Real life vs gym?

princessorchid

I have a question – for anyone else who has just started working out. How do you get a balance between life and exercise? I’ll explain what I mean.

I’ve noticed a lot of folk on this forum get in a LOT of exercise. I mean, I wish I could do that much without knocking myself out in the process! For example, even when I used to go running (oh man I hate running ) I never ran for linger that 45 mins, usually less! It seems like I go to the gym and only manage to burn off U100kcal each time, or I go to Pilates and burn off U200kcal. I feel like I’m *reasonably fit* at the moment, especially compared to about 6 months ago when I could barely walk to the shops without wheezing!

I just recently went back to work full time – I work around a 42 hour week, sometimes more but rarely less (next week is an exception because it is a public holiday on Monday, then I have to take Tuesday off for personal reasons, and the Friday because I have family stuff I have to sort out which will involve travelling to my mum and dad’s house in North America. Anyways, even with the 3 days off I will still probably work close to 23-24 hours next week. Then after work I go to the gym to do Power Plate – it used to be twice a week but now it’s just once – and once a week to go to a Pilates class. I usually go straight after work as both the gym and the Pilates studio are on my way home from work (sort of why I chose them really).

Well, ever since I started work again, my boyfriend has been moaning about me going to the gym after work – because it means I don’t get home until 7 on Power Plate days, and 7:30-8 on Pilates days. I used to go to Power Plate on Saturdays as well, but stopped because we’d either have friends visiting on Friday night and I felt rude for abandoning ship in the morning, or because he keeps saying he never sees me. He says I go to the gym all the time, but I really don’t – I mean 2 days a week isn’t exactly intervention time! He got pissed off one night because we’d half planned to go for a walk, but I got off work early and went to the gym – I’d forgotten we’d made plans and I did feel bad about it.

I’d love to find a balance between work, exercise and spending time with him – we’ve had to actually put tonight in our diaries so we can go out for dinner. We’ve had to cancel this dinner so many times it’s actually getting hilarious.

Does anyone else have this problem? I know he isn’t trying to sabotage me losing weight or getting fitter, we’ve both agreed I need to get fitter before I can do the proper trekking we want to do this summer – but I feel like he doesn’t appreciate that I now have to work (he’s not working at the moment), and that I actually enjoy going to the gym and especially seeing progress (not in weight, but I’ve noticed I can definitely lift more and do more with the heavier kettle bell) and going to classes…and that I have cut down on some because I do want to spend time with him.

SimonLondon

Real life is a problem for many people. In your situation could you not invest in a cheap treadmill or Elliptical trainer so you can be at home more but have the ability to jump on and go whenever you feel like it?

princessorchid

I've actually seen a rowing machine I want (it's one of those water rowers) and am saving up - my mum and dad have an elliptical they keep promising us (once my dad figures out how he can stuff it in the car without offending my mum!). We've just not had much money recently as I *just* went back to work in April and will be getting paid for the first time...today!

I find being in the flat distracting for doing exercise though, as we've a bouncy puppy and a crabbit cat who have a habit of getting underfoot! I have a horrifying vision of one of them getting on the treadmill with me!

I enjoy going to classes as well...we're getting that rower with my next month's paycheck though! :-)

vineas

I also had the same problem - with a full time job and a long commute (1 hr each way), I'm gone for 10-11 hrs per day just for work. two things helped out, first I got an elliptical machine and stationary bike for home, and the second was that I started getting up early enough to get an hour in each morning on the home equipment before anyone else gets up. That way, I'm not depriving either my wife or my son of my time at night, but I'm still getting all the time in I need to reach my goals.

Rea_K

Your boyfriend should be a bit more supportive!!! Why don't you get him to go to the gym with you? That's what I did!

I have to get up at 5am eveyday to get to work for 7:30am (It takes nearly 2 hours to get in!!). I finish work at 4:30pm and go straight to the gym on Mon/Wed/Fri. I arrive at 6:15pm and by the time I finish at the gym and get home, it's usually around 8:30pm. I then make dinner, eat, and am in bed by 10pm. On Thursday I go to my in laws for dinner straight after work, which leaves Tuesday evening as the only evening in the week that we actually get to spend time together properly. On Saturdays he plays golf all morning and afternoon, which gives me another chance to go to the gym and then visit my family in the evening. On Sundays I clean my house. He usually helps so we get to spend time together doing that. Then we have the evening together. We only get to spend maybe 3 evenings max together a week, even though we live together, but this is the way it has to be if I want to lose weight. For me, my health comes first and I will not give myself any excuses anymore!!
Also, If I don't get to the gym, I will tell my boyfriend to play computer games or watch some kind of sport while I put an exercise dvd on the laptop and work out in the living room next to him. Or I get him to come for a jog with me, or even go for a walk. There are so many ways of exercising without having to go to the gym, and like I said, if he's moaning about you being at the gym too much make him go with you!!

If you have both agreed that you need to lose the weight, he needs to be a bit more supportive. You need to get more than one gym session in a week to see results quicker. The dvd idea works a treat. I recommend 30 day shred and also Billy Blanks Tae Bo dvds for fast calorie burning sessions.

rybo

Any chance you can squeeze in exercise over lunch or before work?
I've always factored in working out right after work since day one in hte workforce. On occasions I've have to vary that with the lunchtime or before work schedules, but otherwise I've always managed, even if it meant not getting home until 7-730 each night.

VanessaC

My solution has been to find activities that we can all do together. And by all of us I mean my husband and 3 small kids. We try to go for walks and do lots of bking as a family. It is great quality time and I am out and moving too. This whole process is a lifestyle change and that is one of the ways we have changed our lives.

VanessaC

My solution has been to find activities that we can all do together. And by all of us I mean my husband and 3 small kids. We try to go for walks and do lots of bking as a family. It is great quality time and I am out and moving too. This whole process is a lifestyle change and that is one of the ways we have changed our lives.

VanessaC

Sorry, double post and I'm not sure how to delete it.

princessorchid

I'm not getting up any earlier for work, I have a 45 min commute already and I get in at 7:15 every day! ;-P Don't get me wrong, I love where I work, and it's a 45 minute bus ride straight there from door to door pretty much! I've never been an early riser before but have actually been quite enjoying it since I started here.

My boyfriend has the fastest metabolism of anyone I know - he doesn't need to lose a pound (in fact he could probably stand tp gain a couple! It's easy for him as he loves cycling - we used to do it together but then I injured my hand...my thumb's out of the cast now but I still need some physio before I can use it properly, and the way my bike is laid out the gear shifters are ones you need to change with your thumb - uh oh! He's refusing to cycle with me until my thumb is totally better as well, because he's worried I might damage it when it's still a little weak.

I think that's what some of his issue is with me going to the gym - when i still had the cast I used to go a couple times a week, which he said was daft because I might ause it not to set properly. I still went though! Because I started this new job and moved down to an office on the other side of the city, and it takes me so long to get home, I've only been going once a week to Power Plate...

I do plan to find a few more classes around work I can go to on days I fancy getting in super early (and leaving at 4 instead of 5 or 6! I hate going to proper gyms because I necer know what I'm doing with the equipment - I don't mean I don't know how to use an exercise bike or a treadmill, but the settings confuse me because I am totally technologically inept! I'd rather do a class where I get told what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong!

We're going camping this weekend, so will go for a few walks I think with the boyfriend and the puppy. I do enjoy going hillwalking with him (though not when it's us and one of our guy friends who is superfit and climbs 5 mountains in one day - it's a bit depressing actually!) ;0P