Exercise/gym routines for working ladies

I work 70-ish hours a week which is overkill for most people.

I always go before work. I alternate between an hour of cardio and then the next day do 20 minutes of cardio and 40 minutes of lifting.

Hi! Well let me start off by saying I have no kids. Zero. Two cats and a talkative husband, but that's really it in terms of household obligations. But I do work 40 hrs/week at a cubicle job. My schedule is thus:

Monday:
Get up at 5:10am. Dress, eat yogurt, get in car.
Drive 30 minutes to gym (I work at a University; I use their gym)
Arrive at gym around 6:10
30 min strength training (squats, push-ups, pull-ups, dips, calf-press, planks) & 30 minutes cardio (elliptical or treadmill)
Get off machine @ 7:15am
Shower
Arrive @ cubicle around 8:15am
Tuesday: 45 minutes of cardio--now that it's winter I hit the gym, but in the summer I'd just go for a run around my neighborhood.
Wednesday: Ditto Monday. Maybe switch the treadmill for a swim @ the gym's pool.
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Ditto Monday & Wednesday
Saturday: Flexible cardio--this could be a long run (6ish miles), a 4-mile walk w/ husband, or just shopping @ the mall (making sure to do at least four laps).
Sunday: Rest

I like to keep it flexible; as long as I hit 4 solid workouts I'm happy. And YES strength training is what makes me not squishy. I ran a Half Marathon in October (with months of 10+ mile runs leading up to it and almost 0 strength training), and I came out at the same weight, but I was just...softer. I had old lady arms and a tiny little muffin top. Gross. So I've picked up the weights again and decreased the cardio, and my pants are fitting much more nicely, thank you.

But do be gracious to yourself--it's very difficult to get out of that warm bed and make yourself care about the muffin top. I find it a little easier now b/c it's such a habit; my day feels off if I don't get to the gym.

Stronglift 5x5 is a great program for a beginner, simple as hell, and focuses on the basics. The whole routine might take you 45 minutes at the most, and you will start looking forward to going to the gym.

Also, if you're going to dedicate the time to working out, you should spend some time learning about it too. You should do yourself a favor and buy New Rules of Lifting for Women. It's a great book that will give you some perspective on exercise and diet (nothing revolutionary or bs, just the basics) so you don't waste your time in the gym.

This

I work full time, M-F 8-5pm.
I workout in the mornings at my gym.

Alarm goes off at 4:35am, out the door by 4:45am, at the gym at 5:00am - 6:00am

5 min warm up on a machine (stationary bike or elliptical)
35 min Strength Training (ARMS one day, LEGS the other day)
20 min Cardio (Usually an ARC trainer)

Best of Luck
Joanna

Hi! I work a full time global job which requires me to be available early in the mornings and late at night. I find it best to wake up in the morning and workout before I can even tell myself that I don't want to. I've gotten into a routine where I wake up at 5am every morning and workout to a home DVD program called TurboFire. I absolutely LOVE it. Before starting TurboFire I would go to the gym in the mornings sometimes but it would require me waking up at 4:30am and it just wasn't feasible.

I am a personal fan of cardio but you definitely need to lift weights too!! Lifting weights builds muscle which will burn your fat - even when you're not working out! If you struggle with finding what activities to do at the gym, I definitely suggest a home workout DVD! Let me know if you want me to suggest any for you

Picking nits: Exercise isn't necessarily for weight loss, you just need to make sure you have a calorie deficit for that. And since you use MFP, it's already set up for you. However, exercise is good for your body and overall health so I definitely encourage it!

A good combo of cardio and weights is ideal. This method is debatable but I like doing 10-20 minutes of cardio to elevate my heart rate then do weights for 20 minute or so and call it good. If you're not familiar with strength training, I'd encourage you to start out with the weight machines or hire a personal trainer who can show you the proper form for free weights and give you a program to do.

How about getting some exercise in on both weekend days and then one day during the week. That gives you the minimum recomended 30 min, 3 days per week which is a good start. I know a lot of people tend to go with morning workouts but I am soooo not a morning person that I just can't challenge myself enough at that hour. For me, after work is much better. Plus that way I can just drive my sweaty bod home and take a quick shower there rather than cart a bunch of stuff to the gym with me. Luckily though since the gym's right here in my building I usually go sometime during the day.

Someone made a good analogy the other day. Think of working out the same way you think of your job. You might not feel like going, you might be tired, but you have to suck it up and go anyway. Can't call out of work when you don't feel like it - don't bale on the gym just because you don't feel like it.

A couple more tips... Find things to do that you enjoy, that way it's not a chore or soemthing you dread. Try classes, try new machines, try some of those 30 day challenges or DVDs. Also, find ways to challenge yourself so it's always exciting. For instance, today I didn't feel like pushing myself - I'm still sore from my last two days workout and frankly I'm pretty tired too but I know tomorrow's going to be an easy day (walk) so I had to suck it up and get it done. Didn't want to do any of the usual but remembered the Spartacus workout (Men's Health mag, you can find it online) that a bunch of us were doing a couple years ago so I decided that and some heavy cardio (high hills on the treadmill) would fit the bill just right. It was super hard to get through but I did it!

I work full-time and I am a mom of a one year old. Time is of the essence in my house since I do not like to take too much time away from my daughter. I utilize two workout options: the first is getting up and working out early in the morning to a home DVD. The DVD has cardio and a strength building session so you get the best of both worlds. If I cannot do that then the second option is to hit the gym on my lunch break.

While at the gym I do 5 minutes of a warm up, 20 minutes of cardio, and then 20 to 25 minutes of weight lifting. I would suggest making a list of the areas that you would like to work on with the weights and then research some moves that you can do at the gym for these areas. Write them down and take that paper with you to the gym to create your own rotation. Once you get in the groove it is easy to keep going. Best of Luck!

Hi I am a full time worker and mother of 4 older kids.

I typically go to the gym on weeknights after dinner when they are all at their various clubs.
Monday, walk the 1.5miles to the gym, have a personal trainer, doing heavy lifting mainly, then the 1.5mile walk home
Tuesday. Drive to the gym, swim 2k, and do a hardcore aqua class.
Wed: Main gym, Heavy lifting, some cardio, and walk to and from the gym.
Thur: Mainly cardio. Treadmill, elliptical, bike
Fri: heavy lifting, a bit of cardio and walk to/from the gym

Weekends, we tend to go out for a walk either just hubby and myself or as a group with family/friends

I work a full time (40 hour/week) job. BUT I don't have kids, so really the evenings are mine. I've never been able to get up early to workout (I greatly admire those who do!). The gym I go to is on the way home so I stop after work (usually start working out about 5:30). I don't know how often I'd convince myself to go if I went home first!

Mondays - with a trainer doing various strength/cardio exercises
Tuesday - 60 minute step class at the gym
Wednesday - lately this has been a day off, since I'm still usually sore from Monday!)
Thursday - workout with my friend, usually do some longer distance running, then different body weight or dumbbell exercises
Friday - I'm either off, or I go to a bootcamp at my trainer's gym.

Each day usually also has a 30-45 minute walk with my dog

The recommendation I make to everyone is that if you can afford it, sign up for a few sessions with a trainer. They can get you started on a routine to work toward your goals and show you how everything works.
Or maybe your gym offers an introductory program of some kind that may either be free or low-cost to show you how the equipment all works.

bump

Hi and welcome.

I'm 30 and work full time. When I started, I simply walked on my lunch break. As I progressed and lost weight I added a Zumba routine at home on my Xbox in the morning, sucks waking up early sometimes but totally worth it. For a year I did 20-45 minutes of Zumba each morning, walked at lunch and sometimes threw in a circuit training when I could.

I'm a year in and have lost 93-94 pounds. My goal is to lose 130.

As for food, I don't really think too much into it. Of course I stay away from the high sugars, limit on breads and high calorie items but I eat pretty much what I want

Good luck!

I work full time, no kids. I get up at 4:45am 3x a week for an hour long boot camp class, and generally either lift weights or run after that. I get to work between 7 and 7:30. I run at lunch 4x a week, long runs on Saturday mornings. I used to do yoga at lunch on my rest day, but I just started hot yoga and that's after work, once or twice a week.

Welcome! Its definitely do-able, even with kids (2 & 4 y/o boys), a husband and a full time job. I usually get up 5:30-6 M-F, get everyone dressed and out the door, drop the kids off at daycare, and go straight to the gym. The gym is near my job (which is 45 minutes from home), so I get ready for work there. I aim to get to the gym 5 days a week, and usually make it 4-5 mornings.

On average I work around 45 hours a week, so there would be no time for me to work out afterwards before the day care closes. I try to lift 3-4 days a week, and do a little cardio if I have time after lifting. On days I make it in and don't lift, I try to do HIIT.

IMO, the key is to plan ahead in the mornings. Bags are packed, clothes are picked out, etc. so we can get out fairly quickly.

Good luck!! :flowerforyou:

I work full time shift work. I don't go to a gym but I aim to workout at least 30 minutes a day with a combination of cardio and strength training. At work I can usually get in a 50 minute fast walk,we have measured it out to be a little over 3 miles at least 3 times a week. I like to use workout DVD's and I use the workout time as me time I get my workout time in after I get up for the day.

5 in the morning is the only time for me.
Full time job Monday-Thursday, with my part time job Friday and Saturday.
I used to go a 6 a.m. spin class 3 mornings a week then do kettlebell and weights. But my gym canceled the class so I bought my own bike and put it in my husband's woodworking shop.

Yes, he's thrilled. Along with my bench and weight set.

My new schedule I'm trying is lift M-W-F and spin T-T for an hour.
I really miss the classes but I enjoy ruling the playlist now.:happy:


(And props to the other ladies for making it happen!!!:drinker: )