How to fit exercise in a busy day
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Baking in an extra 10-15 minutes each direction to your travel to and from work and taking the long way from the parking lot to your work area is the easiest change to make. and that gives you 20-30 of the 60 minutes. The rest is about finding 30 minutes before you shower in the morning or evening for a more protracted session.WinoGelato wrote: »As others have said, try to find ways to fit in exercise with your child, or when she’s otherwise occupied - not sure how old she is, is she in any activities of her own that you can get some exercise in while she’s engaged in that? Don’t underestimate just basic movement for calorie burn - you don’t have to do all out sweaty cardio for it to be beneficial for your goals. Just getting up and moving while at work - taking walks at lunch, or on breaks, parking at the back of the lot, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, dancing around being silly with your daughter - all of these things burn calories and contribute to a higher NEAT.
Good luck!
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I get to gym before kids wake up and spin or swim. Then do weights at lunch. I prepare breakfasts and lunch on Sundays so I don't have to waste time during week. Then run before dinner. It's exhausting but working.1
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rheddmobile wrote: »
Eight hours sleep, eight hours work (nine for people who get a lunch hour at work), plus eating, showering, commuting, shopping, preparing meals, and other necessary activities leaves about four free hours. Even those who do no work at all have to sleep. No one has twenty four free hours per day to pick from.There's 24 hours in a day and you're asking how to fit in 1 hour of exercise? Do. Not. Comprehend.
Maybe try a half hour first.
I know. I didn't say there are 24 free hours. But...you should said there's 4. I have about 3 free hours. I go to the gym. If you want to exercise you just have to use some of that time. If you want to create more time, you might have to make some sacrifices or change things up.
I think having the little one on your own makes it harder. I can't really imagine. My good friend works out with me a few times per week and leaves her child at the childcare in the gym. I don't really think 5 days per week is necessary. If so, some of it and all of it can be done at home.
Kids make all the difference. Newborn or young kids with no real help to take care of them every day usually literally translates to zero free time (unless you are OK with not sleeping ever).
Heck, most single parents taking care of young children can barely find time to shower, much less free up an hour for exercise.3 -
I'm a big fan of starting small and working your way up. Don't compare yourself to what others are doing, but try and do more than or roughly the same as you were doing last week. If you find that you're avoiding doing something, then don't beat yourself up or give up - look for something else to fit in that time.
As for the question about splitting up exercise, the current science seems to say that three 10 minute workouts have similar benefits to one 30 minute workout, so rock on!1 -
RenewMe2018 wrote: »I’m 39, a divorced mom with my daughter with me most of the time right now. I also work a full time job. How does one effectively fit exercise in? Let me add that my MD suggested exercise 1 hour a day for 6 days a week.... thought of breaking an hour into small little workouts but is that effective?
What does your job entail?
You might want to first and foremost focus on more general movement throughout the day, particularly if you have a desk job. Something I do is get up every hour to go to the bathroom or water cooler, and I take the scenic route. Between that and a 15-20 minute walk of my dog in the morning I typically get around 10,000 steps and at least 8,000...time wise, this is pretty much in line with the AHA's 150 minutes of light activity per week.
I do deliberate exercise beyond that as well...but most of my rides these days are 30-45 minutes tops. My lifting session takes me about 30 minutes as well. I try, but I don't always get in every session that I'd like...but I'm doing more than nothing so that's cool with me.
How old are your kids? Mine are 8 and 5 (going on 6). They like walking with me in the morning and it's a great way for them to start their day. When they were younger I used to throw them on the bike trainer and my wife had a jogging stroller. When I just can't manage to get out on the road due to needing to watch the kids or something, I hop on my indoor bike trainer or my rowing machine for 20-30 minutes.2 -
How old is your daughter? The reason I ask is b/c if she's old enough to be at home alone for 30min-1 hour you could wake up early before work and get your workout done then...running in the neighborhood or going to the gym, whichever suits you.
If she's not old enough to be left then you could work out at home before she wakes. I wake up at 4:50 a.m. in order to get my work outs each morning before the two kids under two and my husband wake up. I don't have any other real time in the day to do it. I don't like working out after I eat at night as it upsets my stomach and I'd rather spend the time with my husband after the kids go to bed, plus there are usually about 100 things to do before the next morning. I also work 40 hours a week outside the home.1 -
p.s. I also make sure I take at least one walk a day at work for 15 minutes...so if I do it twice a day that's another 30 minutes of exercise.0
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On super-busy days I try to fit in exercise whenever I can. I take the subway to work and it's a 15 minute walk (each way) from my house or a 10 minute bus ride. I do the walk. I try, on weekends, to walk places instead of driving if I don't need the car. I take the stairs instead of the escalator in all the train stations and try to use the stairs at work as often as possible. The dogs have to be walked after work, but I try turning the walk into a hike and deliberately pick streets with lots of hills (easy to do here in San Francisco). If I haven't gotten out for a bike ride or run, I do this weird thing when I get home of bringing the mail up from the garage one piece at a time--running up the stairs, then going back down for the next piece.0
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My kids are grown and gone now, but I feel your pain!
Early morning workouts would have been what should have kept me on track; however, I have a 45 minute commute and must be at my desk at 6AM. I already get up at 4AM. I just COULD NOT do it any earlier.
When my kids were young and in daycare or school, I felt to guilty keeping there another 45 minutes longer so I could go do something. So, to be honest, I just didn't do much. But I would try to work in an at-home DVD or something and then really try to do something on the weekends.
If your daughter isn't too young, take her out on a walk with you. Does she have a bike? She can ride while you walk/jog behind her.
Your doctor is advocating 1 hour a day for 6 days a week. That's certainly "ideal" but you may not get that in. Don't try to be perfect, just try to do what you can.1 -
I totally agree with incorporating exercise with your child. When my kids were younger, if they played at the park, I was up there with them on the slide and using the swings. Now, that they are older, we take walks and "catch up." Okay, I'm lying, they're totally ignoring me and walking behind me...But hey, we're all getting in some exercise. Also, remember just like a job, you need to work at staying healthy for you and your family. Think of it as, you are staying healthy so you can be there for her. So, don't feel guilty if you need to carve out some time for just you. Whether it's yoga at the gym or just dancing in your kitchen.0
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You have to make it a priority.
Like a "To-Do" list.
It's first on the list and completed before other tasks.
Obviously, your child comes first.0 -
rheddmobile wrote: »
Eight hours sleep, eight hours work (nine for people who get a lunch hour at work), plus eating, showering, commuting, shopping, preparing meals, and other necessary activities leaves about four free hours. Even those who do no work at all have to sleep. No one has twenty four free hours per day to pick from.There's 24 hours in a day and you're asking how to fit in 1 hour of exercise? Do. Not. Comprehend.
Maybe try a half hour first.
I know. I didn't say there are 24 free hours. But...you should said there's 4. I have about 3 free hours. I go to the gym. If you want to exercise you just have to use some of that time. If you want to create more time, you might have to make some sacrifices or change things up.
I think having the little one on your own makes it harder. I can't really imagine. My good friend works out with me a few times per week and leaves her child at the childcare in the gym. I don't really think 5 days per week is necessary. If so, some of it and all of it can be done at home.
Kids make all the difference. Newborn or young kids with no real help to take care of them every day usually literally translates to zero free time (unless you are OK with not sleeping ever).
Heck, most single parents taking care of young children can barely find time to shower, much less free up an hour for exercise.
I believe it. I'm kind of a lifetime bachelorette so sometimes I forget how hard that must be.0 -
RenewMe2018 wrote: »I’m 39, a divorced mom with my daughter with me most of the time right now. I also work a full time job. How does one effectively fit exercise in? Let me add that my MD suggested exercise 1 hour a day for 6 days a week.... thought of breaking an hour into small little workouts but is that effective?
Jumping from presumably no directed exercise to six hours per week is quite a lot, so it would be useful to understand why that was the advice?
However... Breaking 60 minutes into three 20 minute, or for 15 minutes, activities is perfectly reasonable. Personally I wouldn't suggest going below 15 minutes, as you're not going to gain significant improvement below that.
As others are suggesting, some of it is adapting activities to get some benefit. Can you walk or cycle commute? If you use public transport can you walk part of the route? Can you squeeze in a short session from YouTube in the morning before you rouse your daughter, or after she's gone to bed?
One of the key things is to start where you are now and make small changes. If you try to change too much at once it's just not sustainable.
These threads frequently descend into judgemental nonsense, so it's good to see the majority of advice here is constructive.1 -
I'm lucky as my son is a bit older but I still don't like leaving him to get to school on his own nor leaving him to his own devices for too long after school so my 2 easiest options of gym before and after work are not feasible.
I try and do something like Wii fit or lift some weights in the evening after he has disappeared for the night.0 -
It's going to sound silly but every time you go to the bathroom do some squats or any form of excersies that you can do with your space. If you have to wash dishes you can do mini excersies in between.
I work 2 jobs and am a part time student, I don't have kids but I do have a 3 yr old sister and a 4 year old nephew who consistently wants me to be with them so I've learned that yea maybe I can't be in the gym but I can do something with the space I have at home. I hope this helps a bit0 -
When I first started losing weight, I would take a 30 minute walk during my lunch break. I would try to incorporate more standing and NEAT activities into my day like parking farther away at the grocery store.
Once I dropped some weight, I started running. I wake up around 415am, run for about 40-60 minutes, then get ready for work.
My kid is 14, though, and can get himself up and ready.1 -
I am a full time attorney with 2 kids and hubby who will not pick up his stuff!!! (lol on the hubby part) I MUST get my workout in first thing in the morning. I get the kids and hubby ready and they head out to school and i get a little over an hour to do my workout. I usually do some type of video workout (Insanity, Brazillian Butt Lift, P90X) and then it is shower, change and out the door. On the weekends everyone has some type of sport, so I gotta get my workout in even earlier. I usually go for a long run around 6am. If I dont workout in the morning, it usually isnt going to happen because I usually dont get home til around 7pm. I kinda forced myself to be a morning person. I lost 60 lbs by doing this and by tracking my food on MFP. Just my 2 cents on how I do it and try to manage everything else with work, kids, hubby, life.4
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I am a full time teacher and primary caretaker for my disabled mom. That means once I walk in that door after work, my time is not mine, until she is in bed. I couldn't find an hour a day but I did find 30 mins a day. I get up every am at 4:50 and do a 30 mins session of pilates, the treadmill or weights. I found some short workouts on darebee.com and hasfit.com and did them to get started. At first, I was happy if I got a 15 min session in. It made me feel better overall.1
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Plan for it, put in on your calendar, no choice. Just do it.0
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I run my own business and the hours can be long, so I make the sacrifice and get up an hour earlier than usual and do fasted cardio, just 30m incline walking on the treadmill with a couple of caffeine tabs, headphones on and by the time I get off, I'm ready for food and to tackle the day.
If you want it, you'll find a way!0
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