Working Ladies!

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panduhburr
panduhburr Posts: 40 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm a designer and spend 8am-5pm sitting down at a desk . When I get home, I freelance for another 2 hours (I freelance on my lunch too). On top of that, I'm a newlywed so I want to make sure I spend time with my hubs.

How do you girls balance your home, work, and fitness lives? I find myself being able to only workout on weekends and I feel like I should be doing more. Any suggestions? Tips? Thanks!

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  • SinIsIn
    SinIsIn Posts: 1,865 Member
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    Try working out WITH your new husband that way you still get that quality time?

    I work 8-5 mon - fri. I go pick up the kids, get home and wait for the husband to get home from work. Either he or I give the kids something to eat. I take off for the gym around 6, come home about 7:45ish, make dinner, get the kids ready for bed and start all over the next day. :bigsmile:
  • ChanyRae
    ChanyRae Posts: 112
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    I have a very full schedule as well....and found bring the gym to my home has made a huge difference. I bought an elliptical, free weights, and have several fitness Dvds and wii programs. I just try to fit it in whenever I can, even if its for 20 mins. Something is better than nothing. :happy:
  • ItsMeRebekah
    ItsMeRebekah Posts: 910 Member
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    I like to do it before work.. its worth it!
  • futuresize8
    futuresize8 Posts: 476 Member
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    Hi! I work the same hours as you...and I'm a newlywed, too!!

    So...I make at least a half hour of time mine for workouts. I imagine it's harder for you because you're freelancing in the evenings, but somewhere in there, if you can take a half hour even to walk, it will be worth it! Grab that new husband of yours and get him to take a little walk with you. :wink:

    My husband just started exercising with me - he gets on our glider thingy and I ride my recumbent bike - for a half hour on the days he's home, or we walk our puppy together. Then, the rest of the evening is ours.

    I'll admit, it's tough to work, maintain a household and still find time to workout. But it's a great investment.
  • keywestsunset
    keywestsunset Posts: 139 Member
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    I work 12 hr shifts three days a week. So I take my 2 yr old son with me to the gym on my off days. I haven't attempted working out on work days yet since i leave for work at 530a and dont get home til 7p. My son is glued to my side on these evenings. I started 30 day shred this week so I may attempt it tomorrow after the little guy goes to bed since its not too long of a workout, but I don't want it to keep me up.
  • LauraOR
    LauraOR Posts: 1
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    I agree with "ItsMeRebekah" about doing it in the morning. I have a very busy work schedule and don't usually get home before 7:00 pm so working out at night is really not an option for me. Thus, I found that it's before work or nothing, and nothing is not really an option. I am NOT an early morning person either, so if I can do it, you can too. I set the alarm for 5:00 a.m. and do classes at the local YMCA, a boot camp, or work out at home if I am in a time crunch to get to work on a particular day (I have an eliptical machine at home, which helps). Anyway, good luck, and, again, I agree, it's totally worth it to get it done in the morning and have the rest of your day ahead of you--it will give you more energy too.
  • Heidi1987
    Heidi1987 Posts: 191 Member
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    when i have a gym visit scheduled i go into work early about 7am, leave earlier at 4. go to the gym and be home for about 5.45ish when my OH gets home then we have the evening together. works well for me
  • mckara
    mckara Posts: 37 Member
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    I understand completely. My boyfriend and I moved in together in May and since then I have really gotten off track. No fault to him, but things changed once he was here. I now cook him dinners, where before I would just eat something small for dinner, but he works outside and I feel that he should have a good home cooked dinner, than at night I spend time with him. I work from 7:30-5:30 Mon-Fri and some saturdays. When I get home, I start dinner, we usually eat at 7:00-7:30. Then I want to spend some time with him and my son. I have gained 20 lbs since May. I hate it!!!! I can't figure out how to balance everything...I have started back working out 60 minutes a night, but it is very hard. Scott is very supportive, but its me. I need time to relax and be with him. uuggghhh!
  • ljholmann
    ljholmann Posts: 70
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    I usually take an hour for me after work, the rest of the afternoon is up for whatever, but that hour is mine. I asked my husband to work out with me & he looked at me if I had asked him to do something horrible. I feel one hour can be mine. If your hubbie is willing to work out with you, I think that is wonderful, if not then take a bit of time for yourself & don't feel bad about it. Don't get me wrong my husband is supportive, at times I think he could be more so, but he does support me in what we eat and giving me time to do my workouts.
  • Jingle603
    Jingle603 Posts: 4 Member
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    I work three long days a week (wed-fri) so I try to work out once on either Thursday or Friday. My husband and I split duties those nights putting our four year old son to bed (our 15 month old girl goes to bed by 7 most nights) and the other has time to do Work Out DVD/Run on elliptical before it's too too late. I hate working out after 9 pm because them I'm up all night. Then I try to work out at least 2-3 of the days I don't work outside the home with the same principles as above. I would LOVE to work out in the morning, but I already have to be up at 5:15/5:30 on the mornings I work, and my daughter is currently waking up between 5:30 and 6:00 most mornings and I have yet to have it in me to set the alarm pre 5 am to workout, though I am in upmost awe of people that do.
    Maybe try working out together as someone mentioned. My husband and I did that a lot pre-kids or when we just had our son.
  • FitnessBarbie99
    FitnessBarbie99 Posts: 283 Member
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    Even when I sleep in, I try to do "something" in the morning during the work week. Even if it's just marching in place while the coffee brews with the a.m. news for 10 mins. Lately, I've been doing a quick mile with DVDs and then a quick stretch. It only take 20 mins and is a great way to start the day!

    I also go to the gym for a quick workout a couple times a week on my lunch hour. If schedule allows, I will do that three times, other wise, I shoot for one or two evening workouts, which are typically an hour or more. I try to use the machines as much as I can since I figure I will get cardio at home or on the weekends, otherwise the short workouts wouldn't make a lot of sense to most folks.

    I take one night in the middle of the week to do the heavy housework, which can be a decent work out if you make it so.

    Also, consider finding a challenge group here. Some of them encourage simple sets of exercise that you can do in the bathroom at work -- calf. raises, jumping jacks, shadow boxing etc.

    I truly believe that every little bit counts!

    I have a stack of DVDs for cold or rainy days, wii games, etc.
    Variety helps.

    My husband loves to have me home most nights cooking him a nice hot dinner, but he likes having an evening or two to himself too. I come home and find him fixing something or watching Velocity network!
  • meghan_cr
    meghan_cr Posts: 29
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    I work long hours too and it's a challenge to find time for family, friends and yourself. Luckily I have a gym in my office building so I try to make a point of using that three times during the week (either before/after work or during lunchtime when it's not odd to be missing for 45min-1hour). I also agree about "bringing the gym home" -- on the weekends I go for a run outside or bike (either outside or on the trainer inside). I also started using Yufit.com which has fitness classes online so I can access those whenever it's convenient.

    It's also been really motivating to train for something, like a 5k run or a sprint tri -- having a goal like that will definitely keep you accountable!
  • Carrot1971
    Carrot1971 Posts: 272 Member
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    I work M-F 8-4 and have 4 kids and a husband. My kids are EXTREMELY active in sports so I'm constantly running at least two of them around every night to some practice or game. I find its easier to work out at home on my extremely busy night. I bought an eliptical and some DVDs to change things up. Or I will grab one of my kids or my husband and Power Walk in the neighborhood. All it takes is 30 minutes a day...THATS it!! And you are worth 30 minutes a day!! You can do it!
  • panduhburr
    panduhburr Posts: 40 Member
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    I have a very full schedule as well....and found bring the gym to my home has made a huge difference. I bought an elliptical, free weights, and have several fitness Dvds and wii programs. I just try to fit it in whenever I can, even if its for 20 mins. Something is better than nothing. :happy:


    What kind of Wii games do you have/like best? We have one too. :)
  • ChanyRae
    ChanyRae Posts: 112
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    I have a very full schedule as well....and found bring the gym to my home has made a huge difference. I bought an elliptical, free weights, and have several fitness Dvds and wii programs. I just try to fit it in whenever I can, even if its for 20 mins. Something is better than nothing. :happy:


    What kind of Wii games do you have/like best? We have one too. :)

    I have Wii Fit, which I find really fun! But my fave is EA Sports Active 2. It comes with a heart rate monitor and resistance bands. You can do preset 3 or 9 week programs, which is about 30 mins a session 4 days a week. Or you can set your own workouts....which is what I do. I do all my strength training on it (lots of lunges, squats etc) You can also set your fitness level and the 'virtual trainer' is super motivating!
    I have heard the Jillian Michaels, Biggest Loser and Zumba games are excellent but I havent tried them yet.

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