Working full time AND working out?

Time management.

I work full time, have a 5 year old in tee ball, and have a boyfriend. Plus friends, family, etc. It takes some really good organization and time management, but it can be done! Plus, your diet has a TON to do with it. The better you fuel your body= the more energy you'll have to hit the gym.

My average weekday looks a little something like this:

Wake up at 6, get myself ready for work, get my son ready for school, gather my lunch/snacks for the day, grab breakfast (and a cup of coffee) and get out the door by 7:30. Work all day until 4:30 or 5. Head to pick up my son from school (he is in pre-k, awesome program where they provide breakfast, lunch, and a snack). Give him a snack in the car (and eat a snack myself) then straight to the gym. Workout for about an hour to an hour and a half, head home, fix dinner, eat, get my son bathed and ready for bed, shower , spend a little time with the bf, and go to bed by around 10 or so.

Things that help: batch cooking meals ahead of time so it takes 10 minutes to heat up dinner for my family of 3, preparing meals and snacks for the next day so I just have to grab them in the morning, packing my gym bag the night before, laying out my clothes for work (and my son's school clothes) the night before, planning my workouts so I know exactly what I'm going to do the second I get to the gym.

I also make adjustments for when my son's got practice or a game after school, or if a friend wants to have happy hour, or whatever. Planning ahead is SO important.


When I was a kid my mom worked full time, was in graduate school, taught aerobics classes on the side, exercised every day and I still had dinner on the table every night, help with my homework, and she never missed a dance recital. I don't know if I'm as kick *kitten* as she is, but it CAN be done

I agree with other posts; if you want to do it you will.
Last year I worked out every day for 11 months, having a full time job, which was an hours drive from my home, running a household with a 4 year old daughter. I made it fit in, eventhough I normally wouldn't sit down and relax until 11pm at night, ready to be up for 6.00am the next morning.

When I started dieting again in January I chose not to do the same level of exercise and I am loving my 'free time'. I now exercise every Saturday morning and make an efford to walk places as much as possible in the week. I am still losing the weight, as I am stricter on my calorie intake.

However, if you been out of a job for some time, and suddenly work full time, I can imagine you are tired at the end of a working day.

I'd suggest; if you want to exercise more, build it up gently. Start with half an hour 2 nights a week, and build it up. I think you will find that once you start the exercise will give you new energy- making you less tired at work and after work.

Good luck!

I work seriously unpredictable hours but I've found that it's easier to just fit in the workouts around it where ever I can, it helps that I mostly exercise at home or go running nearby, no matter how tired I am I know that I'll feel better after the workout, you can find the time, you just need to find where the exercise fits...

I have a full time job, I'm married, I have a child, I volunteer, and I have a social life. And....I work out 5-7 times a week. It's about priorities.

I work full time and have a 7 year old. I don't work out until she is in bed (so usually not until 9pm). One thing that helps me is putting my workout clothes on when I get home. The success I have had definitely keeps me motivated to keep working out. Once you get started and get into a routine, it becomes easier.

The best recommendation that I have for this is getting into a ROUTINE (probably the hardest part). After that is established, it will be a piece of cake to keep it up.

I work 9-6 and bring my gym bag with me so that I go directly from work to the gym.....I know as soon as I set foot into my house after work I most likely won't leave again until the next morning when I have to go to work! Granted, there are definitely times that I don't want to go workout right after work, but I force myself to do it and after a great workout I am so glad that I pushed myself! It all comes down to desire to get fit/healthy and not making excuses to slip back into old and unhealthy habits.

Maybe try to aim for working out 2-3 times a week to begin with, and after you get a regular routine with that, you could up it if you'd like? Just a suggestion

Just suck it up and do it. Sometimes I end up working out at 9 or 10pm then eating dinner at 11:30. Whatever you need to do to get it done.

I work full time and my job requires business travel. I am married and have a child. I do all the cooking for my family and we eat together every night.

And still I find time to work out.

Priorities... if it's important you'll make time. I'm sure there is plenty of TV watching, book reading or telephone chatting that can be eliminated in order to invest in your health.

Welcome to being a grown up, darling.

:flowerforyou:

Plain and simple...DO IT.
Stop making excuses. Eat better, make the right choices.


edit: I'm a widower father with 2 kids, work 40+ hours a week....THERE ARE NO EXCUSES.

1. Put it on your calendar. You write everything else in? Why not working out. I put my workouts in my phone and my work calendar. All those reminders are hard to ignore.

2. Like many of the other posters have said, bring your workout gear to work with you! If I go home, I never get back out to the gym. But if I just stop on the way home and get it out of the way, it's much easier.

3. Trying splitting your workouts. Maybe do 30 min. or stretching and walking in the morning, or a short workout DVD you can do right at home, and then do 30 minutes of strength training at night. Breaking it up might work better for you. It's hard to get up an extra hour early, but less difficult to get up 30 minuets early.

4. Try to make friends at work who are into fitness, then plan to workout at lunch. Every Thursday I walk 30 min with the HR ladies at my office. It's a nice way to relieve stress at work and also meet new people in the office.

5. Look for workout buddies outside of work. It's much harder to skip out on your workout when you have plans to meet someone at the gym. It helps keep you accountable. I am shy and have trouble making friends, do I just started going to the same class every week at my gym. Once I figured out who the regulars were, I just went up, introduced myself, and if they seem receptive, see if they want to meet for a workout. I e-mail back and forth with some of these people about working out too, it's another way to stay motivated.

6. Ask your current friends if they have any fitness goals. You don't even have to workout with them, you can just promise each other you'll each workout say 3 times a week, and then check up on each other.

I've heard it takes at least 2 weeks for your body to adjust to a new schedule. Just keep reminding yourself that IT WILL GET EASIER.