Time to Exercise?

[susie in tx]

How does anyone find the time to exercise? I do not have the discipline to exercise at home. The newest baby is 7 months old and I have been trying to go to the gym. I have a treadmill at home, so I could probably use that, but it's been here for almost a year now and I've only used it twice.

 

We're trying to catch up on school this summer because we took a lot of time off during the year with the baby being born and my eldest dd's bat mitzvah. But, I also need to exercise for myself.

 

I have two choices for exercising. I can go to my regular gym, between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. or 4 - 8 p.m on weekdays. Or, I can go to a smaller community center any time I want. They don't have the machines I like, though, and I've gotten rather spoiled. LOL Realistically, I would be at the gym by 6:45 and home by 8. We would start school by 9.

 

However, when I can only do this at the community center. If I go to the regular gym, I am home by 9:30 and then we don't start school until 10:30 or so. Or so is more realistic. ;/

 

As it is, I am having trouble getting one on one things done with the girls. My 8 yo is not a fluent reader, so everything I do with her is one on one. We are focusing on phonics and math right now. My 5 yo is reading and I'd like to do some phonics with her, too. My older girls can do a lot on their own, but there are a few things in which I am needed.

 

Argh. So how do you all fit it in? Especially if you have time intensive curriculum?

 

TIA,

[DarlaS]

A few things that might help.

 

Do you plan to start by working out every single morning or would 2-3 days during the week be enough combined with one or two days on the weekends?

 

What can you do the night before to save time in the morning?

 

Can you go in the afternoon or at night once a week?

 

What can the kids do independently while you are gone to make the rest of the day go smoother? (Are you planning on them staying home?).

 

This could be an excellent time to get chores out of the way or get their independent reading or math review in.

 

Just some totally random thoughts. Take them for what they're worth. ;)

 

My kids range from 5-15 and I would also love to hear other's suggestions as to how to make this work. My tiny little town has a Curves and I'm thinking of joining...

[Penelope]

This is why I exercise at home! I know, that's not so helpful. :tongue_smilie:

But to go to the gym during childcare hours sucks up too much of my day.

 

Would your DH be your accountability partner? I hand baby to DH as soon as he gets home, and I go for a walk (or take just baby in the stroller, without all of the other kids). Or I exercise first thing in the AM, since baby is happy playing on the floor next to me then while I do a workout DVD. I know it isn't ideal, but videos are the only way it will work for me now, and I NEED to exercise. Netflix is great because one of the worst things for me about exercising at home is the boredom factor, and this way I can rent lots of different things.

[MomLovesClassics]

Not trying to sound harsh. Time to exercise is a weakness for me too. You have to make the time. Tell yourself it is important. I tried a gym, and it didn't work for me. My son would cry when I left him in the child care area. Then they would come get me, and embarass me attempting to make me think he was sick, one mom even suggested he had asthma! I quit going after that. He was not sick, he did not have asthma, he was just uncomfortable being there, so it made me uncomfortable too. As hard as this is, I get up before the kids do. If I need to exercise during the day, I have to close the door, and tell them I will be busy for a bit and can't be disturbed. Walking outdoors helps. You can try walking on your treadmill 5 or 10 minutes at a time, and by the end of the day it will add up. As far as videos go there are some that are 15 minutes, 10 minutes, then there is one that has quick 6 minute workouts. Then if you know certain exercise that you like to do, or is in your plan, do them throughout the day. Say no one is in the kitchen, do some quick squats, another time do lunges, or keep those weights handy and do those bicep curls, tricep kickbacks etc. Do what you can when time permits for now. Soon you will be able to fit in that whole workout in one go round. Get a pedomoter to see if you think you are active enough, they now have watches that keep up with your activity and how many calories you burn by measuring your temp and heart rate. I would love one of those. If driving to a gym is the only way you feel you can do it without anyone taking your time then do it that way if it works for you. Thing is you want to do it, and you are trying to figure out when is the best time and place. That is a huge accomplishment in itself. It is often underestimated how much a mom's time is not her own.

[lynn]

What I had to do was what worked for me which was getting up at 4A. I did this for 4 months and once exercising was a regular part of my everyday life and I was to exhausted to get a 4A any longer I started going out after dinner or try to find a time when dd napped or occupied with gasp a movie or show. You just do it. No excuses! If you put you first everything else just seems to fall into play.

[mitraces]

I gave up gyms once my first child started walking - 20 years ago - and walk the neighborhoods instead. I love the outdoors and can handle life at home after fresh air. I can walk, speed walk, run/walk, take the dog or take a child and review spelling, voc, French, geo words whatever. I can pray, memorize Scripture, cry, you name it. The walks are my best therapy. And a 10 min walk 3x a day is sometimes works well. I see you have a teen to help manage the kids if you go out for 10 min.

[Marylou]

Since you have a treadmill . . .

 

Put a DVD in and exercise on the treadmill. Make sure it is something you really want to watch. Only allow yourself to watch the movie when you're exercising. Good luck!

[Carol in Cal.]

But, I would say to think about some things that do or don't appeal to you and give you an increased chance of success:

 

Inside or outside?

Sport or workout?

Exercise partner, accountability partner, or complete privacy?

Time efficiency requirements?

Home or away?

Best times of the day?

 

And then with those answers in hand, decide what to do about the specifics of your situation.

 

For instance, I prefer to be outside but don't care that much. I prefer a sport, but the few sports that I am good at are not particularly easy to arrange, so I can't limit myself to them. I prefer to be working in privacy, and if someone tried to hold me accountable, I would probably bite their head off. I am most efficient when I don't have to leave and come back to exercise. So I want to do it on the way to or from something--no real roundtrips. And I also am most efficient when I do it in the morning or late in the evening. Also I sweat really easily and hate to be sweaty except when I'm directly active, so I always want to clean up right after exercising.

 

So, for me, what works is:

Exercise before my bath in the morning, or late in the evening with a shower following.

Use handweights at home for strength training ("Strong Women Stay Young" is good for me)

Go running or walking from my house as my primary exercise. I have trail running shoes, and a waterproof shell for bad weather.

Have an exercise bike at home as a backup.

Jump on opportunities to play the sports I like--volleyball, hiking, and skiing--whenever they come up.

Never join a gym. I just won't go there. It's a waste for me.

[KrissiK]

I exercise at home. If I had to go to the gym it would never happen. I get up at 5:15am and get a 40 minute walk around our neighborhood in. We do go to bed fairly early, but it's a good time for me to not only exercise, but have some uninterrupted thoughts and some peace.

[JudoMom]

I exercise at home. If I had to go to the gym it would never happen. I get up at 5:15am and get a 40 minute walk around our neighborhood in. We do go to bed fairly early, but it's a good time for me to not only exercise, but have some uninterrupted thoughts and some peace.

 

:iagree: I get up at 4:45 (it used to be 5 until I added in some self-education). It's the only quiet time of the day, and I get a good treadmill workout in while I watch the news.

[Happy]

When my oldest was a baby, I'd pack him into a baby backpack and go hiking with my dogs all over our farm. When the youngest came along, he refused to sit in the backpack (and stroller and high chair....;)) so I had to come up with plan B.

 

That was a Schwinn exercise bike with a reading rack. What a life-saver! (I'm not a particularly nice person without a strong dose of exercise.) I put a book or a favorite magazine on the rack and pedal away. I've heard of folks using portable DVD players on their racks, too.

 

It isn't my favorite way to exercise, but it got me through the baby days. I still use it in the winter when I don't want to be walking in the cold. I'm a wimp about cold.

 

Now that my babies aren't babies anymore, I walk every morning. I find that if I don't get a walk in early, the day presses in and I don't get a good walk in at all.

 

Make exercise a priority. You will not be sorry you did a few decades from now. ;)

[Jane Elliot]

Since you have a treadmill . . .

 

Put a DVD in and exercise on the treadmill. Make sure it is something you really want to watch. Only allow yourself to watch the movie when you're exercising. Good luck!

 

This is exactly what I do. I am on the treadmill at least 6 days a week/45 minutes each time. I have one of those little DVD players on the treadmill and I watch with earphones. I do it in the afternoon, often while the baby is still napping, but if he isn't I assign him to someone. On really busy days, I exercise while the kids eat lunch or after dinner when dh is home. The movie is the carrot that gets me there.

 

I think you also have to come to the conviction that not only is your exercise the best thing for you, but it's the best thing for your family.

 

First of all, I can do things with my children that I would not be able to do if I wasn't staying fit on the treadmill. This weekend we took a family hike to an incredibly beautiful place. I would not have been able to get up that trail if I hadn't been exercising. I have at least 17 years left of children in my home and I'm not getting any younger. I want my littlest children to have the benefit of a healthy mommy just as my older children did. I want to enjoy hikes with them.

 

Second, children need the good example of a mom who exercises. It gives them motivation to stay active and fit and helps them see the value. This is especially true as kids get into their teens.

 

I used to feel I was selfishly taking time from my family when I exercised. Then I started to suffer from some serious health setbacks (a blood clot with my last pregnancy that left me with Post Thrombotic Syndrome, myofacial pain syndrome in my face and neck). I realized that if I didn't get serious about exercise I was not going to be able to be the mom I wanted to be for the long haul. Your health is a gift you give your family.

[VanessaS]

I get up and jog before mt DH leaves for work each morning.

[dirty ethel rackham]

The only thing that works for me is to exercise first thing in the morning, before the kids are up. I am up at 5:45 and meet my exercise partner (and best friend) by 6:20. I am usually home by 7:40. We either nordic walk (with poles) outside about 3 miles or go to the Y and warm up on the ellipticals and use the machines and free weights. The only way I can stay disciplined about this is to have a partner that I would not want to disappoint. I work out 4 - 5 days a week. (Unfortunately, this has not translated into weight loss, but I am healthier for it.)

[Ferdie]

Do you have something you can listen to or watch while you do your cardio at home? For the summer, I watch Netflix on my laptop while I ride our recumbant bike. It really helps pass the time.

 

In the summer for strength training I go to a community center. They don't have a great variety of machines, but with the free weights and some library books I have exercises for every muscle group. Because I do my cardio at home I only have to go to the community center three times a week and I am there for 40 minutes max.

 

However, during the school year I meet a workout partner early in the morning (5:15am) and we do cardio and weight training three times a week. That is the only way I can be consistent while homeschooling.

[Jennifer in MI]

I'm with all the others who say that getting up early and just doing it early work best for me. I try to get up by 6 or 6:30 and get in a 4 - 6 mile run before the day really starts. Then, we start homeschooling by 8:30 or so.

 

Good luck! It's hard with a baby!

[Mom-ninja.]

I don't know what the answer is. For myself, I stopped excercising....for now.

 

I was exhausting myself, and stressed. Yes, I know excercise is supposed to help decrease stress. It added stress in my life. I was running around trying to do it all. I was trying to take care of the baby, keep the house clean, cook the meals, do the laundry, do lessons, excercise, and all with a smile on my face just like a "good" mother and wife should.

 

I burned myself out. I cried because I couldn't fit it all in. I was so tired from getting up with the baby at night, yet I was making myself get up early when the baby was still sleeping to excercise. I finally decided that I was not doing myself any favors. There's a season for everything. Right now my season is make sure I get enough sleep. Sleep is just as important for health as excercise. I will have plenty of time to "workout" when my baby is older. For now, I eat well, deal with my interrupted sleep, and I've let excercise time go. I figure for now running around with my kids, dancing with them, and doing housework with vigor is going to have to be enough.

 

I'll reevaluate when my little one sleeps better at night.