Question for single parents with young children

brunauxyeuxbeaute

Question for single parents with young children (this is a bit long) - When do you workout? I'm the care provider for my daughter 99% of the time. I work PT from home so this allows me to work out when its convienent. However; I'll be returning back into an office environment FT and need to figure out a workout schedule that doesn't impact my time with my daugther. Maybe i need a sitter in the evenings when shes in bed...dunno! Just brainstorming! Thanks for your input!

jjshulou

Well, I'm not a single parent, but I do have 3 young children, ages 1, 2 and 6 and I work a full time job and my husband works 7 days a week....so I find it difficult to squeeze in time to exercise. What I do is try to wake up a little earlier to squeeze in a workout. On the weekend I load the 2 little ones into a double stroller and go for a walk while my 6 year old rides a bike. They also have workouts On Demand for kids and parents to do together. My 6 and 2 year old love doing the yoga one. Also, when you go back to the office, you can always go for walks on your lunch break if you have time. Hopefully that helps a little. Good Luck!

brunauxyeuxbeaute

Thank you! I believe the office also has a pretty nice gym so maybe I can squeeze in some lunch time workouts.

_JR_

I take my monkey to the gym with me, and check him into the daycare. I get my workout, and he benefits from the socialization. Win-win!

mdcjmom

I worked out before my kids get up. My kids are older but I used to go the the gym in the mornings before they got up.

Another favorite of mine was my Leslie Sansome DVD's and any of Jilian Michael's DVD"S. I did those before the kids got up too and lost a ton of weight doing it!

I applaud you fo wanting to stay motivated!

MissAnjy

I'm a single mother of 4 year old twin boys. I work a full-time job that also requires a lot of overtime and frequent travel some months.

I work out from home! I've never seen the inside of a gym, and this works for me. I'm currently doing a hybrid of Turbofire and ChaLEAN Extreme working up to p90x in March of 2013.

I work out at 7pm every night. I have a play room off of my "workout chamber" and my kids either play beside me, watch me, join me, or watch a movie for an hour.

It works for us.

brunauxyeuxbeaute

My problem is I cant make it to the gym in the morning because I have no one at home to watch my little lady. But I think I'm going to have to create some sort of home type gym. And hit the actual gym on the weekends and or evenings. As I love being in that environment! Thanks for everyones input!

sinman22807

Im not a single mom. But I have 3 kids ages 5, 3, and 8 months old and my husband is deployed. I either get up an hour before I have to get my oldest up for school and get a work out in like a 20 minute dvd or i use my elipitical. Or I do it during naptime or after they have gone to bed. I try to fit time in somewhere between taking are of them and doing all the house work and such.

marvelprime

One of my female friends is a full time self employed person and she goes to a gym which offers to watch children while working out, even pretty much a straightforward day care option to go do whatever you like. . She goes to to local YMCA but there are other chain gyms which tend to offer similar programs (usually at extra costs to the membership though).
I'd say check around with local and chain gyms to see what they may offer and if you have a local YMCA, I'd definitely would suggest to check that out as well.

oregonzoo

I searched high and low for a gym that provided a day care after my working ours, that was affordable.

To be honest I hate that it takes away some of our time together in the evening, and how rushed we are. But I get in my workout and they get to play more. It works.

My gym is Fitness 19. It's right by their daycare so it's handy. I know that LA Fitness and Lifetime Fitness had the same, it just got too expensive.
*with good reason they're nicer gyms.

777Gemma888

I am not a single parent, but as one of the legal guardians to a friend of mine's children (my sister's the other guardian - we're the females and the other 2 are guys). These particular friends of mine were going through a rough patch in their marriage, and for some reason, the children's mother chose to take off. And as friends of the father of the children, he decided to request our aid, to look after them for a little while, whilst he'd attempted to pursue her, in his efforts to remedy their impasse.

Long story short - it took 2 months. What we thought was going to be temporary childminding over a weekend, became the feel of the real deal.

To be honest, on the first night I was horrified because the 1 year old preferred my bed to her mobile cot - understandably. So I didn't get any sleep that first night. And I'd still needed to workout the next day. On zero sleep, I had to dress her up in her warm clothes, placed her in her running stroller, as I ventured over to my sister's, where the 2 year old son of our friend had his sleepover. What I found to have been the most seamless option of considering the children, plus managing my workout(s) was to take them with me.

Now, at the time - I road-ran (so that was easy - had the children in the stroller with their snacks, their beverage and their comfy blanket/toy and book, plus loads of conversation); Funnily enough, I'd discovered that I'd had to make more stops than I normally would for myself. Questions about the birds, the trees, the blooms, ... Tae Bo - the boy especially loved it; The girl had fun trying, which was adorable, so that too went by real easy. And for yoga and Wing Chun, despite setting up their play space, the children loved being involved - just moving about near me and my sister. So - in short, that was how I'd managed to still continue as I would for myself, with them around.

The only considerations if you had to make one, is if you currently engage in workout practices where they can not be accommodated.

I am that friend. The one whose always available - just in case, so this is but just one instance.

Edit: Added a word - "her."

hesn92

My mom watches my son 2 days a week and I go to the gym in the mornings before work on those two days, plus once on the weekend.

kooshajan

First thing on the morning. Come evening time after work I just don't have the energy to workout. During the week my Daughter in bed by 8:30. I'm in bed by 9:30 and awake at 5. Workout 5:30.

RunIntheMud

I take my monkey to the gym with me, and check him into the daycare. I get my workout, and he benefits from the socialization. Win-win!

^^^ I do this. I felt bad at first, but she begs me to go back all the time. She loves the activities and I get in my workout.