When do you exercise?

I have 2 young kids, I work part time as a teacher, and my husband does shift work (one week of earlies, one week of lates). On his earlies week I usually do an evening class so he can look after the kids, although on my days off I sometimes put the kids in the crèche for an our if there's a morning class I want to do.

At the weekend I tend to do a Sat and Sun morning class.

On my husband's lates week I do a Mon and a Tues morning class (these are my days off) and on my working days I go to the gym straight after work, before collecting the kids.

I usually have Wed as my day off exercise so I can come home and relax before collecting the kids.

My son starts school in Sept so my routine will have to change a bit as I'll be collecting him straight away after work.

There is nothing like working out first thing in the morning. Before my work scheduled changed, I went to the gym to work out at 5 a.m. or took boot camp at 6 a.m. You are refreshed, renewed and you go to work very energized. At the end of the day you do not have to worry about exercise as you have already taken care of your fitness activity for the day.

Now I am back to working out in the evening. Instead of getting dressed at home in the morning to workout, I now put my gym bag in the car and change into my gym clothes after work.

My preference; A.M.

I usually work out during lunch at work. I'm lucky and have a gym right next to the building I work in. I had a hard time being consistent in the mornings or evenings, but when I used my lunch hour it became more of a routine. If you can take a class, that may also help you stay consistent--especially if you have to sign up for it. I schedule daily classes up to 2 weeks in advance.

What kind of time do people go to bed, who work out in the mornings? I am guessing that being fit and getting used to it will mean that I'd not feel tired after a while if I am going to bed at 10- 10.30 and waking at 5? Are there any morning workout people who really hated mornings before they got into it?

I hated mornings. I still hate mornings. I like to stay up late. But I've made it work. I go to bed around 11 most nights, and I'm up around 6:30 to work out. I only do 20-30 minutes of exercise each morning. That's how I make it work. If I tried to do an hour, I'd never get out of bed! I cannot imagine waking at 5. Is there a reason you have to get up that early if you just need to be out of the house at 8:30?

I will say that I'm more awake in the mornings (after working out) than I used to be. Working out in the morning gives me energy. I do get more tired earlier at night. But I still end up staying up until 11 most times.

No, I'd have to get up around 6.30, I must have had 5am on the brain when typing that, probably from shock haha! I wanted to get through the Ripped in 30 dvds, I would be so proud if I did so I am going to try and hold on to that, figure that by 7am I could have my exercise done for the day.

Its good to see a convert as it assures me that as a non morning person I can still do this!

That's exactly what got me started. I joined a group doing 30 Day Shred and started doing it from 6:30 - 7:00 every morning. Then moved on to Ripped in 30. Now I alternate what I do each morning, but still keep it to about 30 minutes so I don't have to get up any earlier!!

I try and do something everyday, this might be going for a run (recently started) or an hour long walk, it varies day to day. A while back, one of the past unsuccessful times I have tried to lose weight I used to force myself to get up in the mornings, even on Sundays and exercise. I felt that if i didn't, I had 'failed' and usually I would end up eating rubbish the rest the day. On Monday of this week I changed up my exercise routine (began training for 5k taking place end of August). I now exercise between 7:30-8:30 PM if i am going running which is set at 5 days a week, then 1 day a week I go for a walk late afternoon between 3:30-5:00 and the other day I do whatever I feel like, an exercise video or take a class/go swimming and this is usually a saturday and once again late afternoon. I think it really depends person to person what time people prefer to exercise, but I find the evening/ late afternoon best for me

I like to exercise immediately after work. I go home, change into my workout clothes, do a routine of stretches & situps, etc., and then go for a mile walk. I do this every weekday. I like to do it straight after work because I am done with everything by 6pm including showering. Then I still have the rest of my evening to do something fun, cook dinner or do errands.

I have started working out after my kids go to bed between 8:30 to 10:00 pm

As a father of three, my only consistent option is in the morning. I usually wake up naturally around 5:00 a.m., and will be on the elliptical between 60 and 90 minutes. My wife is out the door @ 6:30 a.m. before the kids wake. Luckily I'm a morning person, I've always hated not being able to sleep in, but it definitely helps with weight loss once you make the mental jump to do activities, rather than just lie in bed. I treat / reward myself for getting out of bed by having a diet Snapple during my workout, and watching a TV series that I won't watch elsewhere - currently Mad Men on Netflix. It is about the only personal time during the day I get to myself, so I take advantage of it, and it has become habit. But it was a challenge to make the adjustment to exercise rather than stay in bed. For 2 months after my boys were out of their cribs (and into real beds) and able to walk into the bedroom in the a.m. and curl up in bed to watch TV without screaming / fighting - I knew I could make a better use of that time, and am glad I finally got off my *kitten* and started exercising (and was able to avoid watching Dora / Bubble Guppies for the 100th time).

When working(I'm off during the summer), I work out after work as I take classes at the gym. I go straight there after work. On saturday I work out first thing. During the summer, I love being able to work out right after breakfast. Since I'm a morning person, that is the time I prefer. Before knee issues, I was a runner. I ran pretty much 5 days a week and got up at 4:15 am and did it before work. It took me a while to adjust to working out after work but now that I have, it is doable.

I'm up in the morning at 4 am m-f. I'm working out by 4:15 (Zumba) and done by 4:45. I'm at work by 7am and complete my 2nd workout from 10am - 11am (usually the elliptical or arc trainer) at the gym at work. About 3-4 days a week, my fiance and I go to the driving range after I get off from work, and spend about 1/2 hr-45 minutes there. On the weekends, I'm usually up by 6 am and get a Zumba workout in, and then I go with my fiance to the gym for his 8am Spinning class. He Spins, I'm upstairs on the rowing machine, the elliptical, and the bike or Arc Trainer. After we're done at the gym, we usually go to the driving range for about a 1/2 hr or so. I am sooo not a morning person, but I do this because after 12pm, no matter what day it is, I don't want to even think about having to go and workout.

The only suggestion I have for you is to get up 1 hr earlier than you usually do and get your workout then. I am totally on the same page as you...I'm not wanting to workout in the evening, because I have dinner to make and I just want to relax, so I make it a point to get my workout done during the day. I do understand that many people don't have a gym at their workplace, and that's why I suggested that you get up an hour or so before you start getting everyone ready for the day.

Either way, good luck to you. You can make it work!!