Gym or Family?....

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  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    That is a false dichotomy. Stop making excuses and find a way to make it work.

    Are you doing any workouts at home? Not all of your active time needs to be gym time.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
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    I agree with several above.. if they are safe and happy you are putting yourself in a position to be with them much longer in life!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Whilst I can see this working with the 11 year old, two pre-schoolers would most probably mean that workout becomes mothering and OP would not achieve her goals
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Have you thought about activities that you could do as a family? Bike riding, hiking, sports, games, active video games.

    Not sure what you mean. I took my toddlers hiking (in backpack carriers when they were too small to keep up), biking (in a trailer before they had their own), on walks in a stroller, we danced, we played outside, we climbed and ran and jumped and had fun. I did consider this part of mothering as much or more than "exercising" but I stayed quite fit doing it.

    Depends a lot on the kids. We like hiking, but the last times we tried with the kids, well, we had to hear my daughter wail half the time, so we've pretty much given up on hiking (and vacations, too. My daughter almost ruined our last vacation because she was whining and crying every time we had to walk 5 minutes). And they don't like sports either.

    It's very annoying.

    But yeah, there are kids who are very much into that stuff, so it's worth a shot.
  • smcrimmon84
    smcrimmon84 Posts: 135 Member
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    I totally understand this struggle as I work full time and have a 6 year old and 3 year old. I do sometimes feel like I am *choosing* the gym over hanging out with them on weeknights. I have an awesome husband who is super helpful and its still hard! I workout 5-6 days a week - one day I get up at 430 am and go before the rest of the house wakes up, 2 days I go after they go to bed at 8, one day I go at 645ish after we are done with dinner and my husband handles bath/bedtime and the other 2 days of the week are weekends so they are easy - I either go early before anyone else is really doing much of anything or take the kids with me - they love the childcare at the gym. It's easy to rationalize it on the weekends because I have all day with them but weekdays are much harder!
  • olympian41
    olympian41 Posts: 17 Member
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    I've struggled with this in the past but just recently got back into the swing of things and go daily. My 1hr per day of exercise is part of my health commitment to my family - if I'm going to be here to spend more time with them in the future I need to invest in myself NOW.
  • rockstargreatness
    rockstargreatness Posts: 23 Member
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    Could you play tag with your boys? That gets some activity in and involves you all.

    You could also bike with them or maybe walk a short distance with them.

    Do you have sports equipment. You could play basketball/baseball/tennis etc. with them.

    Or you could blare some music and dance with them. (Don't even need to go outside for this one.)

    These are some suggestions.

  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
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    maddox93 wrote: »
    I always feel so guilty going to the gym for a couple hours, instead of spending that little free time I have from work and daily life/errands with my 3 boys and family. I use to workout 5 days a week when I only had 1, the more children the harder it gets to commit. I also have metabolic syndrome caused by PCOS if I don't workout like a fiend I basically don't lose anything, my body hates to give up the weight without a fight!! Any suggestions on either issue? Thanks! :-)

    I completely understand where you're coming from. What I had to do was start waking up at 5AM and exercising at home at that hour. I have BeachBody on Demand (standard disclaimer: I am not a coach, I do not drink that ShakeAwfully stuff, etc.) , and really like the P90X3 workouts. Other people on MFP use FitnessBlender on YouTube. I don't like the idea of going to the gym and taking away from time with my kids, either (I see them for two, maybe three hours a day on weekdays), so working out at home before they get up works for me.
  • Bbeliever215
    Bbeliever215 Posts: 234 Member
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    I wake up at 4:30 am 5-6 days a week before my hubby and kids are up. I also go on Sundays around 10 am. I look forward to the gym every single time. I do count it as my me time as I can zone out and not have to worry about anything. Sundays my husband and I either take turns going to the gym or go together if my mother watches them.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    I have 4 kids and have dealt with similar issues as you OP. I got daily burn and stream it to my TV, do the workouts after the kids go to sleep, sometimes my 3 and 6yo are awake and they try to do them with me. Otherwise we try and hike and do walks around the neighborhood together. I'm training for a half marathon now, so when the weather allows, my 6 yo will ride his bike with me while I run. When the weather stinks I wait and go to my works small gym after the kids have gone to bed.
  • napilibay
    napilibay Posts: 121 Member
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    I have two little boys and have struggled finding time, but I definitely workout on the weekend which gives me only three days during the work week. I do one evening workout at home after 7, so I spend dinner and some playtime. Then two days I get up early before they wake, and workout at home. I vote to work from home to help save you some time!
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,520 Member
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    Why would you feel guilty about taking care of yourself, improving your health, and showing your children that self-care and health are a priority?

    Get up earlier, go to the gum earlier, minimize the amount of unnecessary time spent at the gym (like a shower), food prep on the weekends, so you spend less time in the kitchen during the week, do cardio at home with the kids (ride bikes with the kids, push a jogging stroller). Guilt is a lame excuse.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
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    I workout 6 days a week, I don't feel guilty about it. When I'm happy, my family is happy :)

    Seriously though, I spend at most 60-70 minutes at the gym 2-3 days a week including showering and getting dressed. My kids can handle being away from me for that amount of time and I refuse to feel guilty about it. Heck, a Disney movie is longer than that and they beg me to watch a movie instead of spending quality time with me ;)

    The other days I workout are either before they are awake or after they are at school.
  • namelesshere
    namelesshere Posts: 334 Member
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    Its what you do with the kids in the time you have with them that they will remember, not the time you didn't spend with them. On my father's death bed he was lamenting that he didn't spend as much time as he wanted with us as kids, but I hopefully made him realize that I had only good memories of our times spent together which in reality was a lot from a kid's viewpoint. Read the bedtime stories before you go if you are going to miss bedtime. Spend some time doing crafts, or cooking a simple appetizer snack for their supper with them, and I guarantee they will just know they have a loving, happy momma that does fun stuff with them.
  • KatrinaGrey
    KatrinaGrey Posts: 101 Member
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    There were some great suggestions already. Just wanted to add that being healthy and setting a good example is a wonderful gift to children. A few hours a week by yourself is a good thing as well and you can make some days a family outing if possible!
  • mrtastybutt
    mrtastybutt Posts: 87 Member
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    I think that taking time to take care of yourself is a great thing to do for your kids. They will appreciate it so much when they are old enough to do so.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    My wife and I swap nights...gym time for her means daddy and kid time...gym time for daddy means mommy and kid time. Our health and wellness and "me" time is just as important to us as family time. We also make lots of time on weekends to be together and active as a family...whether that's a hike, a family bike ride, swimming, or just a few hours walking around the zoo...we try to be active rather than sitting around the house watching t.v. or playing with ipads, etc. We view all of this, including out dedicated training time as positive examples for our kids.

    I would add that you don't need to spend 2 hours every night in the gym...I don't spend anymore than an hour. I only go to the gym three nights per week to lift and I cycle 4-5 days per week...I generally do my cycling in the wee hours of the morning before work or at lunch.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Change your thinking.
    GYM time is not "free time." It is scheduled time for your health and thus the wellness your family as well.

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