Working Moms: Fitting Workouts in Schedule

Im a mum too with a 8.30 - 5.30 job and I work 6 miles from home... and I dont drive!

In good weather/good light I walk home - 6 miles for me is around a 500 calorie -burn, so by the time i am home thats my workout done - its 7pm by this time though. On the plus side my kids are older now and get them selves home from school - however they do generate more washing and require more 'ferrying' around at weekends.

I have lots of animals to attend to - so I tend to make the dog walks and the chicken cleaning and guinea pig cleaning a work out. I come home and I prepare dinner, often more than 2 meals (fussy teenagers) clean up, do the washing, feed the animals - walk 2 dogs ..then walk the other 2 dogs . Hubby is home by 10pm when we often go for a night walk.

I have fitness DVD's I could do - though gone off of these - or even simply walking on the spot at work - 10 mins is 30 calories - boring - but if i have a bad week or no chance to exercise later then i do it!

Good luck - make anything you do a work out - making the next days meals whilst dancing around the kitchen - shuffle your steps to the fridge - walk on the spot during the commercial break on netflix - have a fun 10 mins 'dancing' with the kids to MTV

Things will get easier when the days get longer xxx

I work pretty much the same hours and have a similar schedule. At around 7.30pm that is when my day "ends" and i put on the TV and pick up the weights! I lift while I watch TV with the other half and he usually lifts with me x

I live in Minnesota, so I know what you mean about winter and cold. That's one thing I hate about not being able to get out and do something. I LOVE the outdoors, so I can't wait til it gets nicer out to enjoy it.

I have a pretty flexible job and my kids are old enough now that they can fend for themselves pretty much... I have a 20 year old and 12 year old. My daughter does come to the gym with me a couple times a week.

Like I said, my job is pretty flexible, so I get to work at 5 am so I'm able to get to the gym right away after work around 2:30 (once I get home and change). I hate big crowds at the gym, so that's why I love getting to the gym at the time I do. You can do certain exercises while watching your show on Netflix. I have done that a few times whenever I didn't make it to the gym. Good luck!

I have a 4-1/2 year old and 2-1/2 year old twins. I work fulltime and am gone from 6:45am until 6:30pm.

I workout after the kids go to bed (8:00-8:15pm) After that, me and my husband will either sit on opposite ends of the couch while playing on our phones...or we'll watch tv or something. lol I go to bed around 11pm. I also do this on weekends or go for a quick run while my husband is hanging out with the rugrats.

I found that in the beginning, I was exhausted. Working out made it easier to get up in the morning, I have soooo much more energy now.

I made it a priority when my kids grabbed my stomach and squished it, and laughed. I want to keep up with them. I want to look better. I want to feel better. I don't like the bloated face and feeling. I want my kids to think exercise and healthy foods and snacks are important. I've taken my 4 year old on 2 color runs (he loves them).

This is a constant challenge for me too. I'm anxious to hear what others suggest. My kids are older but they are all at home and still need me! I tend to go in spurts with my workouts depending on how I feel and how much time I have. I try to build in as much activity into my day as I can. I always take the steps instead of the elevator. If I have time, I'll take the long way to various buildings where I work, etc. Every little bit helps.

My husband drinks his protein shake for lunch and then takes the stairs in his bldg down to 1 st floor and then back to 12 th. work out during tv, hire a maid once a month for the deep clean. I did and it is completely worth it. Declutter your house. Easy to clean if you own very little

I'm a SAHM of 2, plus 2 step kids who live here part-time, ages 1-12. I workout every day when my 20 month old sleeps. He has a 90 minute nap from 12:30-2. I've learned to eat a good breakfast (but not too big) and then I feel I have enough energy at noon to get my butt down to the exercise room (in our house). I have a video monitor that I bring with me. Doing workout videos right now ("Slim in 6"). It's not easy because I am pretty lazy (disabling laziness?!) and I try not to do more than I have to after years of pain in my feet and back from being overweight. I'm not really heavy enough to act like that, but it is how I feel. I was light before my pregnancies and heavy after both of them. I've been doing workouts almost every day for 6 months and haven't lost much weight, and I attribute that to not dieting (eating 1400-1800 per day, burning off 2-400 calories), and not MOVING. So I have ordered myself a fitbit, which is a little wristwatch steps counter. I am going to FORCE myself to be more active. I have a cleaner once per week, but one thing I can do is do more deep-cleaning stuff (high dusting, windows), as the service doesn't regularly get those areas.

I wish there was someone around here who I could walk with! Maine anyone?!

Hi,
I am also on the east coast, have a 2.5 year old and a 15 month old. I also wake up at 5am normally and pick up the girls from daycare and get home around 5:30-6pm depending on traffic. My husband doesn't get home until 7-7:30 so I am on my own with the girls.
I'm with you, I would find it hard to get up any earlier than I do now for work, so I do exercise in the evenings. Sometimes, it falls through because of the girls. What I do is bake most of our dinners. I just marinate the meat or slap it in with spices and veggies and let it bake. This gives me at least a half an hour or 45 mins to do some kind of work out. It does fall through though, my youngest can be a clingy bug and I have to stop and change diapers, etc. Its one of the reasons I can't do exercise videos right now. So I use my exercise bike while the dinner is cooking. I get the kids settled with some toys or a kid tv show, maybe some crayons and coloring books. Right now they are into blocks so I just toss those around and watch them build towers while I exercise. If its weights day, I do that. Then I stretch, finish up dinner, eat, and dive into the shower when hubby gets home, bath the kids and then its quiet time/bed time for everyone. My husband and I will sometimes sit and watch tv for a bit but mostly we just chat about our day before falling asleep in the dark with the lights off.

Sometimes, the kids are just too hectic for my routine exercise. I still try to keep it moving though. Throw on some music and get everyone dancing or doing some little kid games. Or just run back and forth through the house, throw a ball around with them. It has the added bonus of them being calmer for dinner and more relaxed for bed because they get all their sillies out.

I try to get my cardio done in the mornings. I do all kinds of things at work throughout the day. I do tricep dips on my desk, leg extensions as I sit, while I fill up my big water bottle I do squats in front of the cooler. Sometimes I even skip to the bathroom. As funny as it sounds and probably looks, it's what I do to get it in.

WHERE in your busy day do you fit in your workouts? wherever I can
WHEN do you do them? whenever I can
HOW do you making working out a priority?I just do it

I'm in Massachusetts and I'm a runner. You most certainly CAN go outside, and there are plenty of people out. Seriously, I run between 5:30 and 7AM, and I will typically see at least a half dozen people out at that time, even when it's dark and in the single digits. Or I run at 9:30 after my kids are in bed... again.... there are a lot of people out. Last night, I went out at 10:00 PM and got a great show of the Aurora Borealis. It was six degrees, but I was perfectly comfortable.

You'll need a few things, though.

1. A headlamp
2. A reflective vest (these are cheap and you can buy them at ****s)
3. A ski mask if you're planning on going out in single digits or below zero (I do).
4. Shoes that keep you from slipping. If you're just walking, a pair of LLBean boots will probably work. If you're jogging, a pair of "trail running" shoes work well enough, or you can google "screw shoes winter" to learn how to make ice shoes out of a pair of old athletic shoes.
5. Maybe more layers? TJMaxx sells a lot of good stuff for cheap here if you don't mind your workout clothes not matching. But it's dark out!

My three kids are older now, so my challenge is working all day, then attending all of their practices/games/activities at night and on the weekends. I get up at 4:00 am 2-3 times a week to work out at the gym. When they were little, we had dance time every night. It was great exercise, it soothed the usual 7:00 pm fussy time for the baby, and they all three thought it was a blast! It was so much fun to accomplish exercising, soothing a fussy baby and bonding with all of my kids in one fell swoop.

I work fulltime I leave home at 5:45 and don't get home until 5:30 or 6:00 my kids are grown mostly gone. My husband is a truck driver hardly ever home to start supper. When i get home I quickly throw on supper and start my 30 day shred which takes about 30 mins. It is a intense workout and I can do that while supper is cooking on low.

I do my workouts in the early morning before everyone gets up, 5am. Nighttime prep is key for me. Coffeemaker, workout clothes, and work clothes are all ready to go with no fuss. Of course that's what works for me. I'm sure it's not for everyone. I like the ideas you've gotten for incorporating workouts throughout your work day. I personally just like having that part of my day checked off before I head out to work. Evenings are usually busy chauffering my super-busy-yet-too-young-to-drive teenagers around.

The other thing that's changed is I've discovered how incredibly unimportant television is. I'd much rather go to bed and get the sleep I need than watch some program on TV. Thanks to DVR and Netflix, I can watch the things I really like on the weekends and the rest is no longer as interesting as it used to be, at least not enough to keep me up past 10:00. Decent sleep powers my workouts and helps my willpower; I truly believe that when you don't sleep enough your body tries to recoup that missing "energy" by making you hungrier.

When I first started working out last year, I did my workouts in the mornings. I tend to go to bed late (11pm usually) but I still got up at 6:30 and worked out before getting the kids ready for school. I work full time, but I work at home. So now I have started trying a different schedule of not showering when I get up and then doing my workout and showering when I can fit it in during the day. I know you don't have that opportunity, though.

I would say make yourself get up 30 minutes earlier in the morning and do a 20-30 minute workout. I did 30 Day Shred as my first workout last year and that fit in with my busy schedule well. Fitnessblender.com has some great short workouts that I would highly recommend if you want more variety.