I homeschool so there is no point in the day that I'm ever alone or on break. But I schedule in a workout, usually during their lunch break. They play video games or play outside or whatever and I do a workout video. There are a bajillion on Youtube.

To be a better mother, I need to take care of myself. So I made the time. Even if the kids' schedules go sideways and I have to push it back until after supper, which is WAY too late to workout in my opinion, then so be it. I have 4 kids, so that happens. I get what I can get, even if it's not an ideal time of day.

My youngest are now old enough, so today, for the first time, we did a P.E. class, and they worked out with me. They take forever to change exercises and need a ridiculous amount of water breaks. And I have to stop and give them extra form instruction, but they did ok. They were super aggravating, but they had a good time. I'd rather them stay in shape and make good habits even if it means I am severely annoyed.

So either you have to get up earlier and workout or sit the kids in front of their homework and do a video (and expect to have to pause because you'll get interrupted 6k times ), or do it late after they go to bed. Or do 5 minutes at a time throughout your day. But if it's a priority to you, you'll have to shuffle something to make it happen.

HTH.

Can you meal prep for a set amount of days a week, maybe 2-3, giving yourself an hour or so 2-3 times a week to workout? Ideally, get something that you could do while helping the kids with homework? Maybe light treadmill, stationary bike, free weights?

I usually get up at 5am to get in about 30 min of exercise before getting ready and being on the road by 6am. I love to do BodyCombat in the morning, there's just something badass about starting the day with punches and kicks, but maybe that's just me. Sometimes I do oversleep, but I have found that even 10 min of exercise in the morning is enough to boost my energy levels for the whole day. So, if you think you can get up even 15 min early, you might find it's totally worth it.

When I get to work, I take the stairs (3 flights)...and I keep taking them all day.

At work, I get 2 breaks and a lunch. I walk (usually outside) for all of these. My office is in an area that has sidewalks, we also have a kind of open hallway downstairs so I can walk indoors if the weather is totally intolerable outside. But, I like having big hills and such to walk up. For my breaks I just wear my normal clothes/shoes, but for lunch I change into tennis shoes and usually workout clothes because I usually walk a 5k at lunch so it's a much farther distance and I don't want to get all sweaty in my work clothes. We do have a gym here, but it's usually packed at lunch time, so it's easier for me to just walk.

When I get home, some days I have to taxi kids places, and when that happens I use the time they are in their activities to walk (the ballet studio is only about 10 min from a downtown area with sidewalks and street lights, so walking there is an option even for late nights - the school has lights in the parking lot so I can loop the parking lot if I have to pick them up from school for something)...sometimes this means deliberately leaving early so that I can get 15-30 min of walking done before picking someone up...sometimes those activities coincide with other exercise opportunities, like Sat morning ballet is at the same time that a brewery nearby offers a "beer & yoga" class a couple times a month.

Usually I cook dinner, which most days gives me a at least 30 min free time. So, if I am baking something (like chicken or pork or whatever) then I can put that in the oven, and start whatever is going stovetop (like veggies or pasta) and then go workout and just check on the food in between reps for strength training or when the cardio exercises change because every workout usually has some kind of good transition time where you can press pause and take 30 seconds to go stir whatever or check the temperature or whatever.

Sometimes I will workout while everyone else is eating since we kind of watch TV and eat in the living room, so I can do my workout and watch TV if it's something from a paper sheet instead of a video.

So for me, basically, I cram it in wherever I can make it fit. Every spare 10 min is a workout opportunity.

There are lots of free videos on YouTube, and Darebee has free workout sheets, and at one point BeachBody was doing a 14 or 30 day free trial of their on-demand product. There are so many options out there, just try different stuff until you find some favorites and then look for more that is similar to what you like.

sykin wrote: »

I'm loving this thread. I also find it hard to fit in exercise because I want to do it all at once and then be done for the day. I should break it up. I get up at 4am for work and don't get home until 6:30pm, then spend as much time with my kids as I can before they go to bed at 8:30. It's hard to feel motivated to work out at 8:30 at night. I'm usually too exhausted. I may need to just book out a conference room at work and do something small a couple times throughout the day. It'll get me away from work for a minute as well, which might help my stress level. LOL

I think you also might want to consider the long term benefits. Mom isn't as stressed, she has more energy, and she's setting a good life example for us to follow by starting lifelong exercise early. I can only imagine how hectic life is, but I think you'll look back on this and thank yourself for finding 20 minutes a day to make sure you take care of your health.

rsclause wrote: »

Crappy weather here today and I just don't like to run in the rain. I also hate treadmills but I did go to the gym and do my Nautilus set. I was the first time I drove there in a month because I usually run there. Tomorrow snow....and I am thinking about possibly running. I have never run in the snow before.

The way they're talking about this storm, you could cross country ski your way there tomorrow if you live down south.

I work from home,, so my schedule is looser than some and I also don't do full time hours. So once they are all off to school, that's my time to have a little run outside before getting ready for the day. It doesn't always happen when other things get scheduled into the morning, but I aim for 3-4 days a week. If I go daily, I find my energy level is too low, but I'm in my mid 40s so maybe that's why!