I'm having a really hard time "starting" to exercise. Help!
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Do you get a lunch hour or coffee break? Can you take a fifteen or twenty minute walk during lunch break or coffee break?
You don't have to start huge. Start small. Ten minutes of exercise is better than none.
Yes. I'm lucky enough to get an hour lunch. So will start using that to my advantage.0 -
You can do squats, push ups, leg lifts, lunges and more while you cook. It doesn't all have to be one big chunk of time, spread it out.0
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carroyo1986 wrote: »I really need some motivation to start. I've been doing OK in the nutrition area, so I think that will help but anytime I think about doing exercise I just get tired, instantly.
Here are my excuses (that I don't want to be excuses anymore):
1. I work all day. Leave my house at 7am and get back at 7pm.
2. Once I get home I cook my meals for the next day, don't go to sleep until 10 or 11.
3. In between getting meals ready, I get my son ready for bed and all the night winding down things that go with it. (My husband helps, but sometimes he just wants "mommy")
4. I have tried waking up in the morning an hour before to try an exercise, but my energy level is still very low and I just get lazy and don't get up.
Please help with any suggestions you think my help. Perhaps stuff to organize myself a little better because as I right this....it seems that might be my problem, learning to manage my time a little better.
Help!
I dunno, become a man so you don't have to take care of everything in the household along with working full time? </sarcasm>
Maybe you should try doing the bulk of your cooking and all the prep on Sundays? Seriously I don't know how you're spending 3-4 hours a day cooking but that sounds excessive. I feel confident that you can find ways to pare that down.
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I cook four to five meals on sunday afternoon and organize them into small containers, divide them up to four portions. This way, after my 9 hour work day, when I go home, I have food ready in two minutes, have 30 minutes for workout, shower, work more and sleep. Try preparing your meals ahead of time, not during the week, saves a lot of time! Also try a 30 minute intense workout, you don't have to wake up one hour earlier, try a shorter workout to start with. I'm doing T25 it's 25 minutes and great!0
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Sometimes when I'm lacking motivation to exercise, I go ahead and log it. Then it pops up in my news feed where my friends like it and comment on it. Then I HAVE to do it so that I'm not a liar and I'm not letting my friends down. Amazing what peer pressure can do!0
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http://neilarey.com/workouts.html
This is a great site for getting some workout routines. There is even one in there for doing during commercial breaks while watching TV. I think you could modify a few to do with your little one as a game. As you begin to exercise more you will have more energy and therefore will become more inclined to exercise! It can be a "vicious" cycle!
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With your schedule you need to get your *kitten* up and do it first thing in the morning.
MAKE YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE to you and to someone else. Find someone on here that you can check in with and who will give you pure hell for NOT doing it if you say you are going to.
I wake up at 4:45 and workout at 5am at least 3 out of the 5 weekdays...usually 4.
Bed is comfy. Bed is nice. It's warm and cozy. But it doesn't burn calories.
I don't want to get out of bed most days, but I do it because I have to and that's when it fits my schedule. After about 3 weeks, my body was TOTALLY used to getting up.
I also love that it's DONE for the day by 6am and I only need one shower...
No one said that this was going to be easy. It's not. If it was, everyone would be doing it. But you are awesome. Awesome people get their *kitten* up and work for what they want. DO IT! 0 -
I don't really have anything new to add (except you said there are stairs in your office, so you could try running a few flights of stairs up and down during your day), you've got some great suggestions here.
I just want to say you're awesome for taking the tough love advice as well as the other advice, and not getting upset by it! Good luck!0 -
It's been a long time since I've been in your situation, and almost didn't answer, but here's a thought. Decide if you want to exercise by yourself---a "my time" idea, or if you can handle exercising (and the distractions) of exercising with your child. I have to get up early to exercise by myself, before doing things for everyone else. Also, I'm a morning person and have more energy then. If that won't work, could you exercise with your lively 3 yr old? Kids usually like jumping around, and it would tire him out before bed--a win-win situation (I remember trying to get a 3 yr old to wind down and sleep). I always took my 2 little boys to the park to run after pre-school. They had to be exhausted, eat,and then bed. This is just a passing phase and won't last forever. You've gotten lots of good ideas. I wish you luck.
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pinterest is a good place to find slow cooker recipes and freezer meal recipes. You could also get your active three year old to work out with you when you have time in the evenings. When my boys were little I made them dumbbells outs of cardboard tubes and construction paper so that they could work out with me. Youtube is also a great place to find quick 10 minute workouts. You don't have to do a full hour in one sitting, but 10 minutes a day can help you lead up to longer workouts eventually.0
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With your schedule you need to get your *kitten* up and do it first thing in the morning.
MAKE YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE to you and to someone else. Find someone on here that you can check in with and who will give you pure hell for NOT doing it if you say you are going to.
I wake up at 4:45 and workout at 5am at least 3 out of the 5 weekdays...usually 4.
Bed is comfy. Bed is nice. It's warm and cozy. But it doesn't burn calories.
I don't want to get out of bed most days, but I do it because I have to and that's when it fits my schedule. After about 3 weeks, my body was TOTALLY used to getting up.
I also love that it's DONE for the day by 6am and I only need one shower...
No one said that this was going to be easy. It's not. If it was, everyone would be doing it. But you are awesome. Awesome people get their *kitten* up and work for what they want. DO IT!
Thank you! I love the "Bed is comfy..." quote. I blew it up and posted it up on my wall so it's the first thing I see when I get up.
Now to find someone who will make me accountable for my morning workouts.
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carroyo1986 wrote: »4. I have tried waking up in the morning an hour before to try an exercise, but my energy level is still very low and I just get lazy and don't get up.
On this point, just do it. It may be tough at first, but make it a habit - you'll get used to it.
OR ....wake up 10 minutes early and do a 10 minute workout. Then after a week or two, make that a 20 minute workout, then 30 minutes, etc. Google 10 minute workouts....there are a bunch. They make 10 Minute Solution DVDs too.
Aim for some kind of progress. Even baby steps are progress.0 -
For me, it came to doing my workouts at 5:30 a.m. That was the only time of the day I could get them in due to a heavy work/travel schedule. As for starting, it helped me to have event goals, such as a run or a tri as a target. That gave me incentive. To me, routine is also important. Once you get started, keep going. Momentum helps.0
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You have an insane work schedule. Can you squeeze extra activity in your day, like taking the stairs? I wear a Fitbit and track my steps daily. I met some warehouse ladies who with their step counters found out that they were getting in more than the Canada Health guidelines every day just running around the warehouse. Your body adapts to the new norm pretty quickly, and you will get to a place where exercise is invigorating.0
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Don’t be upset by the results you didn’t get with the work you didn’t do.0
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Do you have an hour lunch? If so use 25 minutes of it and spend the rest of it walking, jogging, go to the gym to lift, etc. If you really want it you will find the time to do it. You need to also find something that you really enjoy so you will look forward to it and really miss it when you can't do it for a day. I cannot exercise in the morning either- I am half asleep, but now I am walking thirty minutes after work. And my husband has picked up on helping more around the house. Tonight he actually made dinner. Hmmmm.0
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When you cook double the recipe and put half in the freezer for another day. Most things freeze okay.
Use a slow cooker.
Make a large pot of soup once a week. Have leftovers.
Trade off cooking duties with your spouse.
Eat low prep items like eggs, sandwiches, or pasta.
Exercise doesn't have to take hours every day. You could do short workouts. You can combine exercise with other tasks. Dance or walk while your food cooks for example.
If you work in an office you could do some exercises at your desk. Look up chair workouts.0 -
Try bodybuilding.com - they have plans , for beginners too, and for busy people. I'm using it (: I recently started the plan called "Rewired", but there is one especially for busy people.0
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It's 20-30 minutes of your day.
When you're ready, you'll do it. 0 -
Exercise during commercial breaks on TV. You can get in about 20 minutes during a one hour show.
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