Night shift worker, help me find the time for the gym!

starryeyedsnoozer
starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm a nurse working mainly night shifts. I also have 3 kids. I'm desperate to find the hours to get my big bum in the gym but I just don't seem to be able to, please help!
Typically before my rota starts I get up at 6.30, get my 3 kids up and ready for the day - pack lunches etc and walk them to school. Then my youngest child and I walk to his playgroup (I stay with him) then at lunchtime we walk from playgroup to his pre-school. I then go home (it's about 2pm) and try and get the family dinner ready (usually slowcooker), and then get my head down for an hour before work. My mum picks all 3 kids up from school and brings them home at 4pm. I then do homework with the kids and play with them until tea is ready at 6. Husband comes home from work at about 6.15 ish. After tea we bath the kids and put them to bed at 7 and then go to work for a 13hour shift.

After work (I have the car) I pick up the family and take the kids to school (I finish work the same time the kids need to be paving for school so it's always a rush) and eventually climb into bed at 9.30am - waaaay too tired for any excersise. I wake up about 4.30pm and by then the kids are home so we are in a cycle of homework and after school activities. I leave for work at 7.30pm again. Etc etc

The only time I can see I could go to the gym is after 4.30pm which is not practical at all, it takes me away for the family at meal times and I do not want to become the mum that sacrifices meals with the kids for time at the gym.

The days when I'm not working, I tend to excersise when the kids are at school or once they are in bed. Does anyone have any idea of what I can do? I find I really could do with my excersise calories on these days as my "awake time" can be up to 30-32 hours long if I have no childcare after my last night (if husband is away or working)

Please help me!

Replies

  • ni22a
    ni22a Posts: 6
    I hear your concern. I am in the same boat a little. I work 2nd shift, normally a 10 hour shift plus I go to school online. I have to be sure I give my brain enough rest or I am prone to have a seizure. My normal work day starts at noon and ends at 10 p.m. But every day that can be different. When I get home from work I have to be very quiet because my family is sleeping and my husband has to get up early in the morning for work. I normally climb quietly into bed about a half an hour after I get home, watch T.V. and then fall asleep. I usually sleep until about 9 a.m. I have to start getting ready for work around 10 a.m. I live in a very small town and there really aren't any gyms around to work out at. I have a Gazelle that my husband is going to take out of the basement for me. Next week I have 2 days off in a row. I am going to try to start getting up earlier so I can find at least enough time to eat before I go to work. Sometimes I feel like there just isn't enough time in the day to get all the things I need to done. There has got to be some kind of routine I can get into and stick to. I usually save my big assignments for my days off because I don't have enough time during the week to get them done. Maybe if I work at getting up earlier every morning for a week straight I can fit time to work out next week. I stay VERY busy at work. I am ALWAYS on my feet and ALWAYS walking. I only get 10 minutes to sit down to eat. I think I am burning lot of calories when I am at work just because I never really sit down. I am open to any suggestions and looking for some friends to help out on this journey to weight loss and a healthier life style.
  • Thisisnotadiet
    Thisisnotadiet Posts: 89 Member
    This is hard. Have you tried some exercise at home? This would at least save you the trip to the gym and can fit it into small 15 min slots.

    Any chance your husband could bring the kids to school to leave you some free time?

    Good luck!
  • Microfiber
    Microfiber Posts: 956 Member
    starryeyedsnoozer, the only free time I can see is between 09:30 and 4.30p.m when you sleep. If you can wake up an hour earlier, you can slot in a DVD and workout at home whilst you have the house to yourself.

    If that's not ideal, then I think you burn enough calories from your hectic daily schedule :smile:
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
    I work 12 hour shifts, too -- days, not nights. I also go to school part time. I don't really think you have to work out every single day to see the benefits.

    I work out intensely (60-90 minutes of New Rules of Lifting for Women plus HIIT) on 3 or 4 of my days off. On the days I work 12 hours, I get up and do 25 minutes of yoga to stretch and work out my DOMS. If I'm really pressed for time on my days off, I'll try to run for 45 minutes instead, because that saves the time to and from the gym.

    Join a gym with childcare and take your youngest while you work out instead of doing the play date thing. Get a jogging stroller and run after you drop your older kids off. There's plenty of time -- we're all busy. You just have to make working out a priority and rearrange your schedule a bit.
  • starryeyedsnoozer
    starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
    Join a gym with childcare and take your youngest while you work out instead of doing the play date thing. Get a jogging stroller and run after you drop your older kids off. There's plenty of time -- we're all busy. You just have to make working out a priority and rearrange your schedule a bit.

    Thanks for your reply everyone, unfortunately the closest gym with childcare is 2 towns away and we don't have a car BUT! You have given me a great idea, after I take little man to pre-school I'm going to run home so at least I'll get a little exercise. I'll use my sleep day as my recovery day and then go to the gym once my rota is finished. Thanks for helping me think it through x
  • Echosapa
    Echosapa Posts: 19 Member
    I work nights and go to school so I really feel ya. Something you might also do is when you wake up at 430 and everybody is home maybe do a 1/2 hour workout together. I have been going to my mother in laws house to do Zumba or Just Dance to get her going and we get me niece (who she watches during the day) to dance with us. Just a bit of family fun time.
  • MamaWeil2018
    MamaWeil2018 Posts: 62 Member
    If you have the motivation to work out at home, I found a good youtube channel with a great variety of workouts. They have a website too, everything's free with a few exceptions- they have an 8 week weight loss workout that you pay something like $5 for the PDF book on how the routine works, etc. The youtube channel is called FitnessBlender, and as a college student with a very random, hectic schedule I've found that this is a great way to get in my workouts in whatever time I have available :)
  • darcyinmo
    darcyinmo Posts: 129 Member
    I have your schedule and I haven't started the exercise portion of my journey yet. I work two days on and have 2-4 days off in between. The day after my 2 day stretch I still go to bed at 930am ish and sleep til 430. Then go back to bed around midnight and flip my sleep schedule over for my days off. I can't stay up the day after my 2 day stretch til that evening, it kills me.
    We do have a cardiac rehab unit close to the nurses desk that some of my fellow nurses use and walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes -- but as you know with nursing some nights that is not an option. We have a small hospital and split the floor patients with the ER.
    Some of my fellow nurses just walk the halls constantly in between charting and rounds to get some exercise in. On my days off I need to pop in a DVD or something while the kids are in school or brave the winter weather and walk.
    Good luck! I know it's a challenge!
    I agree with nanelleJA -- you tube has a bunch of workouts for FREE!!! Gotta love FREE!
  • watergallagher
    watergallagher Posts: 232 Member
    Wake up 90 minutes early every other day.
  • RonnieLodge
    RonnieLodge Posts: 665 Member
    Screw the gym! Get a couple of handweights (or water bottles or small cans) and look up 30 Day Shred on Youtube.

    20min circuit work out - it is great. I do it every morning, even in the weekends as I want to because it is only 20mins. This has replaced my going to the gym. Gives me an extra 90mins to 2 hours at home every day.

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