Need help from moms please!

I too am a stay at home mom, with a very active 15 month old. In order to work with our family schedule I have to wake up at 5:20am, work out from about 5:30 until 6:30am, take a shower and finish waking up till 7, then wake my son up. With my husbands demanding job I found out the best way to make sure I have time to work out is when both him and my son are asleep. Because you have a 4 year old I am assuming not in school yet, other things I do for a work out are, walking in stores just to walk (gets the kid out of the house) and tons of park time. I try to stay at the park and walk or play for an hour or 2. Hope this helped.

I am a working mom of 4 so I know how you feel. Two of the 4 are in cheerleading which takes up two full days a week. I work in at least 30 minutes of cardio during the workday and eat my lunch at my desk. After work (on the non cheerleading days) we make it a habit to go to the YMCA. The kids love it and I get my husband and I get our workouts in. Do you have a treadmill? Maybe you could do 30 minutes in the morning before the kids get up or in the evening after putting them down for the night. Or maybe you live in an area where you can take an early morning stroll. Another helpful tool would be the Walk Away the Pounds Power Mile DVD. It's about 15min long but when all else fails you can get your workout in quickly with this and not feel guilty about not being active.

I am a SAHM to four little dudes 6 and under. My DH works a rotating 12 hr shift; therefore, my workouts vary and often I find myself working out 2 or 3x a day (because ideally I like to get in at least an hour, but need to break my time up).

My two older boys start back to school next week...one in 1st and then other in preschool. Our day will look a little something like this (when my DH works 6am-6p)...

6am Mommy wake up (at least one of my kiddos will be up by 6:30, but usually all will be...they are early risers; therefore, I rarely work out in the am)

8:15 Drop off DS 2, followed by DS 1
8:45 Push the younger boys in dbl stroller (at least 30 minutes, but typically 45 min...this summer my older boys rode their bikes ahead of me as I walked)
11:20 pick up DS 2 from preschool
12:30 younger 3 boys nap, I get in workout dvd (typically turbo jam)
3:00pm pick up DS1 from school
5:00pm We will have practice M-F for at least one of the two older boys...one plays soccer, other plays flag football *Dinner will be served prior to leaving*
8:00 By this time all kids are in bed, homework done, showered, etc

At this point, if I still have the energy (which I really try to get in at least another 30 minutes) I turbo jam again or go for a bike ride (on the nights my DH is home).

Good luck...you can make it work!

WOW! you have such high energy levels :flowerforyou: I keep thinking of skipping exercise if I am wee bit tired!

I am a stay-at-home mom of two girls, a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 year old, neither of which naps (I wish!). The first thing I do when I wake up is go to the bathroom, take off all clothing and weigh, then I get dressed in my exercise clothes and heart rate monitor. I have a couple bites of something to eat, get my girls breakfast then I immediately start my exercise session (usually my first of at least two exercise sessions). I'm homeschooling (preschool) our 3 year old, so we do some of her "schoolwork", usually in one or two sessions throughout the day. Usually sometime after lunch and cleaning up I get in another exercise session. For me, this usually involves getting out one of the "special" toys that they do not have access to all the time. I'll get my girls entertained and they I can exercise again. Sometimes they will come in and exercise with me, they love doing exercises with me, especially if I'm doing a DVD that they can watch with me and do some of the moves. My only problem with that is sometimes I have to keep moving around to have space to do the exercises myself, so I usually try to do any aerobics or anything that I'm really going to moving around, kicking, jumping, etc in the morning while they're eating breakfast and I know they won't be in any danger of my flailing limbs during those types of exercises, then my afternoon exercise is usually more like Yoga or Pilates or some type of strength training.

I think my girls have gotten used to me exercising throughout the day. When I first really started exercising again, it was so hard for me because my girls just didn't seem to let me get anything done. I first started literally running around inside my house for 10 minutes several times a day. I figured out that I usually get in 10 minutes before someone needed me for something. Gradually, I extended the length of time and now I can usually get in at least 45 minutes at one time. Sometimes I have to stop for a minute, I just pause my heart rate monitor/DVD/timer, etc. and pick back up where I left off once the problem is solved.

Good luck, I know it can be really challenging getting that exercise in with children, but keep trying and you'll find something that works for you!

Hi my name is Laura, I'm a full time mum of two very special boys DS1 is 9yrs with autism DS2 is 2yrs, we have to have a schedule cos of DS1, makes life easier and i get done what i need to, hubby works 6am-2pm mon-fri helps a lot havin him home in the evenin and wkends.
our schedule is changin in sept when DS1 is bk at school and DS2 starts playschool 2 mornin a wk, (i get some me time wow).
At min it's get up at 4.55am go get hubby up and ready for work, DS2 is up at this time too unless had bad night and i dont see him till gone 6am. 7-7.30am DS1 is up, dressed (have to do it cos he cant dress himself) 7.30am get boys breakfast and me if im hungry by then. 8am tv or dvd, so i can get some housework done come on her and update my food dairy. 10.30am snack 10.45 try and play or get him to play with some toys. 12pm lunchtime 12.30-3.30pm DS2 has his afternoon hr-2hrs nap and tidy up again b4 hubby is home at 2pm 2pm have sometime us time with hubby, if his parents dont just turn up, DS! playin on the wii or xbox, 4pm cook and have dinner 5.30pm if im in the mood to do it wash up while hubby has the boys 6pm have some family time 7pm is bath the two boys 7.30pm put DS2 to bed and have 30mins on the exercise bike 8.30pm put DS1 to bed 9pm us to bed unless have trouble gettin DS1 to sleep, once the boys r a sleep then we not long after and we start all over again, wkend is a bit different but not much.

In sept it will b 4.55am up and hubby sorted and out the door, 7am if not already boys up and dressed 7.30am breakfast and sortin out DS1 school bag and make sure his ready 8.20am if the bus is not late DS1 on the bus 8.50am if it's a playschool day out the door and walk to playschool 9.30am come bk do housework and try and get in 30mins exercise on the wii 11.45am go and get DS1 from playschool 12pm lunch and 12.30pm put him to bed for his nap and try and do some more exercise b4 2pm 2pm have some time with hubby 3-4.10pm get DS1 off the bus 4.30pm do and have dinner 5.30 wash up 6pm family time 7pm bath boys and put DS2 to bed 7.30pm 30mins on the exercise bike 8.30pm DS1 to bed then relax b4 we go bed (if DS2 is not at playschool i have to do my exercise when he has is nap)

just got to think where do i get the energy to do all this all the time lol, hope seein my day helps u out a bit