Working out while having a baby/ young kid

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  • swburnette
    swburnette Posts: 4
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    My husband and I do the couch to 5k program, and use the jogging stroller, and on our off days, I take him on bike rides. I bought a bike seat for my bike, and found a helmet (I think it was a 2t and I just tightened it up), and we ride for a while. Just make sure to put sunscreen on the baby :)

    I am a SAHM so I understand that sometimes nap time is precious time to shower, do laundry, pay bills etc. I've found it easier if I do have those set 3 days a week for the couch to 5k program. And Jillian Michaels 30 day shred is great too.
  • jamiemnoonan
    jamiemnoonan Posts: 27
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    I have a 5 year old and 3 year old. I have found that the oly time I can get a full workout in without interruptions is to do it after they go to bed. Not the best time to work out, but I do not get the interruptions I would if they were awake.
  • giag09
    giag09 Posts: 203 Member
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    i am a part time working mom to a 5 mthold boy and 3 yr old boy and wife to a fulltime fireman so every day is alittle hectic especially when my husband is on for 24 hrs. lucky for me i have off every wednesday and the weekends, unfortunatley i cant bring the baby to the gym until he is one so i work out just about every day at around 5 am for about 45 minutes rotating between lifting and cardio... then i also wear a pedometer and try to hit 10000 steps a day... also which is kinda strange i try to sneak in extra workouts everytime i use the bathroom at work i do standing crunches, lunges, push ups against the wall etc. every bit counts! its hard with little ones at home but worth it i wanna be a strong fit healthy momma to them, even though right now i am a bit ocd aboout oh well lol!
  • dwightdegroff
    dwightdegroff Posts: 97 Member
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    My wife and I have two kids: 2.5 and 11 months. We started doing Insanity together about a month ago and really like working out together to keep each other motivated.

    We tried doing our workouts at night after the kids were asleep for a couple weeks. Unfortunately, that left us finishing up as last as 9:45 or 10 and even after cooling down we were still so amped up that it was hard to get to sleep.

    What we're doing now is to try waking up before the kids(around 6a) and trying to get it done before they wake up. Lately, our oldest (2.5) has been waking up by 6:30 so that's been difficult... but he likes to watch or try to do the cardio exercises himself. I'm not a morning person at all - but it's better than the alternative (which is not doing it at all).

    Good luck!
  • techteachergirl
    techteachergirl Posts: 161 Member
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    Are you ladies single moms? I ask my husband to watch the kids so I can work out.

    Seriously I'm surprised at how many people don't just simply get the father to watch the children.

    Ummm... I am not a single mother, but my husband just had his second back surgery so him watching LO is great unless something happens and LO needs to be picked up.... You never know the situations that someone else might be dealing with.
  • luvsherhubby
    luvsherhubby Posts: 135 Member
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    to poster who said " Are you ladies single moms? I ask my husband to watch the kids so I can work out.
    Seriously I'm surprised at how many people don't just simply get the father to watch the children."





    wow you seem very asuming. My husband works overnight 3pm-3am so he is sleeping suring the day and im not gunna ask him at 3 am when he gets home...

    To OP: I choose to TRY lol to get up early before ds is up. Its the only way to be SURE i will get a good workout in. Iv learned not to be so rigerous if DS was up till 1 am I will sleep in a little I just know I will have to be more creative with my workout. You can do it!!!
  • tinana_RN
    tinana_RN Posts: 541 Member
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    When my kids were that age, I'd put them in the jumperoo or the swing to watch me make a fool out of myself :laugh: My kids are a little older now (2 and 4) so now they need to be up my butt and trying to do everything I do.


    eta: My husband works 14 hours a day 4 days a week so I'm not waiting up for him to get home to do my workout.
  • lindalee0315
    lindalee0315 Posts: 527 Member
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    Are you ladies single moms? I ask my husband to watch the kids so I can work out.

    I seriously don't mean to offend anyone with this, but I hate it when people say husbands "watch" or "babysit" their own kids! It's called parenting. What I hate about it is that it assumes that all the mundane stuff related to kids is automatically my (as "mommy") responsibility. The inference is that hubby is doing me a favor when he's simply supposed to do it anyway. This is a battle I have with my hubby.

    To answer your question, though, I work out at 5:15 a.m. every morning, before anyone else in my household gets up. Then, I can get hubby up, get my child ready for school, and out the door, then get ready for work myself. By 10:00 p.m. I am done.
  • CharityEaton
    CharityEaton Posts: 508
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    The best thing for me is to just get up before they do. My kids are much older now so I don't have to worry about it as much.
    My youngest is 5 and still at home with me but she knows not to bug me. Some days she gets her little pink yoga mat out and works out with me. She has a set of pink 3 lb weights that she uses too.
    She LOVES to do yoga with me. She knows that she can stop whenever she wants as long as she doesn't bug me.
    If things get crazy I call my husband at work and give him the heads up that I didn't get a workout in.....that way when he gets home he takes care of the kids and I go squeeze in 30 min.

    When they were smaller I pulled them around in a wagon or pushed them in the stroller. Also, pushing them in the swings is good especially if you do lunges while doing it.

    Do squats holding the kiddos too.
    My theory is if you really want it to work you will find a way to make it work but if you are looking for excuses there will always be excuses. Even a 15 min. workout is better then nothing!
  • Parsosa
    Parsosa Posts: 22
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    I have been having the same problem too. I have a 16year old, 4 year old and 6 month old. It is taking me about an hour and a half to two hours in the mornings to get the two younger ones and myself ready for work. I started back taking classes, so on Mondays and Wednesdays I have to get up at 4:30am to get to work by 6am. My fiance works second shift so passing the little ones off when I get off from work is not an option. The weekends are my best shot at getting alone time to work out. I am struggling to figure out how to get more time in Monday-Friday between my schedule, and fatigue. :frown: :sad: :yawn:
  • ZoeBug
    ZoeBug Posts: 15
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    I have a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old, I do have a gym membership that includes daycare, but when I didn't I would use nap time to work out. There are definitely other things I should be doing (cleaning house, paying bills, etc.) but it's important to me so I just do it. I would do a 30 min workout and then after dinner take the kids out for a walk. I'm currently pregnant with baby number three so it will be interesting to see how my workout schedule changes once the baby comes. Good Luck and just get in what you can when you can! If it's really important to you, you will find time to do it!! :)
  • taramaureen
    taramaureen Posts: 569 Member
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    to poster who said " Are you ladies single moms? I ask my husband to watch the kids so I can work out.
    Seriously I'm surprised at how many people don't just simply get the father to watch the children."





    wow you seem very asuming. My husband works overnight 3pm-3am so he is sleeping suring the day and im not gunna ask him at 3 am when he gets home...

    To OP: I choose to TRY lol to get up early before ds is up. Its the only way to be SURE i will get a good workout in. Iv learned not to be so rigerous if DS was up till 1 am I will sleep in a little I just know I will have to be more creative with my workout. You can do it!!!

    I was just surprised by how many people don't utilize the father No need to get your panties in a twist :laugh:
  • tippett610
    tippett610 Posts: 67 Member
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    I have a 9 yr old, 8 yr old and 8month old. I work full time and we have soccer and baseball practice two nights a week. I just walk when we are at the fields with the baby. When we are at home the older kids play with the little one so that I can do a workout video. My husband has other things that he is taking care of, so I take care of the kids, dinner and bath after work. Squeezing in workouts when I can, where I can.
  • hisqtangel
    hisqtangel Posts: 32 Member
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    My kids are a little older (6 & 10) but i still find myself working out later at night. My husband helps a bunch but b/w their schedules and our schedules thats the only "free" time i get! I want to work on getting up earlier and doing but im also not a morning person!
  • abbigail_r
    abbigail_r Posts: 283 Member
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    I am SAHM of 4. My husband works waaaaay to much. on my slower days I workout at naptimes comsistently. I dont expect to ever get more than 30 min (but if it comes and Im not beat I iwll do more) Somedays I tell my oldest or my husband hey, Im workoing out you let me be for X amount of time. :) And some days, like Wednesdays, I take my day off and sometimes on Sunday too. the hardest part I have with all this is it never feels like its a habit because the time can vary. Just do it when you can and the older they get the more you can incorporate them or find time. Def dont beat yourself up over it. And like many suggested just getting a good walk with a baby attached is a good workout.
  • CharityEaton
    CharityEaton Posts: 508
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    Are you ladies single moms? I ask my husband to watch the kids so I can work out.

    I seriously don't mean to offend anyone with this, but I hate it when people say husbands "watch" or "babysit" their own kids! It's called parenting. What I hate about it is that it assumes that all the mundane stuff related to kids is automatically my (as "mommy") responsibility. The inference is that hubby is doing me a favor when he's simply supposed to do it anyway. This is a battle I have with my hubby.

    To answer your question, though, I work out at 5:15 a.m. every morning, before anyone else in my household gets up. Then, I can get hubby up, get my child ready for school, and out the door, then get ready for work myself. By 10:00 p.m. I am done.



    YUP! me too! up at 530 am cuz I know there is NO WAY anyone is gonna bug me at that time! Like you though I am dead to the world by 10pm!
  • kpittman0612
    kpittman0612 Posts: 84
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    I have a 3 year old and an 18 month old and I work from 8:30-5. Usually when I get home I make supper and then do my workout after the kids eat and are bathed. They keep each other entertained for that hour and I'm just right there in my Living Room. I have not been a member of a gym since I had the kids. My husband helps me CONSTANTLY so when he gets home he plays with them and feeds them so really the only days its complicated is when he goes to the gym and gets home later. I find that I HAVE to make time for myself and if that means the kids destroy my living room for an hour and I have to clean it later that's fine...I have to get my workout in!!! Lately my 3 year old tells me she has to work out too! LOL!

    Today is my 30th day of 30 Day Shred! I finished it!!!
  • kjones3535
    kjones3535 Posts: 139
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    I work full time and have a 2 year old. I started walking at lunch on the nice days, or when I don't need to work through lunch.I also either put her in the jogging stoller and walk/jog or put her on the back of my bike (I had one of those child seats added on). She loves being outside and I get the exercise.
  • wolfehound22
    wolfehound22 Posts: 887
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    Are you ladies single moms? I ask my husband to watch the kids so I can work out.

    Seriously I'm surprised at how many people don't just simply get the father to watch the children.
    Could be that their husbands work out with them.

    Me an my wife workout together, so we can't just have the other one watch my son (18 months), we just stick to early mornings, or after he goes to sleep at night, also lots of walks.
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
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    Well, with mine, I had to wait until she could walk around and figure out her own thing to do, which was just before she was 10 months old. Otherwise, I'd have to try and work around her random nap schedule, and it meant that I didn't have a very regular schedule.

    What I did before that was put her in a carrier, and wore her like a backpack while I went for a walk. She would fall asleep on the way, and I could get up to five miles in on a walk, which was a good enough workout for that time. I actually used to jog with her on my back, as well, which made me feel like a crazy Marine in training, haha.

    Now that she's a year and a half, I can do my workout while she plays around the house, and she only comes up to me once in a while to ask for something. I also do my runs either before her dad goes to work, or in the late afternoon when he gets home. Sometimes, I'll also drop her off early at daycare before I do them, but it just depends on the day, and how I'm feeling. I don't have a set schedule that I follow week to week. I end up changing it up to work around different things, but it works for me.

    You'll kind of have to experiment, but my number one piece of advice is: Don't be afraid to ask for time to yourself. If you want to have time to go for a walk by yourself, or a run, or anything else, ask your husband or significant other to watch the kiddo. I felt bad at first, and then I got over it, and now he watches her while I go do my own thing for an hour. Saved my sanity, I tell ya.

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