

PumpkinAndPecans

@SaraErle You can hit the wellness center before your shift starts. Or workout at home before leaving for work or on days off.

For at home, you can buy some dumbbells (I have 5, 8, 10, 15, 20 lbs) There are loads of exercises on YouTube. You can specify "no weights, no jumping, etc."

Youtube: Type "zumba" along with favorite song titles. This way you are dancing to music you enjoy. I have 2 left feet so I did mine in the basement ;)

Youtube: Fitness Blender has loads of videos (you don't have to be a member, just look for the older videos)

Pintrest: 30 day workouts to follow. 10 years ago a friend on MFP wanted to do a 30 day dumbbell challenge and it was a blast. It got me into weights.

Good luck to you but more importantly, HAVE FUN!

briscogun

That's awesome that you have so many resources available to you! Very lucky!

So I can relate, and agree with the above. When my kids were younger I had to wake up really early to get a workout in before the kids woke up for school and needed help getting dressed and fed for school. By the time I would get home, feed and bathe everyone, homework, etc., there was no way I was doing any exercising! So early mornings it was or nothing.

Do you get a lunch break that you could use the wellness center during that time? Or go in early before work? There's always a way, you just have to find something that you can reasonably fit into your day. Even if its just 3 days a week that's a great place to start!

Good luck!

springlering62

welcome to MFP @SaraErle

I’m a community member of an otherwise hospital gym. I’m going to assume yours is similar to ours. Don’t be shy about going.

Hospital personnel dip in and out of our gym all day long. Before, during lunch, and after work. There are great shower and changing facilities, and even towel service. Basically, you bring yourself and workout clothes and everything else is provided.

Personal training is the best in the area bar none because every trainer is degreed in sports medicine, therapy, etc, and the prices are great.

Classes also range from rehab type chair and floor classes to challenging cardio and group weight classes.

Because it’s hospital related, cleanliness is at a premium.

Hospital employees pay like a token $10 a month. What a steal!

I find that working out when I’m tired is actually very reenergizing. It’s when I’m at my tiredest and “don’t feel like it” that I leave thinking “man, am I glad I did that!”

The one thing I’d ask, speaking as a non-employee user of a hospital gym is, please don’t wear scrubs to work out in. It implies you either just left, or are fixing to go in to, an operating room etc and it gives the rest of us the heebie jeebies. Our gym finally put their foot down over that.

AnnPT77

You mention both time management and feeling worn out mentally. I feel like the previous good-advice replies have focused more on the time management side of that.

One further comment on the time management side: Often, people feel they'll only benefit if they commit to a full workout. In reality, five or ten minutes here or there is better than zero, and there are studies supporting that idea. Can you find moments in your day to sneak in a little more movement? It doesn't need to be that gym or fitness center stuff, either: Walk around the building during work breaks or lunch (indoors or out). Dance around or do some stretching or push-ups against a wall or counter while waiting for the water to boil or the microwave to do its thing. Do some squats while tooth-brushing. It all counts.

But mainly, I want to talk about the "feeling worn out mentally". I get it. I was in an intense, stressful, long hours job for decades. I can relate to that feeling. It's a challenge to climb out of that hole.

Here's a thing, though: Exercise - in manageable amounts/types - can counter that "worn out mentally" feeling.

I experienced that in my own life. Without belaboring details, I had to get more active after cancer treatment as part of recovery, and it was extremely beneficial for that burned-out feeling, besides the other benefits.

What I think this is: Modern life differs from human history. These day, most of our stressors are not physical activity, but more mental or psychological. But the accumulation of stress still causes stress hormones to build up. Those hormones are supposed to help the body prepare for "fight or flight" responses, which would then dissipate the hormones. Instead, we tend to accumulate the stress and not dissipate it: It becomes chronic, and systemic. That's hard on our health, including mental clarity and energy.

There are various things that can help dissipate the stress and stress hormones, but manageable regular physical activity is one.

It's hard to get started: I get it. It can be hard to keep going at first, too, because it may take some moderate regularity and repetition to get the benefits. But I'd strongly predict that if you can find it in yourself to do some manageable extra physical activity, it will begin to pay off for you.

One other thought: Probably waiting until after work when you're already feeling dragged out isn't the best time to make an activity plan. Maybe find a a very few minutes during the day or on the weekend when you're feeling a little more refreshed. At that time, make a plan of what you're going to do, an achievable, realistic plan, not some extreme thing: Just some initial positive moves. Write it down. Schedule it on your calendar, if you're a calendar user . . . even if it's only the 5-10 minute walk at lunch.

If there's preparation involved, like taking some walking shoes to work, do that preparation in advance, too, as much as possible queueing up what you need to just be there when it's time. Keep it simple, though. Just be ready.

Then, when the time comes, such as when it pops up on your calendar, treat it as something you don't make a decision about, it's a thing you just do, like brushing your teeth, washing the dishes, or stopping at the grocery store. When the time comes, do it.

That's just an example idea. Give it some thought, think "simple, realistic, achievable, nearly automatic, ideally enjoyable (but at least tolerable/practical)".

I know this isn't easy, but you can work your way through it, and if your experience is like mine, there are definite longer term benefits from doing so.

Wishing you success!