Moms...

MtnKat

I work around 60-70 hours a week on average.

I get up at 5:30 am to workout, or I do it directly after work between jobs (I have 3) or at lunch time. I have a shower in my office so if I need to get cleaned up, I can use that though certain times of the year, it can be impractical (I work on a college campus).

I sometimes work out at night after my kids go to bed (I have 6 and 4 yo, I also have 2 adult children but they are living on their own).

What helps me a bunch is walking to work. I'm fortunate enough that I live about 1-1/2 miles to work...so it adds an additional 45 minutes of walking to my routine each day (average cal burn 200). It helps that I live in the mountains so I have to climb very steep hills and lots of stairs to get to my office.

Tenoreo90

During toddler naps or before she's up. Lately I've been needing to sleep in and find it easier to squeeze in a 20-30 minute video (my favorite is Blogilates on Youtube!) later during nappy time. :]

KellyR72

5:00 am workouts before I get them off to school (or grandma's in the summer) and I go to work. Not easy, but it's the only time I can fit it in! If I say I will do it in the evenings, something almost always comes up.

BCSMama

I also work full time (8-5) and have a 7 and 8 year old. I made tons of excuses before and had horrible mommy guilt if I worked out and "left them" with my husband before or after work. What finally motivated me was that my 8 year old joined a swim team and they practice at the university rec center. Since I work at the university, I could get a membership there. So, instead of sitting there watching my son swim, I hit the exercise equipment. Then I saw an ad for a morning boot camp and signed up for that (early morning and I could shower there and be at work on time). When the kids and dh are back in school, it's going to be harder to find time, but I've decided that I NEED to do this for me and it makes me a better mommy, so I'm really trying to loose the mommy guilt for times that I will work out that I could be spending with them.

For those who go to the gym during their lunch break, how do you do it. I've thought about doing this myself, but I don't see how I can get there, work out, shower, and get back in an hour.

Karen1157

at night time around 8 pm

Leigh_b

I am jealous. I work 5 days a week, and Im gone 7am to 6pm. When I get home I only have 2 hours to spend with my baby before he goes to bed. I feel so guilty working out when he is awake. Then when he goes to bed I have other things to do or Im too tired. I know, I know. Im making excuses.

My schedule is the same as yours. Also, my husband travels for work so I am often on my own with my little ones in the evening and it's near impossible to work out with them wandering around unsupervised. I get up in the morning and workout. It's hard but once you get in the groove it isn't as bad as it is at first. My alarm goes off at 5:00 and I'm either out for a run (if my husband is home) or in the basement doing a video or on the treadmill by 5:15. I work out until 6:00 or 6:15 and then get ready for work. The trick is to go to bed early enough. I try to head up to bed by 9:30. If I'm later than 10:00 then that 5:00 alarm is a real bummer. I'm not going to lie... I'm not perfect and there are nights I stay up too late and mornings I don't get up but if I can do it at least 4 out of 5 mornings, I call that a success.

Feel free to friend me for extra support...

stephdg89

During "nap time". My kiddo is two and has pretty much never napped in her life, but she is way too young to give up naps and way too cranky if I don't lay her down, so when I put her down I do my work out, shower, clean up the house and start dinner. (I'm a stay at home mom).

apedeb09

When my kids are napping :laugh:

GeorgieLove708

I workout while they take naps, while they're eating, when they want to play alone in their room, and while hubby watches them. They also sometimes join me in the workout (swimming and the walk away the pounds videos... sometimes yoga). Do it however you need to to fit it in your day, even if you do a couple of 15-30 minute sessions instead of a drawn out workout.

happyceliza

I'm a stay at home mom with an 8, 5 and 18 m old. I exercise when the toddler naps. The older kids can entertain themselves long enough. They like to watch me do the Wii games (Exerbeat and Walk it Out)

ashleyjoy80

I'm a mom to 3 kids and I get my workouts on when my kids are around. Sometimes I run when my youngest one gets up in the morning and I push him in the BoB. Other days when they're all awake I push 2 kids in the BoB and run behind my oldest that's riding a bike. I do DVD's at home with them under my feet all the time. They've learned that my workouts are important and they usually sit back and watch or join me doing silly little exercises next to me. I want them to see me take care of my body. I want to include them in it as much as possible so I can lead by example.

WendyTerry420

I workout in the evenings, after my dinner has settled. Mine are teenagers now though.

findingskinnyme731

Call me crazy but I get up M-F at 4:30 am just to be able to get to the gym at 5:00, so that I can get my workout in while the kiddies are asleep and get back home to take a shower, get the family ready and go to work. I tried going to the gym after work but it's way too hard to squeeze that in with dinner, homework help and bedtime stories. If anyone knows of any other tips and tricks please let me know b/c I'm freaking exhausted. LMAO

ElviraCross

My husband and I just joined CrossFit and they have included day care for our 10 month old.

If I want to do some body exercises at home then she's either napping or she's playing right by my side.

Sometimes we go running steps and we do it in intervals. One person stays down while the other is running then we take turns.

Kalliejc

Single mom. Full time college. Two part time jobs. I work out at night between 7-8. After work. After dinner. Before bedtime for my daughter and before homework for me.

ahmommy

I'm doing the 30 day shred to get a full body workout in less than half an hour.

On days I work (10 hour days), I do it as soon as I get home while hubby starts dinner and watches the kids. On the days I'm home (I work 3 days a week), I do it as soon as I put my 5 month old down for her nap.

My 3 year old does it with me and says, "Go, mommy, go! Go faster!"

I am jealous. I work 5 days a week, and Im gone 7am to 6pm. When I get home I only have 2 hours to spend with my baby before he goes to bed. I feel so guilty working out when he is awake. Then when he goes to bed I have other things to do or Im too tired. I know, I know. Im making excuses.

Yeah, I've got a nice work schedule but I'd be making the time everyday after work if I had to. Trust me, I understand how you feel. When my older daughter was a baby, I didn't want to "waste" a minute of time with her either. But now I know that I don't have to feel guilty for taking a few minutes for me. Maybe it's because I have two kids and I had to come to peace with the fact that I can never give both of them all my attention all the time. Or maybe it's because I know my husband deserves his time with them as well. But part of it is that they deserve to be shown the example of a healthy lifestyle from an early age. I owe it to them to take care of myself. This way, healthy eating and exercising will be part of everyday life for them.

The "other things to do" is exactly why I do it as soon as I get home from work. That way, it's out of the way and I can't make excuses about running out of time later in the evening. As soon as the baby's in bed, I start my chores. Luckily my older daughter enjoys helping me, so this can be time spent together. Then once she goes to bed, I can spends a few minutes hanging out with my husband. Finding a good work-life balance is difficult, but it can be done. You just have to prioritize. And honestly, if I get my exercise and spend time with my family, I don't really care if my house is perpetually cluttered.

Irish_eyes75

Single mom. Full time college. Two part time jobs. I work out at night between 7-8. After work. After dinner. Before bedtime for my daughter and before homework for me.

Rockstar!

Irish_eyes75

It's got to be a priority. I would rather leave a sink full of dishes or not put the laundry away than not work out.

lilgemforgets

I am finding it harder at the moment as kids are off school on summer holidays! i try to take them out on their bikes once aday whilst i walk fast along (about 30 - 40 mins) then i work out in the evenings when they are in bed. At around 8.30pm....i seem to find time to work out but balencing that and eating is proving hard! If i eat before i work out i tend to eat at about 5pm and i am starving afterwads and if i eat afterwards i dont tend to eat until 9.30 - 10pm which seems crazy late for main meal!

Amy_B

I have been known to get up before everyone else in the morning, even if it's at 4am, to workout.

nickiog

i have a 4 year old and a 4 month old..when my baby was first born i mostly snuck out in the morning before she woke up but now i tend to just find a random moment and leave them with their dad or grandma for an hour and run to the gym.

if that doesn't work than i try to do yoga or something once they are in bed cause if i work out too late at night i cant sleep.

more recently though i haven't been doing " real " workouts but i have just been making it a point to do a lot of outdoor activities like the park and swimming and just making sure im not just sitting around but that im engaged in movement the whole time.

bushidowoman

I'm a homeschooling mom of six who works weekend option (Fri-Sat nights.) For me, the best time is first thing in the morning before I get started with everything else. I work out at home--martial arts and dumbbells. I have a heavy bag hanging in my shed to practice punches and kicks, and I practice kata in the yard. If I don't get up early enough to work out alone, then we have P.E.--I keep the kids busy with pushups, planks, light dumbbells (1 or 3 lbs), or running laps in the fence. The oldest also practices kata. The 1 and 3 yo try to imitate what the rest of us do. They love it!

myfitnessisavirtue

I am not a mom but I gotta say, Yay moms for being active!

My masters and doctoral research is in how a child's perception of their parent's modeling and support behavior influences their likelihood of being physically active... If you are a good role model, your child will not only be more active but like to be active!

Also, I wanted to mention that there are ways to get your kids involved in PA with you...some of my earliest family memories were biking or running or summers at the pool... Thanks again for being awesome moms!

I am hoping this is the case. I prefer to exercise alone but I include my kids. We do Wii Fit Plus quite often. I do my hour and then they each get 20-30 minutes to use it (supervised of course). They LOVE exercise and it gets some energy out. My younger one loves to walk. We can be at the park playground and he insists that we take a walk rather than play.

I am not gonna lie though, I am looking forward to school starting to get some more peaceful exercise

bacamacho

I work till noon then have 1.5 hours to burn before I pick up the kids from school. That's when I do it all. When husband returns from deployment, I go back to a schedule that eliminates that 1.5 hour window, but husband will be home so that he will be home with kids while I get my training done. I'll run in the morning, then do any cycling and/or swimming in the early evening when he gets home from work.

bushidowoman

Do you reckon anyone has asked dads when they find time to work out?

I dunno, but that's a good question. Daddies need to stay healthy, too! And there are many dads out there who work long hours while still being very involved with their families. Maybe we should ask them?
My own dear husband works 12 hour shifts with a 45-minute commute to and from. So he leaves the house at 5:30 am and doesn't get home until 8pm. After being pretty much on his feet all day, he's TIRED. And he misses us and wants to spend time with us.

mlb929

I get up really early to workout before my kids wake up. I also workout on my lunch hour as a second workout. And I will do a workout before bed of stretching or tai chi while they are getting ready for bed or after dinner. I make exercise my priority, my kids know it, they know Happy Mom = Mom that exercised.

crrc78

I am jealous. I work 5 days a week, and Im gone 7am to 6pm. When I get home I only have 2 hours to spend with my baby before he goes to bed. I feel so guilty working out when he is awake. Then when he goes to bed I have other things to do or Im too tired. I know, I know. Im making excuses.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE I AM - plus, my husband owns his own business and works CRAZY and unpredictable hours so I have NO time for myself, and when my daughter finally goes to bed (she's 4 and sometimes doesn't fall asleep until 10pm), I'm so wiped out. SUCKS, and I'm trying to figure something else out because this isn't working.

nikcasso

I am a mom of 4, work full time (leave 7 am, home by 5:45 pm) and freelance many nights and weekends so going to a gym is out of the question. At first I thought the same thing as you...where do I find the time? I started with 3 days a week...2 of those days on weekends and one week day. Then I bumped up to 4 days, and now at 5-6. I do step for 30-40 minutes. High cal burn in short time. The days I add strength tend to go longer so I try to make sure those days are weekends. Find a hiigh insensity excersise you like and just make sure they count. Even as the kids get older, your guilt will not lessen so if you want this, you have to build it into your life style. Also...I tried double workouts on weekends in earlly am and late pm but it was too much. Good luck!

fcp1234

I am jealous. I work 5 days a week, and Im gone 7am to 6pm. When I get home I only have 2 hours to spend with my baby before he goes to bed. I feel so guilty working out when he is awake. Then when he goes to bed I have other things to do or Im too tired. I know, I know. Im making excuses.

My schedule is the same as yours. Also, my husband travels for work so I am often on my own with my little ones in the evening and it's near impossible to work out with them wandering around unsupervised. I get up in the morning and workout. It's hard but once you get in the groove it isn't as bad as it is at first. My alarm goes off at 5:00 and I'm either out for a run (if my husband is home) or in the basement doing a video or on the treadmill by 5:15. I work out until 6:00 or 6:15 and then get ready for work. The trick is to go to bed early enough. I try to head up to bed by 9:30. If I'm later than 10:00 then that 5:00 alarm is a real bummer. I'm not going to lie... I'm not perfect and there are nights I stay up too late and mornings I don't get up but if I can do it at least 4 out of 5 mornings, I call that a success.

Feel free to friend me for extra support...

My husband travels a lot for work too. I hate his job sometimes.
I started working out this week in the morning. I left home at 6.30 and made it to work at 8.

fcp1234

It's got to be a priority. I would rather leave a sink full of dishes or not put the laundry away than not work out.

I could not be able to do that! I am COD like that.