Help me find a routine! (LONG!)

hutch0830 · February 2012

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I used to get so irritated by people who would claim that they have no time to exercise ? until I became one. It?s important for me to lead a healthy lifestyle, but I?m struggling to find a way to fit it in. I?m sure there?s a creative solution that I?m overlooking, so I?m hoping for some suggestions!

Here?s a description of my crazy schedule. My husband and I have a lot of student loan debt, so to pay it down we?ve opted to work opposite schedules to save money. For now, our schedules are set in stone since we?ve committed to them. I work Sunday-Thursday and DH works 4 10-hour days from Wednesday-Saturday. He also work from 9:30-8:00 and I work from 7:30-whenever (5/5:30-ish?). I pick the kids up daycare and get home a little after 6. I make dinner and then hang out with them until bedtime. As soon as they go to bed, I work on homework (I?m in grad school). I usually go to bed at 11. Then, since I?m still breastfeeding my daughter, we wake up at 5:30 to do that and then I shower and get ready for work. I?ve tried to wake up earlier but with how late I?m up doing homework it?s been hard. This is probably the most obvious place to fit in a workout, but it?s so much harder than I thought it would be! I?m home with the kids all day Friday and Saturday. When the weather is nice, I love to take ?nature? walks on a walking trail or go to the park. My son and I also like to play together in the back yard (tag, soccer, etc) while my daughter is sleeping. But I?m in WI, so that?s not possible all year. Right now it?s 27 F and muddy. Also, my daughter still takes 2 pretty crucial 2-3 hour naps per day, but she?s a light sleeper so we need to be pretty quiet. Ok, so if you?ve made it this far you?ve been able to read through my long list of excuses. Does anyone have any suggestions?? I?m feeling so sluggish and I?m craving a more active lifestyle! Help me!! And thanks for reading this whole post.

hutch0830 · February 2012

Eek, why is there all that random text at the beginning??

nhahn2206 · February 2012

Do you belong to a gym? Is that an option? A lot of gyms have childcare facilities. The most obvious time to me would be on the weekends when it's just you and the kids. You wouldn't get to workout during the week, but you could at least get two workouts in over the weekend.

You could also go for a jog when it's just you and the kids and put them in a stroller. Or you could take an hour to do a home exercise routine after the kids go to sleep. Catch up on homework on the weekends and let them play by themselves for an hour.

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate, so kudos for trying to take on more. These are just my initial thoughts. Whatever you do, I think you're going to have to make some sacrifices, either with your kids and their mom/play time, homework, etc.

ChiTownBelle · February 2012

I work 40 hours of night shift and am in grad school with daytime classes, plus my husband works out of town and is only home weekends and I work every other weekend. We don't have kids yet (i couldn't imagine working this schedule w kids) and I barely sleep, maybe 4hr naps here and there all week until i crash for 12-15hrs on a day I have off. We all have our sob stories, but I still manage to make it to the gym as best I can. You've got to have at least 30 MIN somewhere where your son can play with his toys while you do a workout DVD or something, right? How about P90x?? It is 6 days a week, like 45 min a day, but you could cut it down and just do them on days you have time. Believe me, I know your schedule seems impossible, but there has to be some sort of down time somewhere to squeeze a little something in. I don't know your home environment, but if there is anyway to do a TV workout while your daughter is sleeping further away, that would be good timing. I hope some moms have better advice for you! Good luck

will'sbeachprincess · February 2012

Could you work out during your lunch hour? I don't know what your job is so just wondering, I know some people on here do that. I know I couldn't workout during lunch when I was working as an RN, no way no how.

Like pp said, if you can swing a gym membership (i know you said you were trying to save money, but..) then you could get at least a couple workouts in when it's just you and the kids. I go to the YMCA here and it's pretty inexpensive. Less than $50/month for the whole family. The Y I went to before I moved was only $35/month.

hutch0830 · February 2012

Thanks for the tips everyone! Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to exercise during my lunch because we only get 30 min and aren't allowed to eat at our desks. I looked into local gyms and the Y is $63/month, which is definitely doable for us. I think we're going to do it! Doing 2 workouts per week is better than nothing!

Help me find a routine! (LONG!)

Re: Help me find a routine! (LONG!)

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