Full time parents - how do you exercise?!?!

tonyrocks922

I suggest the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to get naps going again, and a set bedtime. She sounds strung out from lack of sleep. Also, does she sleep in a crib or do you have a playpen you can set up, or strap her into the high chair for half an hour. She can play, colour, have a snack, or sit and whine for that time, but she will be confined to watching you without jumping on top of you. Better yet, quiet time in the afternoon, whether she sleeps or not. You can put her in the crib with some music on and a few board books. A half an hour quiet time is not unreasonable.

Best advice in this thread. Parents should be controlling their children, not the other way around. I'm astounded at the people in this thread who think it's perfectly acceptable for a child to not be able to occupy himself for a half hour.

Read the book referenced here, you'll be able to work out and also have the benefit of not having your kids turn out to be codependent brats.

rosy003

I find that the only way to fit it in is waking up at 5am to do it. Otherwise, by the end of the day I am too tired or I just want to sit with my husband and relax.

4fitness4joy

I had a home daycare when my daughter was little. I would get up at 5:30, work out, get a shower (often with her or with her playing in the bathroom where i could see her) and be ready for my two other little by 7:00. May I suggest yoga? It's fun for them to copy moves, and, when you get strong enough, it is just an extra workout to have them climb on you. You haven't lived until you've seen a 2 year old's version of crain.

xXxHBICxXx

I'm in the same boat. I have 2 sons one is 5 the other is 8 months and my only window to workout is when the baby takes his 1st nap of the day which is usually three hours or so after we wake up, which sucks for me because that is usually an hour and a half after I've eaten breakfast (I get very blah when I workout to soon after eating) but if I don't workout early, I usually don't get to at all.

NavyKnightAh13

bumping

metaphoria

I suggest the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to get naps going again, and a set bedtime. She sounds strung out from lack of sleep. Also, does she sleep in a crib or do you have a playpen you can set up, or strap her into the high chair for half an hour. She can play, colour, have a snack, or sit and whine for that time, but she will be confined to watching you without jumping on top of you. Better yet, quiet time in the afternoon, whether she sleeps or not. You can put her in the crib with some music on and a few board books. A half an hour quiet time is not unreasonable.

Best advice in this thread. Parents should be controlling their children, not the other way around. I'm astounded at the people in this thread who think it's perfectly acceptable for a child to not be able to occupy himself for a half hour.

Read the book referenced here, you'll be able to work out and also have the benefit of not having your kids turn out to be codependent brats.

Please don't be so judgmental while agreeing with me. Moms need help and encouragement, not condemnation from others. Trust me, we tear ourselves apart enough, second guess every decision and are riddled with guilt and feel the weighty responsibility we have to turn out responsible, caring, contributing members of society. What we don't get enough of is basic compassion and understanding. :flowerforyou:

ElizabethKalmbach

1. The more you work out, the less sleepy you'll feel. I get up before my 3 year old for the first half of my work out. I REALLY hated getting up that early for about the first week. After that it was easy, and I noticed how much more energetic I felt throughout the day.
2. My daughter helps me count my calisthenics. She thinks it's exciting, and for many of the exercises, she tries to do them along side me. So I do "boring" cardio before she gets up and calisthenics with her in the afternoon.
3. I work out on my lunch break at work. (I work full time.) I only get a 45 minute lunch, so that's 20 minutes to get in some reasonable cardio and 20 minutes to shower. ALONE. (I feel your pain.) Sometimes my SOLE motivation for going to the gym on my lunch is to hit the shower afterward without having to chase a naked toddler.
4. On the rare occasion that my child wakes up during my cardio session, she has gotten used to playing by herself while I finish up. She knows she can talk to me, but she cannot climb on me for that time. It took PRACTICE. But now after a month of steady morning cardio, she knows the drill.
5. It is perfectly acceptable for you to gate her into her room or some place where you can keep an eye on her but she can't climb on you for "you" time. My mom had to do this for me when I was little because I was a no-napper as well. Your child will learn how to entertain herself for a while if you keep her on a steady routine. It is a LEARNED SKILL, but one that will benefit her in the long run.
6. Start calling yourself on excuses. We all have them. We just need to stop caving to them.

Good luck!

MrsDrk

My husband and I work out together. Our 2 year old loves anything Disney- especially Minnie Mouse. We set her up on the computer and let her play with a Minnie Mouse game on disneyjr or just watch Minnie's bowtique and we stream youtube on the Wii on the TV. If she gets bored, she hops down and does the workout with us. That girl does a mean plank and can do squats better than I can!!

Maybe your other half can watch her while you workout? If she goes to bed after you do, there must be someone who puts her to bed?

3foldchord

Running around playing with/chasing my boys was enough exercise for me back in the day. we were at the park, outside, climbing trees, going for walks, riding scooters, all spring, summer fall....

jroselive2012

Hey! I have an almost four year old, am a single parent and work full-time. I use my lunch hour just about every day to either go for a run outside when it's warm, or drive the 4 minutes to the gym and get an intense 30 min workout in. It's tough. I also will bring my son to the gym with me where he can play while I workout on the weekends. If you try to make it work, it will. Just think about all the different ways that you CAN make it work, instead of all the reasons that you cannot make it work. You really can do it, and it's easier than you may think.

HealthyinAZ

I suppose I'm lucky that all my kids are school ages now as it gives me more time - but I still find I keep my schedule of getting up at 5 to do my walking/jogging and have it done for the day unless I take the kids with me on an evening walk after dinner.

ajbaccou

Welllllllllll ... I'm a single mother of a two year old.

As funds were low and debts were high I got involved at the local Ymca
they review your tax returns and create a payment plan based of your income.

I work 8-5 so i swing by and pick up the baby after work and head straight to the gym!
The greatest thing is the Y has a daycare!!! Its free of charge while you are working out.

the max time is 2 hours plenty of time to do do cardio and a class.

I have access to full use of all 19 facilites and daycare's at the location for 33 a month

Bottom Line: you just gotta make time

julialou1979

I work out three ways having an 18 month old and a fulltime job. My options are

5:30 AM while everyone is asleep. This is hard for me. I hate mornings. But it has gotten much easier and I feel awesome all day.
4 PM if I go to work early, then I can leave early and workout before picking my kid up.
Anytime with my kid - I pop her in a running stroller and away we go. It is a much harder run and my god the hills kill me.

This has helped me work out more than I did before I had a kid. When you gotta find the time, you will!

pichiPurinsesu

i find it kinda tough finding time with a 2yr old and 3month old but, it is do-able. a big long walk with the double buggy is a good one and when little man is sleeping i can do maybe 45mins of 30DS or maybe some turbofire which is handy as there are 30min sessions.

KBGirts

Is she old enough to ride a bike, tricylce, etc? Take her to the park and have her ride while you walk or jog. Excersize for her too!

Lupercalia

You make the time for the stuff you want to do, period. Your toddler should be napping and sleeping more than you do as an adult. If you only have her 5 days a week, as you said, what are you doing the other two days? Exercising?

Do what other people do: join a gym with childcare, get a sitter, make a deal with friends, get your kid to sleep and workout during nap/sleep times, take her on long walks, chase her around the park, etc.

There's no reason it should be complicated unless you're looking for a reason to not exercise, in which case it will ALWAYS be a problem.

Treadmillmom1st

I have 3 children 4, 7 & 9 and work full time.

The only time I can exercise is at 6am whilst everyone is still asleep. I hit the shower at 6.50am, their alarms go off at 7am and the rest you know.

Prior to working full time I invested in a bike with a toddler seat on the back. I'd cycle the older 2 on their bikes to school with the toddler on board and back again. Cycle to the shops, cycle to toddler groups, cycle to friends etc.

Toddler loved it, I loved the inch and weight loss, older children whinged a bit but they'd whoop and cheer all the way lol.

Treadmillmom1st

You make the time for the stuff you want to do, period. Your toddler should be napping and sleeping more than you do as an adult. If you only have her 5 days a week, as you said, what are you doing the other two days? Exercising?

Do what other people do: join a gym with childcare, get a sitter, make a deal with friends, get your kid to sleep and workout during nap/sleep times, take her on long walks, chase her around the park, etc.

There's no reason it should be complicated unless you're looking for a reason to not exercise, in which case it will ALWAYS be a problem.

It's never that straight forward, but you do have to be creative, a toddler is exhausting and when they go to bed you can be too tired or too busy with chores that if you don't do whilst they're asleep, you're doomed the next day.

mfoster1019

I get up very early (4 a.m.) to workout, shower and get myself ready before my daughter even wakes up at around 6:15 a.m.. While it does suck to have to get up that early, I am more of a morning person and would rather get up and just get my workout done...so that schedule works for me.

Blakelynn3

I do Zumba at home and she likes to do it too. Aside from her bumping into me on occasion, it works out. We also go to the park a lot and we walk the track several times before & after she plays. She's 3 years old. If I'm doing strength training I give her light weights and she tries to mimic me. haha

nauticaboo

I'm a single working Mom. Back when I lived in an apartment complex that had a gym, I'd go there first before picking up DD from Daycare. Now we live in a house, but she's older (almost 4 now), so I let her watch My Little Ponies in her room while I do a Jillian DVD, lol. Other low impact stuff I can do after she's sleep.

HotMummyMission

You find time do jillion micheal s 30ds it's only 20 mins stop making excuses and get it done you got this

Tlink34

I walk on my treadmill during my baby's nap time. Shower then too

superchris128

I have an OnDemand fitness channel ($8/month through Verizon), and when my daughter is napping in the afternoon or even after she goes to bed at night, I try to do a quick work-out video. There is a great 8 min. cardio dance video that I use a few times a week. Every little bit counts!!

Ashshell

If I were you, I'd join a gym with child care. It would be good for her to get out and socialize and you'd be able to focus on your work out.

In addition to that, you could take her on a stroll. There was a time when my son was younger that my only exercise came from strolling around our apartment complex. It helped me maintain my weight.

You can also work out after she goes to bed if you're set on working out at home.

I am a full-time working mother of a two year old so I know my situation isn't the same as yours, but I work out before I go to work. I get up at 5:30am and get it over with. It works out best for our family because my son is in daycare all day so I feel guilty picking him up and taking him directly to another child care facility.

Keeta83

I know I'll get bashed for this cause ERMAHGERD VIDEO GAMES ARE THE DEVIL but my 3 year old has a DS, and it keeps his attention just long enough for me to do what I need to do. Mariokart is easy for little ones to control. It doesn't hold his attention for long though, if I don't push through it and get it done he's put it down and is on to destroying the kitchen.. again.

I also have a 3 year old and he plays on the blackberry while I do my thing...I think a little video game time won't hurt and you have to look after you so you can look after everyone else!

tanyakay87

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful suggestions. There were only one or two judgemental people on here who are easy to ignore! When I saw the amount of replies, I was a little skeptical lol!

I loved the suggestions about using her as exercise equipment lol. She's 13kg so she'll be great haha! She'll have loads of fun too and she will have to get used to showers lol. I am fine when the weather is great as we go for walks and play in the park, etc. but lately it's been snowing and raining and so the online exercise sounds great!

Thank you again to everyone for your help. 30DS sounds great, I used to do it when she was small and sat in her highchair watching me like I was crazy lol. And she can watch TV or play on my iPad whilst I'm doing it if she doesn't want to join in. I'm not judgmental of those who do this with their kids so no bashing from me!! X

Treadmillmom1st

I suggest the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to get naps going again, and a set bedtime. She sounds strung out from lack of sleep. Also, does she sleep in a crib or do you have a playpen you can set up, or strap her into the high chair for half an hour. She can play, colour, have a snack, or sit and whine for that time, but she will be confined to watching you without jumping on top of you. Better yet, quiet time in the afternoon, whether she sleeps or not. You can put her in the crib with some music on and a few board books. A half an hour quiet time is not unreasonable.

Best advice in this thread. Parents should be controlling their children, not the other way around. I'm astounded at the people in this thread who think it's perfectly acceptable for a child to not be able to occupy himself for a half hour.

Read the book referenced here, you'll be able to work out and also have the benefit of not having your kids turn out to be codependent brats.

Please don't be so judgmental while agreeing with me. Moms need help and encouragement, not condemnation from others. Trust me, we tear ourselves apart enough, second guess every decision and are riddled with guilt and feel the weighty responsibility we have to turn out responsible, caring, contributing members of society. What we don't get enough of is basic compassion and understanding. :flowerforyou:

Well said metaphoria, those comments are harsh and not at all helpfull, they just lead to guilt tripping. Every child and every family is unique.

SamanthaClarexo

You find time do jillion micheal s 30ds it's only 20 mins stop making excuses and get it done you got this

corneredbycorn

Crib + Sesame Street = Exercise!

Really though, your not even two year old should still be napping at some point during the day. Even most three year olds still need a nap. The fact that you say she goes to sleep after you and wakes up before you would indicate that a nap is even more important unless you're sleeping like 15 hours a day.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-child-need_7645.bc

Just because she may be bouncing around doesn't mean she doesn't need to sleep. If I didn't specifically put my daughter in her crib after lunch with soft music, she would never go to sleep on her own (and it takes a good half hour for her to usually wind down enough to sleep). Many parents still have to be actively involved with getting their child to sleep with patting or rocking. You should also be getting her to bed earlier. You cant control when she wakes up, but you can certainly control when she goes to sleep. Like a previous poster stated, sleep begets sleeps.