Parents of young kids

samchez0
samchez0 Posts: 364 Member
edited November 11 in Health and Weight Loss
When do you typically work out? Do you do it when your children are awake? Do they enjoy working out with you or how else Do you keep them occupied? My kids are 5 & 2 so they are all about helping mom workout but a lot of the time they are getting in the way or fighting with each other.

Replies

  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    I don't have kids, but my cousin's fiance has a young baby who just turned 1! She goes for walks with him pretty often. Any way you can corral them for a walk around a pond, or playing in the playground?
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I joined the Y, which has an hour of free babysitting. When my daughter was old enough I put her in their preschool program, which gave me 3 hours of free time. It worked wonders for me. Saved my sanity.

    I just had a baby and have to wait for clearance from my Doctor to return to the gym, and man do I miss it already.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    edited January 2015
    I have 3 kids, but only the youngest is home, he's almost 3. I usually get something in while he is napping. If not, then I wait until they all go to bed. If the days are warm I put him in the jogging stroller and hit the greenway for a walk.

    ETA: on the weekends we hike as a family and either my husband or I will put the baby in a Kelty backpack and go. He's logged a lot of miles in that thing. :)
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    My daughter is 7. It was super hard to find time when she was younger. Now she is old enough that I don't have to have her within sight, thank goodness. Can you get up early to exercise? A walk with a stroller us nice in theory but, frankly exercise is "me" time and the last thing I'd want is to have to deal with kids during it.
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    I lift at night once hes tucked up in bed. On the weekends I lift or run while the husband looks after him. My wee man is two and loves to talk about how mummy runs and lifts weights lol
  • AbsoluteTara79
    AbsoluteTara79 Posts: 266 Member
    I have a 3 year old and 1 year old. I go to the gym or workout at home after they go to bed. I used to be a work-out-in-the-morning person...But I've found that a non-starter now that I have two kids to get out the door in the mornings on top of a long commute.
  • mila0130
    mila0130 Posts: 12 Member
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  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    My 8 year old son works out with me sometimes, but I get up at 5 am 4 days a week to ensure nothing gets in the way of getting it done!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I either wake up early and workout before they wake up, I go for bike rides when my husband is home and can watch them, or I hire a sitter, and I go lift weights at the gym with a daycare.
  • samchez0
    samchez0 Posts: 364 Member
    I can't do mornings cause I'm not a morning person and won't get out of bed. Evening time I usually reserve for doing any homework I have. I've found that I'm most likely to stick with working out if I do it around 8:30-9 before I go into work. It works for me, just means I have two little cheerleaders working beside me and occasionally need to stop for emergency potty runs :wink:

    I would kill for a gym membership but unfortunately it's not in the budget.
  • nlehe
    nlehe Posts: 10 Member
    A gym with childcare is key for me. My Y has fantastic kids rooms. On days I can't make it, I do a DVD or YouTube workout during naptime or before kids wake up in the morning!
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    I work and have 2 kids (6&7y/o). I have joined gyms in the past, but they were 24 hour gyms and I would leave to go at 4am since it took 30 minutes to get there. Left me with 1 hour to workout and then back to the house to get ready for work leaving the house by 730. After 3 months of beating myself up and my workout partner bailing on me I decided home workouts are best for me. I can get an extra hour of sleep (since I get up at 5am). But I am able to get my meals ready for the day as soon as I'm done and then get showered. No more mad dashes. I have used several DVDs to get me to where I am now. I love the fact I can roll out of bed and get to it and not have to wait for a machine only to choose the lowly dreadmill or eliptical. Figure what works best for you that you know you will stick to. The first day is the most difficult, but after that it is routine :) Feel free to add me for support!
  • TripZeros
    TripZeros Posts: 144 Member
    I have a two year old son who has his own (light dumbbell) weight set. When I'm lifting I usually turn on a movie/music, or set up coloring/painting, or he workouts out with me for as long as he likes. I also workout when he's asleep, or throughout the day when there are a few minutes free. I also get tons of use out of my jogging stroller!
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
    I get up waaaaaaay early so I'm done by the time they wake up.
  • szkodzt
    szkodzt Posts: 124 Member
    I am a working mom to three - 7, 4 and almost 2. What works best for me is getting up a 5 AM and working out at home (running on treadmill or Jillian Michaels DVD). I can workout and be showered before my kids wake up and then get them ready and we are all out the door by 7:30.
  • imabeevampire
    imabeevampire Posts: 166 Member
    Mines 4 I either work out really early before he wakes up, or he joins in if he wakes up. Or I swim while he is at nursery.
  • 1sisrat
    1sisrat Posts: 267 Member
    i have a 2 1/2 yr old and a 7 month old. I fit it in when I can... I try to get to the gym right after work for 2 nights a week, where I do HIIT workout and lift weights. On the other nights I'll try to fit in anything from a 15 min- 30 min something right after they go to bed or while dinner is in the oven, and my husband feeds the baby and my toddler plays. It's hard when they are young, but, anything helps. On weekends we go for family walks when the weather is nice.
  • samanthalynn84
    samanthalynn84 Posts: 14
    During the week I have been getting up before them to do yoga but if they are up they love doing yoga as well (my youngest is quite fond of doing the downward dog and the planks- his form is better then mine on the plank).
  • HappilyDistracted
    HappilyDistracted Posts: 1,700 Member
    Lunch time at work. If I couldn't do that, I'd join a gym with free childcare. I used to run with the stroller and dog, but once my son became more mobile, it didn't work out as well. We still do short walks. And sometimes I follow videos online, but they get in the way.
  • Jaywalker_7
    Jaywalker_7 Posts: 68 Member
    I found a really good but used jogging stroller that I used to use daily. Strapped her in and off we went. You can usually find them on craigslist or an online yard sale type site for reasonable prices. I wanted a good one that accommodated older kids (my kiddo is 3) with a higher weight limit. On days when I had more time, she would run around the park with me. She loved it. Now that it's cold here, I usually go to the gym before she's up (I am NOT a morning person either but I force myself to get up) or i pop in a workout video and she dances with me. Also, i know you said that financially the gym may not be an option, but maybe check and see if you have a YMCA near you, the one near me does memberships at a lesser fee based on income. Good luck! Try new things and find what works.
  • CObluegrass
    CObluegrass Posts: 61 Member
    working mom here who gets up at 5:30am to start getting ready for work so I refuse to get up any earlier to work out. My son goes to bed at 8pm and I promptly go downstairs to work out. We have an elliptical machine as well as weights, bands, kettlebell, yoga ball and BOSU ball. I wish I could exercise at another time but I'm not willing to get up time with my son when he's awake. I'm currently recovering from surgery, but I also normally try to walk a couple of miles over my lunch hour or go walk stairs in the tall building next door.
  • ArkMom35
    ArkMom35 Posts: 225 Member
    My children are 7, 5, 3, and almost 1. When I had three I swore I had no time to exercise. Now that I have four I think things are a bit easier because the older two go to school all day. I exercise during my little one's first morning nap, which is usually around 10. I set my 3 year old up with a tv show (*gasp*) and exercise! Yesterday afternoon before we picked the kids up from school we also took a nice walk (baby in the stroller, 3 year old on his bike).
  • RNGRZulu
    RNGRZulu Posts: 3,964 Member
    At first we tried brining our infant to the gym and using the babysitting room. We couldn't get through two sets before they'd call us to come get her due to her hysterical screaming!

    Unfortunately, my wife and I have had to work out separately. Once in a while we can go together when we're both off and the kids are in school.

    Some day we will be able to go together again. For now, Daddy has to learn to take care of the kids so Mommy can workout.
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