Where do you put your children so you can workout?

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  • geekishgirl
    geekishgirl Posts: 117 Member
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    When I was litle my mom had a special toy drawer for us when she needed to make important or business type phone calls. We only got to play with those toys during that time. If we interrupted her call for something not safety related or life threatening the toys were taken away and we spent the rest of the call in time out.

    Maybe you could use something like this for your workout time? If your kids have something special to play with that they only get to have during that time, they'll more than likely want to play with the toy instead of bug you and get it taken away. I know my brothers and I did, especially after we learned the hard way that mom was serious and DID take them away. It may take a few days to get them used to the idea but once they catch on, it's time for you and time for them! Double bonus if you can use a baby gate to keep them out of the way and safe while they happily play with the special toys.
  • eiseed1
    eiseed1 Posts: 5 Member
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    I think your best bet is to let them participate. Let them crawl all over you , work it into your workout! play airplane with them and fly them over you while you bench press them from the floor. Play pony ride while they sit on your foot and you do leg lifts. Have them chase you around the house. My 5 year old can do more better formed push ups than I can now. Are they distracting sometimes, absolutely, but its great bonding time and it sets them in motion for a lifetime of activity. Please do not plop them in front of a TV and tell them to "leave Mommy alone" , what is that really teaching them? After all some exercise is better than none and its certainly better than complaining that you can't exercise because of your children. Before long they will either be doing the work out with you because they love it and being with you or avoiding you at all costs so they do not have to!
  • Luckyfish72
    Luckyfish72 Posts: 19 Member
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    I have a almost 2 y/o and I am horrible about getting up early or going to bed late. I work from 8-6 M-F at a desk job. I come home cook, eat, then we go for a walk every night and have outside play. So I completely get what your saying! My solution to lifting weights is using things in the kitchen when I cook(milk jug, cans). I also use this time to do some squats while cooking and when he's not looking I can run in place and do some jumping jacks and burpees. It may not be a whole hour dedicated to workout but we have to do the best we can. On the weekends if we are at the park, you can do steps on some of the kiddie equipment for a great leg workout. And if your kids insist on you picking them up, just use them as weights! Good luck! Don't give up!
  • MrsATrotta
    MrsATrotta Posts: 278 Member
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    Have you ever heard of a play pen or baby gate or no?... Seems like common sense, how do you cook dinner, read your mail, shower, take a ****... like find something your kids wanna do and put them somewhere for 20-30 minutes. You can also run with a stroller which is really good exercise. Or take them to mommy and me swim classes...
  • MrsATrotta
    MrsATrotta Posts: 278 Member
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    I have a almost 2 y/o and I am horrible about getting up early or going to bed late. I work from 8-6 M-F at a desk job. I come home cook, eat, then we go for a walk every night and have outside play. So I completely get what your saying! My solution to lifting weights is using things in the kitchen when I cook(milk jug, cans). I also use this time to do some squats while cooking and when he's not looking I can run in place and do some jumping jacks and burpees. It may not be a whole hour dedicated to workout but we have to do the best we can. On the weekends if we are at the park, you can do steps on some of the kiddie equipment for a great leg workout. And if your kids insist on you picking them up, just use them as weights! Good luck! Don't give up!

    ^ It's not rocket science as you can see. just START MOVING MORE.
  • MrsATrotta
    MrsATrotta Posts: 278 Member
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    http://www.parenting.com/gallery/exercises-to-do-with-your-baby

    http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/fitness/mom-baby-exercises-0811#slide-1

    http://happybabyworkout.com/
  • MrsATrotta
    MrsATrotta Posts: 278 Member
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    http://www.parenting.com/gallery/exercises-to-do-with-your-baby

    http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/fitness/mom-baby-exercises-0811#slide-1

    http://happybabyworkout.com/
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    My mom puts the siblings into a closet.
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
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    We start our day at 5am and go through until 10pm with neither kid taking naps

    You are doing it wrong.

    ^This. I mean, I hate to sound judgmental, but 7 hours isn't enough sleep for small children. 10 hours would even be on the low end for the 3 year old and 12 hours would be on the low end for the 1 year old. Get your kids on a healthy sleep schedule and you'll have time to get yourself healthy.

    ^^^I agree. Small children need enough sleep, and so do you.
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
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    I think your best bet is to let them participate. Let them crawl all over you , work it into your workout! play airplane with them and fly them over you while you bench press them from the floor. Play pony ride while they sit on your foot and you do leg lifts. Have them chase you around the house. My 5 year old can do more better formed push ups than I can now. Are they distracting sometimes, absolutely, but its great bonding time and it sets them in motion for a lifetime of activity. Please do not plop them in front of a TV and tell them to "leave Mommy alone" , what is that really teaching them? After all some exercise is better than none and its certainly better than complaining that you can't exercise because of your children. Before long they will either be doing the work out with you because they love it and being with you or avoiding you at all costs so they do not have to!

    I like this ^^^

    OP,

    it is difficult to find time to workout, but you have to decide to make it a priority. Some of the things you wrote were excuses. I'm not judging, we have all been there. We just have to decide when enough is enough, and make time for what is important.

    I hope you found some ideas here from the people genuinely trying to help you. Ignore the rest of the snarky comments. Take what may apply and leave the rest.

    Good luck on your continued journey!
  • Lilly_the_Hillbilly
    Lilly_the_Hillbilly Posts: 914 Member
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    I am the mother of a 1(almost 2) yr old and a 3 yr old. My husband is in the army and gone for weeks at a time. Every day I load the kids up in a double stroller and go for an hour long fast walk. I wear a heart rate monitor to make sure I'm working hard enough. To switch it up- sometime I'll put one kid in a hiking carrier pack and the other in a stroller and do the hour long walk. I weigh, measure and log all my food.

    Since the start of this year- I've lost 17 kilograms doing just that.
  • kmariet7
    kmariet7 Posts: 229 Member
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    I just want to encourage you to try some new things and maybe some old that didn't work before but now might! I have daycare plus my 3 boys so I understand it can be a challenge. I put little kids that don't want to get out from under my feet in a playpen and the older kids play with the toys. You could have a special basket of toys that are only brought out when you excercise so they are new and special:) this might help with them staying entertained. Wishing you the best of luck!
  • SopBFL
    SopBFL Posts: 1 Member
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    You are under a lot of stress. But you must take care of yourself, starting now, because the kids will see it, and you will be serving as a role model, starting at a young age. Furthermore, you must do it for yourself first. Do not fall into that trap of so many moms who say they "run after their kids all day, and don't have time to work out." There are 168 hours in a week. Three of those can be used to work out (spread out over several days/week, & intense.)
    As someone suggested, try to find someone closeby who you can swap time with so you can have uninterrupted time to work out. I did this when my 2 boys were the same age as yours. I also had a baby jogger/bike trailer, which you can obtain used or ask for one for a present at Xmas, b-day, etc. Honestly, you must invest in your health, & I found ways, so can you. Also naptime around 1-3 PM is non-negotiable (you'll see this is standard practice in pre-school, too.)
    In a nutshell, I did these:
    -- local gym (yes, I know you said you can't afford it; I used Bally's, & have to mention it as a way)
    -- double baby jogger/bike trailer (I've done countless races & runs & bikerides w/ this-- possibly the best gift I ever got)
    -- insist on naptime 1-3 PM or so
    -- swap w/ a neighbor or friend for just 1 hour 1-2 x /week
    I don't recommend evening WOs, but rather morning or naptime time WOs, as that sets the stage for future success.
    It's imperative to eat clean, & drink up to a gallon of water/day to keep up your energy.

    While you have challenges, there are ways around it, & it must be a priority, for the long run. (My boys are 18 & 21 now, & they see how I make time to work out, and yours will too, as the years go by.)
    I sincerely hope this helps!
  • vkaraca
    vkaraca Posts: 4 Member
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    I admit that I didn't read all the replies but after browsing through them there is one practical suggestion I didn't see that might be helpful. Check with your local YMCA or Park District. The park district sometimes offers child care for Mom's who are taking park district exercise classes that are very inexpensive. Also the YMCA generally has less expensive membership fees than commercial gyms and the ones in my area do not require the kids to have memberships in order to check them into the daycare. Also they will sometimes work with you on the cost based on need. Don't think of it as a luxury. You NEED some time for yourself. You'll be a much more giving Mommy when you take care of you. Also make sure that you're not eating to make of for lost sleep. Based only on my personal experience, chronic sleep deprivation is your worst enemy when trying to get fit. Finally, remember that this too will pass. For better or worse they are only small for a while. When they are in school full time it will be easier to find time for these things and right now that seems like a long time away but it will happen sooner than you think so for now forgive yourself if you can't do all. Just do what you can and don't give up.:flowerforyou:
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
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    Buy a set of dumbbells..they are pretty cheap at Walmart and get up 15 minutes earlier every day and do 15 minutes of weight training. Weights are magic...you build muscle and with more muscle you'll be better able to be more active.

    Buy a $10.00 pedometer from your local drugstore, snap it on securely and each day log how many steps you've taken. Increase your steps every week.

    Long before we had DVDs and gyms, we carried things, hauled them, picked them up and we walked.
  • Leggylass
    Leggylass Posts: 215
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    i lock them under the stairs ..its getting a bit of a tight squeeze now theyre young adults lol :tongue:

    seriously when my kids were little i got them to join in exercising or used them as weights and made it a game singing to them.. you can workout with your kids around or do it when they nap or go to bed at night or get up in the morning waaaaaaay before them and work out. You dont have to put them anywhere!
  • badcemom
    badcemom Posts: 50
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    If you have a YMCA near you, many YMCAs offer financial assistance. We get 50% off our membership and any classes we take. They have a daycare (included in the membership) that my kids love.
  • kittimiss
    kittimiss Posts: 31 Member
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    My daughter goes with me to the gym most days but when I am at home, I either workout before she gets up or after bedtime. Your little ones are going all day on that little sleep at night with no nap? I cringed when I read that....You definitely could do with some mommy time. Have you considered putting them to bed earlier? Or leaving them in their cribs for a bit in the morning while you exercise....All you need is 30 minutes. A snack and a cup of apple juice along with a healthy dose of Dora The Explorer keeps my 3 year old distracted long enough for me to do my thing.

    Good Luck :-)
  • ogus1
    ogus1 Posts: 3
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    We have seven so wife prefers utilizing straight jacket. Once workout is over she gets the straight jacket.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
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    If you're serious about this journey, you will figure it out.

    Lots of good ideas have been listed -

    I have one daughter - when she was a baby my husband would get her ready for daycare and do the 'morning' routine and I would goto the gym at 5:00 am. In rreturn I did the 'night' routine - I picked her up from daycare and made her dinner. We did this for a few years until I slowly built up my own home gym.

    Our daughter was about 5 when I started exclusively working out at home - old enough to understand that she could NOT touch or play with my equipment - and at that point she was in school so I started working out when I got home from work.

    My daughter is now almost 16 and she enjoys using my gym too!

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