Fitting Exercise in with busy schedule

30 minutes is 30 minutes...A little bit is better then nothing and I don't think 30 minutes is too less. All the cleaning and running around could constitute as exercise if you choose to include it as some. Once you get use to waking up at 4:45, it will come easily. It will be part of your routine and you won't be tired anymore. I find exercising makes me sleep better anyways! Good luck!

I have the same problem. I'm a single mom, who works full-time. There isn't a way for me to go to a gym, so I have to figure out how to work out at home and at a time when I'm not working or being mom. The only time I've found that works for me is in the morning. I get up at 4:30 a.m. every day - and it sucks. But I keep doing it so that I can work on me. I try to go to bed right at 10:00, so I'm only getting 6 hours of sleep or so. But, that works for me - you might have to adjust your bed time, which is also sucky - but it's worth it. I run/walk on a treadmill 3-4 times a week and do a DVD the other days. And some days, I only get in 30 minutes, some days, I get in 45 or so. I save my hour long workouts for the weekends. I've been doing this routine for almost a year - but now, it's getting really hard to get up in the morning, so my workouts are getting shorter and shorter - or I'm fitting it in at night, when I don't have plans. But - keep trying... after you do it for a couple of weeks, it does become more habitual and you get used to it. Good luck! And you are not alone

I hope this doesn't come across rude or judgemental, but seems like you need to rearrange your "housework and other obligations." You need to make sure you (and your health) are more important to you than those chores. Maybe some of those things can wait till the weekend when you have more time? Delegate them to someone else?

I struggle with this too. Right now, my work is very slow so I am in this great work-out routine. But, I know that by the time mid-January comes around, it will be much harder. I don't have any great answers for you. For me, I know it has involved some compromises. I don't like running at night, for example, but I have been doing this when I can't fit it in earlier.

I will say that working-out has largely replaced TV time for me. Both activities let me unfocus my mind and relax. I have also tried to integrate some other things into fitness-related activities. For example, I plan family activities like bike riding or playing soccor in the park.

Finally, I just organized a group of 20 people in my office that want to run together in the mornings. Our new office building has a small shower/locker room. So, hopefully, I can grab a few runs a week right before work.

As I said, there is no easy answer and sometimes you will have to miss a workout because of a competing priority, but keep plugging away at it.

Best of Luck!!!

--Carter

It is definitely a commitment to fit working out into a busy schedule. I don't have kids so that is one reason I can make it to the gym so much. I do wake up early (between 4:30 - 5:30 depending on the day) and go to the gym for 1 1/2 to 2 hours then go to work from 9 - 6 and go back to the gym for another hour after work. One plus for me is that my gym is right next door to work so I can shower at the gym then go to work, but the negative is that I live 45 minutes away from work and the gym. I usually get home around 8 and in bed by 9:30.

I have been doing this schedule for so long that it is a habbit now and I am actually more tired when I don't go to the gym in the morning. Even if you can only fit in 30 min a couple times a day is better than nothing - or go for one long session. I prepare all my food ahead of time and get everything ready the night before so I can just get up and go in the morning. It just takes a lot of dedication and commitment to have no free time (lol).

I have a very busy schedule myself (not this week as I am on vacation). However, I usually work 40-45 hours a week. I used to say I cannot workout in the morning either. However, I found out that once you get used to getting up early, it becomes second nature, just a part of your day. I have to get up at 4:30 myself to get to the gym by 5:00 am and be thru by 6:00; so I can shower and be to work by 7:30.

or

Can you workout during your lunch hour?

Good luck, you can do this, just need to make up your mind it is important to you, and you will find the time to fit in the exercise.

WIth a husband who works long hours, my 40 hour work week + commute, two kids, and three dogs, I FEEL YOUR STRUGGLE. Time has been my biggest obstacle! I got a membership at a gym that has one by my house and one by work. I've started squeezing in 30 minutes of elliptical work on my lunch break. I'm not always back in time, but my boss has worked with me on making up those 5 or 10 minutes. If I have errands to run or have to work through lunch, I try to go by the gym before I get home. (Once I get home, I'm NOT going back to gym!) Even if you can't get a full work out in, little 10 minute walks here and there (as many have suggested) WILL help. Try browning meat in morning for dinner, or crock-pot meals. Any prep I can do in the morning for dinner frees up some time after work for the gym and I don't feel like I'm abandoning my family
I'm going to try some of the suggestions I just read, like an hour-long workout at gym on weekends, early in AM before family gets up and moving around. Personally, I've just had to try different things and stick with what works. Tweak your schedule until you find something that becomes a habit. BEST WISHES!!!!

Here's my daily schedule:

Long Day at School

5am to 6am--wake up and get ready for the day (shower, dress, etc.); pack my cooler for the day
6am to 8am--leave for school; snack on a portable breakfast
8am to 9:15am--first class
9:30am to 10:45am--second class; snack
11am to 12:15pm--third class
12:30pm--1:45pm--fourth class
1:45pm to 2:15pm--eat lunch
2:15pm to 4pm--exercise on campus or hit the computer lab to work on projects
4pm to 5:15pm--fifth class; snack
5:15pm to 7:15pm--Drive home
7:30pm to 8pm--prepare dinner
8pm to 8:30pm--dinner with the family
8:30pm to 10pm--exercise or study (depends on what I did earlier in the day)

Short Day at School

5am to 6am--get up and get ready for the day; eat breakfast
6am to 7am--first client
7am to 8am--second client
8am to 9am--third client
9am to 9:30am--drive to town; snack
9:30am to 10:30am--teach aerobics
10:30am to 11:30am--teach yoga or pilates
11:30am to 12pm--drive back home
12pm to 1pm--handle candle business (my second home based business)
1pm to 2pm--eat lunch; pack my snacks for school
2pm to 4pm--drive to school
4pm to 5:15pm--sixth class; snack
5:15 to 7:15pm--drive home from school (yes, school is 2 hours away and 2 days a week I only have one class down there. It sucks!)
7:30pm to 8pm--prepare dinner
8pm to 8:30pm--dinner with the family
8:30pm to 10pm--exercise or study

As you can see, there is no time for cleaning the house or anything remotely looking like housework. My DH and kids (two teenagers) have to pull their own weight by helping around the house. I catch it and my candle business stuff up on weekends. The best thing I ever did for myself was buy a day planner. I block off my time and stick to my schedule. If a client is late, they forfeit that time because I'm not going to take that time from the next client, or risk the next client being late for their stuff to give them both the full hour. At least that is what I tell them. Honestly, I'm not going to let their being late throw off my schedule for the rest of the day because I just don't have the time to spare. I'm sure you can block off your time and add in a workout wherever you find a free time in the day. On days that I have a lot of studying to do or projects to work on and I know that the time I have designated to workout or study will be devoted to studying, I use my 15 minute breaks between classes to sneak in some extra activity. I power walk to the next class, do a few jumping jacks, squats, desk push ups, dips, etc. when I get there, and have even gotten a few of my classmates to join me in our activity breaks. Those 15 minute breaks add up when you use all of them for activity. I know in offices you're suppose to have a 15 minute break a couple of times a day and a lunch break, so I'm sure you can fit in some things during those. Also, you can keep some light hand weights, maybe an under desk bike, or a stability ball in your office to get some in while talking on the phone or doing your work. You can do it!!! It just takes planning.