Mom of a 14 month old!

I have the same issue with my 14 month old. I will lay on the floor to do crunches and he climbs on my chest or try to do jumping Jacks and he walks up to me and trys to grab my legs. I feel mean because I tell him no but I need 30 minutes to myself.

Nap time?

We have an 18 month old- I have to get up at 4:30am to make it happen. There's no other way because of; stairs, remotes, sharp corners, little fingers, sticky fingers, etc. I'm in the Midwest, so maybe once spring roles around I can get out wiht the jogger ( I hope that doesn't mean I have to jog- that looks ridiculous) haha.

I don't mean this in an inflammatory way, but you can either make excuses & find ways to NOT do something, or you can make it happen. I am the single parent of a 4-year old so I can safely say, "been there, done that."

Set a nap time & enforce it (you may say it's impossible but I guarantee you if you put her in a daycare, she'd be napping regularly within a couple days).

Or get your husband to keep her in bed so she doesn't jump up like a jack in the box so that you can work out early in the am.

Or join a gym that has child care included while you work out (some gyms offer mommy-and-me programs and/or exercise programs for kids as young as 12 months (I'm sure some are for even younger) so that your kid can get some of her crazies out while you do your thing). If that's not financially possible, find a workout buddy who has a kid & you can trade-off and give each other a bit of time while the other watches the kiddos (or a neighbor, or a relative, or...whatever).

Or simply teach your kid that there are rules - do not come near the treadmill when it's on, do not sit/jump/bounce on mommy when on this exercise mat, etc. She won't "get it" the first time, but eventually, she will. I am not a big fan of using the TV as a babysitter but half an hour of Blues Clues each day is a small price to pay for your sanity & health.

Sometimes you just gotta suck it up & find a way to work around/through the hurdles....or don't exercise till she's 18 and goes off to college. Your choice.

Also - it's a personal choice, but if having her sleeping in your bed is impacting your ability to get quiet time in the mornings, you could consider moving her to her own bed/room. It sounds like you need some downtime, and being a mom is hard enough if you're not getting good sleep.

I use the treadmill, punching bag, pole, spin bike with my kids in the room if need be - I use a play pen or the baby gate made in a circle. Yup, a baby cage. works like a charm.