Time for exercise !!? ADVICE please !

Oh my goodness...a 4 hour commute total..I am so sorry! I'd be exhausted as well. If you are really looking to fit it in, it may have to be a routine within something you are already doing. Not sure what your job is but if you are in a building..I would run flights of stairs on breaks or get an excercise ball to use as a chair. You can bounce on it while sitting, it constantly activates your core. At home...dance while cooking.Oh man..I wish I had a million ideas for you!

I have a similar situation, although not quite as bad on the commute (1-1/2 hours each way). I am finally trying to overcome it by adjusting my thinking a bit. On the days that I have the long commute, I wear a pedometer and try to focus on getting "activity," not "exercise." What kind of work do you do? Can you use a lunch or break time to go for a brisk walk? Even if it is inside your building? Use an activity conversion chart for the time you spend at the stables, which does count (as does housework, etc). I also started doing "fitness minutes" while I"m at my desk. When I need a break from the computer, I try to do some sort of activity for 60 seconds to fit in as many "steps" as I can. If I can shut my door, I may do some squats or jumping jacks; otherwise I may just do some isometrics (clench and release) or some stretches. I also do the tried and true of parking further away from the building (in your case, could you get off your train a stop or two earlier?), walking over to see colleagues instead of sending an email or calling, etc. At the end of the day, I'm often surprised to see how the pedometer has tallied up several thousand additional steps from all of this. Then of course, on your days off, you have to committ to going to the gym and getting your "good" workouts. Also, you might try getting some small hand weights or DVD workouts and using them at home in the morning to compensate for not going to the gym. I get up at 4:45am, do a 30-minute video workout, and can make it out of the house on schedule.

Believe me, I have been where you are, and told myself I just don't have time to fit in any exercise. But then I saw a cartoon of a doctor asking an overweight patient, "Which fits into your schedule better, 30 minutes of exercise a day, or 24 hours of being dead?" That was a little bit of a wakeup call to me that I cannot allow my work schedule (or Life, in general) to be an excuse anymore. I made myself and my health more of a priority, and I'm finding that on most days, I really can fit in some activity that is meaningful and is helping me reach my goals (even if it isn't a full 30 minutes). Of course I have those long days when I am absolutely drained and I just can't do it. But that makes me even more conscientious the next day, to make up for it.

Good luck. Try to think in baby steps - you don't need to do a perfect session at a gym every day for it to count as a workout. Every little bit that you do fit in will be beneficial, and when you get a chance to do the longer workouts, make them count! Don't give up!!!!