How do you fit your workout into your daily routine?

2

Replies

  • dawn_h_d
    dawn_h_d Posts: 184 Member
    I am unemployed, so I do my stuff in the morning. I would rather do it at night, but our house is small, so it is easier when I am home alone. I have to use some give and take.

    As I have been searching for work, and getting interviews, one of the first things I try to figure when seeing the hours is what would be the best for working out. Now that is a change in my attitude from a year ago.
  • DymonNdaRgh40
    DymonNdaRgh40 Posts: 661 Member
    They have a small gym here at work. A couple of treadmills, stairmaster, bike, free weights, and a couple of weight machines. So as soon as I clock out, I head over there and get it done. Now on the weekends I usually put on a DVD, walk, or go for an early morning run. It's hot and humid here as well most days so I get it in early when it's cooler.
  • imhungry2012
    imhungry2012 Posts: 240 Member
    I have a similar schedule to you...here is my Mon - Fri routine:

    5:30am - wake up and walk the dog 1 mile
    7am - leave for work and get there at 7:20ish
    5:30pm - leave work and head straight to the gym for a work out

    Home by 7pm.
    9:45pm - another mile walk with the dog before bed (my BF takes care of his mid day walks:)

    I picked a gym that was close to work/home so that I could go there right from work...once I am home there are too many distractions so it's best for me to just go straight there.

    Sat & Sun I sleep in and don't usually get to the gym until 11 or 12 depending on weekend plans/travel etc. Weekdays are much more consistent unless I'm traveling for work.
  • mdgivens
    mdgivens Posts: 206 Member
    On strength days (M/W/F), I get up at 4:30 am to do fasted walking before everyone wakes up, and then I lift in the evening after the kids have gone to bed.

    On conditioning days (T/Th/Sa), I get up at 5:00 am to run, row, etc.

    On Sundays, I get up at 6:00 am to do fasted walking.

    Basically, I train outside of family time.
  • Nikki_G30
    Nikki_G30 Posts: 72 Member
    Working out is super important to me so I make it a priority. I work full time and have a dog as well. My typical week is as follows:

    Mon: 4:15am walk dog (25 mins), 5:30 am Fury Class (60 mins at gym), 7:45 am catch bus
    Tues: 4:15am walk dog (25 mins), 5:30 am Spin Class (60 mins at gym), 7:45 am catch bus
    Wed: 4:15am walk dog (25 mins), 5:30 am Fury Class (60 mins at gym), 7:45 am catch bus
    Thurs: 5 am walk dog (25 mins), 3-5 mile run outside depending on time, 7:45 am catch bus; 6 pm Spin class at gym
    Fri: 4:15am walk dog (25 mins), 5:30 am Fury Class (60 mins at gym), 7:45 am catch bus
    Sat: off day but usually 3-4 mile hike/walk with dog
    Sun: 7am or 8 am Long Run (anywhere between 6-12 miles)

    I try to leave my nights free to hang out with my husband but I might take a class here or there or go for a run depending on the heat. It was hard getting up that early initially but I find that if I workout in the mornings then I get it done. In the evenings, I find too many excuses not to go.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    I get up bright and early at 4:50 a.m. That is the only time I have since I work full-time and I have two young kids.
  • bernied262
    bernied262 Posts: 882 Member
    My weekdays go something like this:

    7am - start work (I work from Home)
    11am - walk the dog
    midday - back to work
    5pm - finish work, cook dinner
    6:15 pm - walk the dog
    7:30 pm/8pm - drive to the gym, work out for 90 mins
    9:30/10pm - get home
    10pm - 10:30 - protein shake and then shower.
    10:30 til midnight-ish, catch up on my MFP friends days, household admin, etc.

    Weekends are my rest days, no schedule on those days :)
  • kpick41
    kpick41 Posts: 81 Member
    I'm not a morning person, so I rarely do my workouts in the morning. Unless it's the weekend and we have a bunch of plans, I'll head out for a run around 6:30.
    I try to look at my schedule on Sunday nights and write in times to workout. With 2 kids and a husband's soccer schedules it's a little hectic and never the same time each day!
  • fishnr2
    fishnr2 Posts: 31 Member
    In the UK. Cold. No dog either.
    5:50 get up at , get a protein shake,
    6:00- work out till 7:00
    then I'm at work around 8:30 and have my breakfast.
    6:30 back from work and I have my last meal of the day( fifth one) and then or a bike ride or weights. For like a hour. And then I have my me time.
    to be clear my other half has a free time to exercise his thumbs when I do a real workout.
    And I'm finding to have more energy during the day if I do the workout in the morning.
  • shannonahenderson
    shannonahenderson Posts: 63
    JUST DO IT!

    Sorry, I couldn't resist but the old adage from Nike is so befitting...LOL!

    I wake up at 5am to get my morning workout in before the rest of house wakes up and I do my evening workout while my son is at swim practice everyday for 1.5 hours...

    It's like brushing your teeth....you gotta fit it in.
  • kowajenn
    kowajenn Posts: 274 Member
    I leave for work at 6:30 AM and generally get home at 6:30 PM if I'm lucky. I am not a morning person so there is no way I'm getting up early to work out.

    I walk at lunch for 30 minutes every day and when I get home I relax for 10 minutes, change my clothes, and head to the basement for a workout. I'm doing Focus T25 now, so it's just 30 minutes including the cool down. My goal is to have the workout and dinner finished by 8:00 and then I work on anything else I have to do.
  • weavemyway
    weavemyway Posts: 24 Member
    In the summer, I could basically workout whenever I wanted. Aside from my full-time job (10-6, M-F), all I had was free time since I don't have kids. I usually worked out for a good hour after work, then I had sports on Thursday nights and Sunday nights. Now that school has started, I've had to do some rearranging. I've been getting up before work to do a Jillian DVD, and on the days I have a three-hour class after work, that's all I do. Otherwise I try and fit something in after work as well, perhaps the gym, a run, or a walk. I always aim for at least 10,000 steps on my pedometer, plus a work out.
  • CoachChrisD
    CoachChrisD Posts: 207 Member
    i wake up every morning at 5:30, do my Focus T25 from Shaun T get the wife kids ready for the day, then get ready to go to work.
    when i get off from work, spend time with the family, they are all sleeping by 9 pm then i do an hour of P90x then shower and go to sleep as well.
    If i am too tired i take a pre workout drink called E&E from beachbody, and gives me energy for my workouts
    you can always find the time eveyone, it's all about time management.
  • Brige2269
    Brige2269 Posts: 354 Member
    I stop at the gym on the way home. If I don't then I walk the dog while dinner is cooking in the oven.
  • paddgirl21
    paddgirl21 Posts: 154 Member
    I too found that either breaking up my workout or doing it in the morning helps with spending time with the family so I usually workout 45 mins in the morning and 45 mins when I get home. By the time the husband gets home I have already put in an hour and a half of exercise for the day, make dinner, and then get to spend time with him. We don't have kids, so that, luckily I do not have to deal with.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Up at 0430, running shoes on and out the door by 0445/0500 for a 60~min run. Back home, shower, wake up my son, make us breakfast, watch news, get dressed, both of us out the door by 0650.

    If it matters to you, you will figure out how to make time/money available for it.
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
    I get up in the early morning and just do it.
  • jillll1
    jillll1 Posts: 13 Member
    Hi :O) I bought a treadmill/desk combo at LifeSpan. I work from home on the computer and easily log 6 miles of walking on it a day. You can bring the speed down to almost zero or up to 4 miles/hr. When I type ( like now) I'm at about 2.2 miles an hour. I absolutely love it and it has totally changed my mental well being to very positive concerning the hours I'm on the computer. :O)
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    I am up every day by 4:40am. I get my wife ready and out the door, then I get our two boys out the door and to either before school programs by 6:45a, or by 7:30 for school. I head to work and usually get done around 6pm. Then I am out to either pick up the boys at after school activities or sports, or I am home helping with homework, cleaning, etc. 4 nights a week we all don't even get home until after 9pm. I get the wife and boys to bed and then work on my personal business until 11pm or so.

    I manage to squeak in a few 15 minute mile walks. I eat smaller, quick meals while I am working so I can take my lunchtime to get in 30 to 45 minutes of HIIT. I also play competitive tennis two nights a week, and I do as much physical activity as I can on weekends.

    Health as a priority is a choice. Simple as that. NO ONE is too busy to fit it in, unless they make that choice. Eating healthy is a choice you make with each meal of snack you place in front of yourself.


    Choose wisely.
  • ashleyh3156
    ashleyh3156 Posts: 177 Member
    For the past week or so I have been waking up at 5a before my kids are up to use the elliptical, it is working out great. If I want to exercise later in the day than I have time and know my goal was already met and this is just extra.
  • VincitQuiSeVincit
    VincitQuiSeVincit Posts: 285 Member
    I have an hour lunch break, so I joined a gym a block away... I rush over there, get a 45 minute HIIT sesh in or a lift sesh, quick shower and back to the office.
    I also ride my bike to and from the train to get from brooklyn into manhattan
  • _xXJennXx_
    _xXJennXx_ Posts: 3,290 Member
    In the morning, except for the days I'm off work then I do them later.
  • IronPhyllida
    IronPhyllida Posts: 533 Member
    I've incorporated my workout into my commute. When cycling takes priority:
    5.30 - 1 hr bike ride to station
    7.00 - 40 min train ride
    7.45 - 20 min bike ride to work (if i manage to leave earlier I'll go to the gym when I get to work)

    And then again the same for the way back.
    Depending on which day I do this, I will add 1hr in the pool afterwards, depending when it's open of course.

    Simples :)
  • niniagrn
    niniagrn Posts: 22 Member
    It is a struggle and I have to be at work at 8:30 am. I get up at 4:45 am and work out for an hour. Then I walk my dog for 20 minutes and head on off to work. You just got have to find out what works for you. I have more control of my mornings than I do my evenings (after work events or just plain tired, lol). You will figure it out, the plus as it relates to MFP is that it adds to your daily calorie count.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    What I do... I schedule the workout as part of my routine. Sure it makes my day shorter, but if you are having problems fitting your workout into your routine, my guess is that it's because you don't consider it part of your routine in the first place. I find that simple shift of scheduling and mind-set change makes all the difference for me. I know that I get done with work, my first action is to go home and change, then proceed directly to the gym or to run. It's only after this is complete that I allow myself to relax into my leisure activities and I've found that forming this habit in this fashion has actually made it more enjoyable. Getting tired or sore from my workout allows my leisure relaxation or movie watching or video gaming that much more enjoyable.
  • running_shoe
    running_shoe Posts: 180 Member
    I work 8-4 as well. My best time and opportunity to work out is before work. I get up at 5:15, at the gym by 6, work out until 7:15, get ready for work at the gym, then off to work. I LOVE morning work outs, but you need to be a morning person and be in bed at a decent time.

    Good luck!
  • crackur
    crackur Posts: 473 Member
    I fit the rest of my life in each day.......working out is like eating and breathing, I know I'm going to do it everyday.....I just do it differently each day.

    (I work two jobs, grad school and I have a 3 year old. No excuses)
  • amandamarie7743
    amandamarie7743 Posts: 13
    I wake up an hour to two hours early to get my workout in. Once you get in the routine it gets easier>>get up earlier, go to bed earlier, and get an amazing nights sleep!! I have been researching fitness a lot and have read in a few different places that the benefits of exercise in the morning are better....people who work out in the morning get more regular exercise since there are no excuses such as being too tired once the end of the day comes (which is totally me-I'm so wiped at the end of the day) and it gives your metabolism an extra boost plus the post-workout calorie burn is a bit better. I find for me that it is quite exhilarating to exercise in the morning.
    If I have the time and energy then I fit in an extra 20-30 minutes of exercise into my evening, but if not I'm not disappointed since I already finished my actual workout!
  • AbsyPernet
    AbsyPernet Posts: 145
    I set the alarm for 5am, get dressed, eat a banana and push play, I do either insanity or P90X and at the weekend, I run. I am a morning person and therefore, I work out in the morning. You have to find what suits you the best and push for it everyday, no excuse, you have to want to do this in order to be in the right mind set, if not, there WILL ALWAYS be something/someone/tasks/housework/children in the way.

    This is for you, you have to do this for yourself, you have to want this so badly that you can taste it .

    Good luck in your journey:wink:
  • amyniceneasy
    amyniceneasy Posts: 143 Member
    For the past 2 days I have been off work and have found myself taking our beagle dog out for a walk around the apartment complex. Yes, we both need it - BUT it is so very humid and hot here (like everywhere else I'm sure). I go back to work tomorrow and work Monday - Friday 8-5. I usually leave my house around 7:15 to get to work about 7:30 (In reality). I would like to know how everyone else fits there walk/run/workout into their daily routine.

    get up early or do it when you get home from work...

    if being healthy and fit is what you want, you will fit it in your day... its not a case of you 'cant' fit it in, at the moment you just dont want to.

    Comments like these kinda bother me. I'm a mom who works full time at a job and then full time at home. Is being healthy and fit important to me? YES ! I try to fit my excersize in where/when I can but I've stopped beating myself up about not being able to do it as often as I'd like. The reality of it is ..sometimes there just isn't enough hours in the day to get everything done and fit in a work out. I suppose I could NOT do homework with my kids, I could NOT make their lunches, I could NOT do my household chores, and I could NOT put them in any after school activities OR worse yet... sleep less in order to find time for a workout. All these things add up to waking up at 5 and crashing at 11. I can't sleep less than that. If I happen to squeeze a workout in I'm jumping for joy.

    The majority of working Mom's are not kidding when they say they are too busy and can't find the time. Some of them are like me. I don't sit in front of a computer or a TV at home. The only time my butt is in a chair is here at work.

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