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Help me find a routine! (LONG!)
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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.
Re: Help me find a routine! (LONG!)
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.
Recent Races:
Chicago Half Marathon 9/11/11: 1:58:11 (PR)
Race for the Cure 10k, Chicago 9/24/11: 51:52 (PR)
ING New York City Marathon 11/6/11: 4:13:16 (PR)
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.