Moms - When do you find the time?

Hello,

I'm a single mother of an 8 y/o and a 2 y/o boys. I have to wake up at 4am and get my workouts in while they are still sleeping before work. I do workout dvds. That way I can spend my evenings with them. :-) Jillian Michaels dvds are great because they are mostly 30 minutes long. They're fun so I don't dread it.

I'm a mom to three (8, 5, and 3) and work full time. It is VERY hard to find the time. However - these are some things that worked for me. You have to find what works for you.

I'm a schedule freak, so I"ll sit down weekly with my work and gym class schedule and see what I can make fit in the schedule.

I do bootcamp at 5:30 am on M/W/F.

I became a certified Zumba instructor, so I HAVE to be at my own class!

I sign up for various races around the area to keep me motivated to keep running, always tackling the next goal.

Luckily my Y has childcare in the evening, and that is a miracle.

The crock pot is a best friend. It allows me to have supper ready when I get home and maybe squeeze in an extra class if I can.

The most important thing is to not beat yourself up if you miss a workout, a day, etc. There are small humans depending on you, and the more you take care of yourself the better you'll be for them - so just take it one day at a time and know that you're ultimately teaching your kids good habits and they will be better people for it.

Yh totally i struggled with this for a long time coz i always believed night time was better for me but recently i started pushing myself out of bed 1hr earlier and the more i do it the easier it gets. I dont like waking up early but working out is important to me so i do it.

You ladies are so dedicated. I need to quit moaning and crack on.

Supermums

Thanks, but for some of us (ME) this is about more than being dedicated. This keeps me OUT OF JAIL!
I teach high school in a high poverty district and the stress levels are just unbelievable most days. We are expected to do everything with nothing. Imagine trying to help prepare students for the real world that hopefully includes either college or trade school without reliable internet! Our best and newest computer systems have Word 2003, if that gives you an idea.

Without a healthy relief, I'd have killed either someone's child or more likely a coworker a long time ago.

I have a 2 year old, a husband who's never home when I am and I work full-time(weird hours). I either wake up at the *kitten* crack of dawn, do it after he goes to bed, or while he naps in the afternoon (even though that's when I should nap too-I work late nights several days a week) If you really want to find the time-you will! It sucks but it's possible. Don't beat yourself up when your body really wants a rest day instead-we are all human. Just make small goals and work your way up. Tell yourself 30 mins 3X a week and go from there.

I am almost embarrassed to say (after reading all the posting) that I can't say there is no time in my schedule but I need to know how to resolve the lack of interest/motivation to exercise. I have a short term goal of loosing 40 lbs.. but even that its a huge challenge without exercise.. I commute to work so I leave my home at 6a.m. and I get back at 6:30pm but between 6:30pm to 9:00pm I think I can fit something in, but I seriously get home so exhausted, and fatigued I can hardly even function.. Sometimes I don't even eat dinner since I feel so tired. I have 3 children, a spouse and my mother who is 80 yrs old and lives with me.. I can't say I'm a Mrs Clean type of Mom but I just simply can't find the motivation or energy to do it.. I've always blamed it on the lack of iron deficiency I have but I wish there was something I could do to help me with this. I work full time and go to online college p/t on top of all my normal other things

I'm a 33 year old Mom of 5 - if I don't make the time to do something at the crack of dawn, it won't get done. So I'm in bed early (9pm or so) and up at 5am to get in my jogging/walking/fitness video or whatever before the kids get up to get ready for school at 6am.

I am a 43 year old mother who works full time, PLUS runs her own business on the side. I have found that you cannot possibly FIND the time. You have to MAKE the time. It's tough. I'm blessed that my gym has a kids club, and my daughter loves it there. I take her to the gym with me and we both exercise (though hers is play). Plus one day a week she has gymnastics, and on those days I take a kickboxing class near to her gymnastics class. But you could do something as simple as walking the parking lot at lunch. I'm a nicer mother when I'm working out and taking care of myself, so it's a win/win.

I'm a 48 yo mom of 3 -- one left in the house but young -- kindergarten. Morning is the only time I have been able to be consistent with my exercise. I try to go to bed not long after my daughter (8pm) and I get up early to exercise. Presently do Nike+ Kinect for cardio (interval type workout, 30-40 minutes total at this point, 3X a week) and have bar weights in the basement (all off of craigslist, 2X a week). When I lift its about an hour from warm-up to being done, although I have shorter workouts on days when I am running behind.

Having less time awake after daughter is in bed cuts into "alone" and "husband and me" time, and "TV" time -- but I've made it a priority. Also, husband spots me when I lift -- so that is some time we can spend together.

I commute in and out of a city each work day on a train -- so I don't have scads of free time.

Bottom line, you can do it -- but you have to plan it.

I'm a single mom of a 3 year old boy. I used to get up early before work to work out (4:30 am) and that worked really well for me for about a year. Then I got out of the habit and just couldn't get back into it. I let my son watch 2 shows each night before bed, and I realized that during this hour, I would just sit on the couch and play on my phone as I had no interest in watching Mickey Mouse or Go Diego Go. So now I work out while he watches his shows, he usually will come work out with me some in between shows or just come watch me.

I think its about finding what fits best into your schedule.

Do as much of your weekly prep work as possible on the weekend to free up work out time during the week.

Prepare a crockpot meal or casserole that will last a few days & freeze your daily portions.
Prep your weekly breakfasts, lunch & snacks on the weekends. For me this is usually a pan of baked egg white/veggie omelets in muffin tins that are then frozen or green smoothies that can be frozen or at minimum the ingredients can be chopped & bagged in advance.
Lay out your clothes for the week down to the details - hang 5 sets of clothing for each person with coordinating underwear/jewelry, etc.
I transport a lot of bags on Mondays - work, gym, kid's daycare, lunch, purse - so I put as many bags as possible in the car (in garage) on Sunday night. In the winter I can even put lunch & breakfast in the car.

I squeeze as many running around errands as possible into places that are along my route to work & I plan them in advance. I shifted my grocery shopping time to in the morning at stores I pass on the way to work - only purchasing from a prepared list. No frozen items. Some stores like Wegmans have apps that tell you what aisle each item on your list is in.

Changing my schedule in this way has allowed me to squeeze in some gym time after work before I pick the kid up from daycare. I use a Planet Fitness which is on my route home. A few times the workouts have been as short as 20 or 30 minutes but it's something. I lay out my workout clothes when I do our weekly clothing.

When I want to workout at home I get up a little earlier. Clothes have to be laid the night before & equipment like ball, weights, DVD have to be ready to go.

Even when I don't feel like it I take 15 minutes to do household chores at night because if I wake up in the morning and see a mess it will distract my attention & I'll probably clean before I workout.

Finally, sneak in a little exercise time throughout your day. Walk the stairs at work while on a break. Take a minute to do a plank or some bodyweight exercises for 5 minutes and challenge yourself to build up throughout the month. Do 25 jumping jacks 4 times a day.

It's not easy, but it's doable. Good luck.

Well, I'm no mother. But I do know my mother takes my siblings to the park and plays with them there. Or when at home she exercises with the kids (a few push ups, pull ups and sit ups as a game.) Also, she would lay down and lift the smallest with her feet and play "Aeroplane" with them. (Kind of like a leg press.)

Hope this helps!

I'm a SAHM so it helps a lot, at least until Spring and Summer breaks. Then I'll have to do it in the evening, which sucks, but I guess it's better than the alternative and getting all the weight back. I do home DVDs, tried the gym and the daycare sucked, and my kids are still small (5) so I can't really do it when they're awake, unless it's really no impact, no kicks stuff, which I guess I'll do once a week or something.