Parents, how do you finding time to work out?

DavidNT
DavidNT Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone,

Just wondering how those of you who are parents are finding time to exercise. I'm the father of a very energetic 1 year old boy. I used to work out regularly in the evenings, but find myself struggling with regularity since his birth, either due to parental obligations, or, occasionally, just being completely drained by my boy when he refuses to go to sleep at his bedtime. Any of you who has been though this have any tips?
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Replies

  • mrp56839
    mrp56839 Posts: 159 Member
    Luckily I work, so my one free hour a day is lunchtime and it's long enough to run a few miles and come back.

    Try a YMCA family membership. They have free childcare for up to 2 hours a day while you work out, swim, etc. Free fitness classes, discounted personal training sessions and ours does a free fitness evaluation. The membership is reasonably priced compared to a babysitter! Can you tell that I love our Y?
  • JamieM8168
    JamieM8168 Posts: 248 Member
    My gym has childcare for up to 2 hours. I use that.

    When he was younger or when I don't go to the gym, I either bring him with me on walks (stroller or carrying) or i'd work out at home before he woke up or after he went to sleep.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    I work full time, 3 kids, and a husband in the military who lives in different state. I put my gym in my garage. I lift weights 4 nights a week.

    If it's important to you, you'll make the time. It doesn't find you.
  • TaraM430
    TaraM430 Posts: 26 Member
    As the kids get older it gets easier. My husband goes to the gym at 7:30 in the evenings, right after our 1 year old goes to bed. I try and do a DVD during nap time and I set up something for my 5 year old daughter to keep her occupied while I exercise.
  • MK608
    MK608 Posts: 47 Member
    I'm up at 4:30am to get my workout in before work!
  • rassha01
    rassha01 Posts: 534 Member
    Up @ 4:45 to workout until 6-6:30 wife exercises at night after dinner while I entertain the chittlins. It is pretty simple once you get into a routine and plan everything.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    1) I wake up at like 5am to walk an hour or so (3.5 miles) before my husband leaves for work. I usually get back just after my 4 year old daughter has woken up.

    2) I have a gym membership that gives an hour of free drop-in babysitting. Helps ALOT.
  • lilred806
    lilred806 Posts: 195 Member
    I love the ymca also. Our child watch staff is fantastic and I get to work out while my kids play and get social interaction with other kids. I have a running stroller that I used mostly with my first . It was easy to give my son some toys and snacks and hit the road. When I was lucky he would fall asleep in there. I have workout DVDs for days that neither of those work. I also think as they get older it gets a bit easier.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    I get up at 4:15 4 days a week, and 5 on Friday.
  • farmers_daughter
    farmers_daughter Posts: 1,632 Member
    I don't..... I starve..... :grumble:

    I don't work out like alot of people on here, my working out consists of scrubbing floors until I sweat, lifting loads upon loads of laundry, putting up pools, mowing the lawn, blah blah blah, occasionally I'll have enough energy to fit in a DVD like Jillian or Zumba. It's not as often as I'd like though. There's enough hours in the day, I just physically can't keep going.


    I refuse to have it diagnosed, (cost and I'm not wearing an elephant mask at night) but I'm pretty sure I've got sleep apnea. Otherwise tell me why a full grown woman will breakdown in tears because she is so unbelieveably tired.

    I cut back as much as I can on what I eat to try and make up for the lack of exercise. There are others on here who have had success doing it as well. Many hate on it though.
  • FakingFitness
    FakingFitness Posts: 325 Member
    There's time. Wake up an hour earlier. Carry your baby on hour fast pace walk.
    I have a 5 yo hear and still carry her on mile or 2 walks, just for the exercise.
    (She thinks I'm hilarious, "I'm not a sack of potatoes, you know!")
    Do body exercises while he's watching dora or whatever show he frequents.
    Use the daycare at the gym.
    Once you get going, you'll realise, there really is time and you'll have more energy. :)

    Edit to add: I also make a point to work out right after tuck-in, on the days she is a pain in the fanny; especially about bedtime.
    I find a minutes of exercise in a peaceful, kid free living room, gets rid of the aggravation that even the greatest kids are experts at bestowing on parents.
  • mbucchieri
    mbucchieri Posts: 44 Member
    I get up everyday at 4 am and hit the gym for 45 minutes before i go to work..Way to tired to even think of night time work outs.
  • eliseofthejungle
    eliseofthejungle Posts: 113 Member
    Honestly, I just don't. When my husband was here I'd have him put our son to bed a few nights a week so I could have time to workout then. But now that he's gone I just can't seem to carve it out regularly. I absolutely NEED at least 7 hours of sleep a night so I can't wake up any earlier than I do now. I work full time (no lunch break - I have to eat at my desk), I have to keep the house 100% perfect because it's for sale and we could have a showing at any time, and I cook most things from scratch for budget and health reasons. I also can't afford a gym membership. Sometimes some things are just hopeless.
  • nicola1141
    nicola1141 Posts: 613 Member
    I wake up at 6, eat breakfast with my younger daughter (who usually wakes up at 6ish too), then work out in my basement with my daughter playing around me before going to work.
  • dandelyon
    dandelyon Posts: 620 Member
    I'd walk with him on my back or jog with him in a stroller.

    You'll get a workout and he'll sleep better at night :)

    Oh and if he is big enough to wear a bike helmet, you can always bike with him, too! Get a trailer and hand him a sippy and a snack.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    For over a year, I did it after the kids' bed time. But I do understand the bed time struggles that sometimes take place lol :wink: Now I go on my lunch break from work. Before the kids got up was never an option because they'd wake up as soon as I did no matter what
  • fat2strongbeth
    fat2strongbeth Posts: 735 Member
    I either workout in the evening after my son goes to bed or I get up at 5:30 and am done by the time everyone is waking up.
  • bethcw1
    bethcw1 Posts: 24 Member
    I have to work-out in the morning, or else I just won't do it. I get up at 6:00 usually at the same time as my little guy. I put on a TV show for him and he is pretty happy for an hour. It took awhile, where he kept asking my to do stuff (ie) get him a drink, change the channel, etc. but now he knows that if I am exercising, he will have to wait. I also have a 9 and 7 year old, who enjoy watching and/or joining in. For the first time in a LONG time I feel like I am really setting a great example for them, by finding time to do this for me! It is really awesome how they are encouraging and proud of me too!
  • megsi474
    megsi474 Posts: 370 Member
    I stay home so I do my workout during quiet time. My husband does it in the evenings after the kids go to bed or while I'm doing bath and story time.
  • ks4e
    ks4e Posts: 374 Member
    It's challenging. I work full time and am away from home for about 9-10 hours a day, depending on my commute. When I get home to my 6 year old and my 7 month old, my husband goes to work at night. We currently have one car so a gym isn't an option because there are none nearby.

    I either wake up early or work out at night with baby in the swing and my son watching a movie on his iPad for half an hour.

    At work, I fit in little exercises during my lunch break using my body weight in the lunch room or the bath room! 10 push ups here, 10 squats there, etc. I completed the 30 day squat challenge and am now upping it to using 40 lb weights and doing goblet squats.
  • ChelseaM8726
    ChelseaM8726 Posts: 117
    I do about 27 minutes of Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, every evening. It kicks your butt, and the time is great!! I've seen a lot of progress with Jillian. I'm on day 28 of the 30 day shred, 2 more days to go!
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    I either work out first thing in the morning or late at night.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    There are always times that don't work - but there have to be times that do work. I used to take my daughter and push her in the stroller. I did it in the mall in the winter and outside the rest of the year. We even took family walks. We used the pool, went to the beach and found festivals that we cold walk around in. I used to run 3 miles every other day at work during lunch... If you have time to chill in front of the TV get a treadmill or something. You can do this.
  • alimarie53
    alimarie53 Posts: 102 Member
    Like everyone else said, try a gym with childcare. :) If possible try and wake up an hour before you son and work out then, that way it's already out of the way.

    Personally, I wouldn't beat myself up too much if I miss a workout here and there. It sucks, but it's life... Kids come first and it wont be forever.
  • 92joann
    92joann Posts: 67 Member
    Luckily, my two year old will quite happily play on his own while I work out. I have to be in another room though or he gets in my way. He has special needs so can't walk and has only just learned to crawl so I know he can't get into anything except his books and toys really. He still naps so sometimes I do then although that's really housework time. Sometimes at bedtime, if he actually goes to bed at a decent time. Sometimes if he's being particularly grumpy, we just go on a walk with him in his pushchair. If not, I don't get too upset over it. Any exercise is better than no exercise so just do what you can.
  • geekgirl_2012
    geekgirl_2012 Posts: 40 Member
    It's tough and this aspect gets easier as the child gets older. I ran into sleep issues when my daughter was that age as well. It can be very frustrating. What I figured out was that I cannot get to the gym - there's no time. I know others will disagree and say that I could make time for it "if I really wanted it." Yes, I suppose I could... but that would be at the expense of spending time with my daughter. So, that was not a compromise I was willing to force her to make. Your kid needs you. So instead, I run around with my kid - even just running around the house. I get on the floor and play with her. I park a farther distance and walk. If I see stairs, I take them. I play on the playground with her. I just sneak it in... little by little each and every day. By doing this and watching what I eat, I have lost 19 pounds and achieved my goal weight. Good luck to you. Hang in there during the rough no-sleep times. It's challenging. But remember, your little one will not always do this. Find a way to enjoy it... even the struggle of it. Because this time passes all too quickly.
  • pippywillow
    pippywillow Posts: 253 Member
    I work out in the evening after the kids are in bed. I've always been a morning person and it took some getting used to, but it was worth it. And I found that now that I'm doing regular exercise I have a lot more energy throughout the day.

    Does she take a nap? Or you could involve her in some way. Set her in a bouncy chair and let her watch your workout, she'll probably think you're funny.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    Jogging stroller.

    Daycare at the gym

    Just try to slip gym time in after work.


    Its nearly impossible and something always suffers. good luck!
  • dirty_dirty_eater
    dirty_dirty_eater Posts: 574 Member
    Up at 3:30. Gym by 4:00. Home by 5:30.
    Everyone else is still sleeping. They can't need me for anything if they're asleep.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    check out a baby bjorn.

    it actually helps your bench because you wont bounce the bar off your chest as much.

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