Work and exercise!!

AKAmplished_Pearl
AKAmplished_Pearl Posts: 48 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm an elementary school teacher and I'm trying to come up with a plan to incorporate my daily workout and work. With only 20 minutes to eat, I kept fast food on speed dial. Now that I'm on summer break, I've been eating healthy with each meal, working out for an hour or more a day, and getting adequate enough sleep. I'm NOT a morning person, so I don't know when I will get my workout in. I commute 30 minutes to work(one-way) and I'm a mother of 4+ a wife to an amazing husband. (He works until late) Any suggestions?

Replies

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    I'm a mom of 5 and I had to become a morning person to fit my workout in.

    I go to the gym at 5am.
  • AKAmplished_Pearl
    AKAmplished_Pearl Posts: 48 Member
    Did you have to train your body to get up or are you naturally a morning person?
  • knempress
    knempress Posts: 62 Member
    Second the 5 am workout. I'm a teacher with two small kids and a commute as well. I don't think I'm a "morning person." It's very hard to get up, but the benefits are worth it for me. There are so many out of shape teachers in the buildings where I teach, and most of them think I'm just "naturally" skinny, rather than a result of hard work and dedication.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    How long is your commute? Possible to do it by bike? (Think of the calories, the savings in gas, etc.)
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I had to train my body to get up earlier. Try just a quick 20 min workout video first thing in the morning. You could also try a brisk walk right after work. Is there a gym available?
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
    Based on your schedule and home life it sounds like morning would be your best time to get it in. I take 6 am classes 3 times a week. The first month or so was rough and for me when the time changes it's a little harder to drive to the gym in the dark versus now where it's light out. I've been doing mornings awhile now and my alarm is set to go off at 5 and most mornings I wake up about 5 to 10 minutes before that because my body is just used to it now.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    AKAmplished_Pearl wrote: »
    Did you have to train your body to get up or are you naturally a morning person?

    I am definitely not a morning person. I had to have the clothes all laid out and not get back in bed after my night pee. I just think about if I don't get up someone else is gonna take the dang squat rack. :laugh:
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    Can you work out with the kids after school. Bike rides play basketball etc
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I had to train my body to get up earlier. Try just a quick 20 min workout video first thing in the morning. You could also try a brisk walk right after work. Is there a gym available?

    This^

    Instead of trying for the whole workout (and failing)......fit in a smaller workout. Build some consistency there, then add on.
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
    Another 5am working mom here. I've sacrificed evenings to work out. My *kitten* is in bed by ten. Up at 4ish. Wild life, I tell you, but so worth it
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    I'm also not a morning person. I train before work, though; and have been doing so for about 5 years now.
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    I'm not a morning person either, but I've learned to get up anyway.

    Pro tip: sleep in your workout clothes. If you're already dressed for the gym, it's kind of hard to talk yourself out of it.
  • Roxywings
    Roxywings Posts: 5 Member
    edited June 2017
    Hi There! I use an app called Runtastic Results. It gives you a fitness plan builds you a custom 12 week customizable workout plan that you can do anywhere and they take under 30 minutes each! Because they are short and don't require any equipment, I find it easy to fit in a solid workout.
    You do have to pay for a membership, but at $40 a year for a membership to the Runtastic website, I consider it well worth it! (and SO MUCH cheaper than a gym or trainer)
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  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    [1] Cram it in directly after work before heading home (depending on time, might make commute either easier or harder).
    [2] Start some sort of running club or something for the kids at the school (if an option).
    [3] Use a free period you would otherwise use for grading, and do the grading in the evening while watching the (your) kids. (I have no idea how your school is structured and whether this would even be an option).
    [4] Fit in some recreational activities with your kids (bike rides/hikes) (not as strenuous as you might like, but better than nothing).
    [5] Late night gym session/early morning gym session
  • Jdismybug1
    Jdismybug1 Posts: 443 Member
    Here is my regiment: I'm usually out the door on the way to drop off my daughter at preschool/daycare a few minutes after 5 am. We stop and get coffee, she's at school by 5:30 and I commute 25 miles to work by 6am.
    I leave work at usually around 3:30 ish, give or take if there is something needing addressing.
    Get home usually by 4:30 or 5 because of traffic. SO picks her up. He works nearby for the most part, sometimes he can't his truck route isn't always local.
    Once I get home, I get changed, find something to occupy my daughter and do the insanity or whatever workout I'm doing at home.
    Sometimes she will come in and do some of the exercises with me because she thinks their fun, sometimes she will just play/have a little bit of tv time or draw.
    After that either dinner has been started or I make dinner, eat, downtime/tv/chores, get her bathed/bedtime, and start all over again the following day.
  • CoueCoue
    CoueCoue Posts: 69 Member
    Huge kudos to all you working Mums (and Dads) for finding time to exercise. I don't have kids AND work for myself (i.e. flexibility of hours during the day) and even I find it tough to stick to my work-out regime sometimes.

    Hats off!
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    Hey, I'm a 53 y/o empty nester (although one is back home for the summer). I *AM* a morning person, but I can't do it. I feel awful when I exercise in the morning. Can't work out as hard and feel tired the rest of the day. Not sure why. The only way I can exercise in the morning is when I wait several hours, have some food, etc. Then it's marginally better. My best time is around 2PM. HA, but I'm at work then. I work from 6AM to 2:30 and have a one hour commute myself. I am also the "chef" in the family so I need to start on it when I get home. I know it's just a bunch of excuses, but I haven't exercised at all since January and I'm very upset with myself.

    The difference last year was that I had a lot of vacation time that I used in the fall/winter so I had time off and felt better about getting the exercise in. Now, I just feel so stressed.
  • Locolady98
    Locolady98 Posts: 92 Member
    edited July 2017
    Vinehausen wrote: »
    You're going to have to become a morning person. I have recently begun getting into the habit of working out before work. I'm not going to lie, it isn't easy but I know in time it will become an ingrained habit.

    Yep!!!

    I used to have a 2-hour commute! Ewwwww!!!! :s

    So, I would get up at 3 am (dang!), workout, hit the shower by 4, out the door by 5, at work by 7.

    For me, 3 am felt like the middle of the night. Well, it is! But I had hit rock-bottom with my weight/fitness level. So I had to make a choice. I chose health. I made the commitment. And I lost the weight, got in awesome shape, and then I relocated!!!! :D

    Celebrity anecdote: Oprah Winfrey had her personal trainer as a guest on her show one day. They talked about health, fitness, getting in shape, losing weight, working out, etc, etc. One of the audience members asked/said "But I don't have time to work out." The trainer answered "Then you're not ready."

    Moral of the story: When you're ready, you find a way to make it work, no matter what.

    So... you rock! You're getting on here to help figure out how to make it work!!! That means... You're ready! B)
  • AKAmplished_Pearl
    AKAmplished_Pearl Posts: 48 Member
    Thank you guys so much. Although I have 6 weeks before I have to start back, I'm going to start training my body now for my workouts. I'm definitely ready to change. The only reason I started this journey is I WANT TO LIVE!!! As an African American woman, I have so many bad illnesses that run through my family and I don't want any of them. My grandmother was obese and the only way she lost weight was being placed on dialysis with diabetes, heart disease, having strokes, etc. I don't want that.

    Side note- Please add me for extra support. Starting tomorrow, I will add pictures or check in every morning.

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