Spin off of scheduling thread--exercising

[woolybear]

For those of you who exercise, when do you squeeze that into your schedule? I had thought I would walk with the kids and that would be my exercise. That doesn't work for several reasons, so I have found what works best for me is exercising to a video. My kids are up at 6 am (approximately). I do NOT want to get up earlier. I am not really ready to exercise until about 8 ish. If I wait to exercise until afternoon, I usually lose the momentum. Trying to exercise in the a.m. definitely gets in the way of our homeschooling. So, I haven't come up with a solution. I'm just wondering what others do? Just reading this over, I'm thinking (again :)) that I need to go to bed earlier, so I am ready to exercise and do other things earlier. One problem with this is that I NEED some alone time after the kids are asleep, so I end up staying up too late. So, now I see another question popping up, what do you do about getting some time to your self without staying up too late? Thanks for any input.:001_smile:

[WTMindy]

Sorry, but I do it early in the morning, and I really hate it!!! But, I just can't find another time that works that well for me. I'm always happy once it is done! :001_smile:

[Jami]

Can you require your kids to stay in their rooms until 7 or so? I have an early bird, but he's supposed to stay in his room until 7.

 

If you had from 6-7 to do your video in peace, maybe that would work for you. Though I understand about not being ready until later in the morning. I wake up slowly. :001_smile:

[Chris in CA]

Probably no help, but I run in early am - before school - and my dds usually blade along side of me. When they were young we did the baby jogger thing, but I like the idea of quiet play time in their rooms in the am from the other poster :001_smile:

[Karenciavo]

Up at 5:30, at the gym by 6 AM.

 

How old are your children?

[MamaReese]

My time to exercise is about 1- 1.5 hours after dinner. I am NOT a person who can wake up and exercise, also my children aren't old enough to leave them all my themselves yet (I prefer to walk/jog outside). In the evening when I exercise DH is either home and I leave them or I have them ride their bikes while I walk/jog.

[Rose in BC]

This started because my running partner works until 4 so we usually meet at 4:30. I get dinner completely ready, head out the door for about 45 minutes. When I return, dinner's ready and we're usually eating within half an hour of my return.

 

This time really works well for me. Occasionally we go out at 6 a.m. but it's not my favourite time to exercise. However, doing it in the morning completely frees up the rest of the day. Exercising at 4:30 gives me a little energy boost for the rest of the evening.

[susie in tx]

When I exercise, I prefer to exercise in the morning. I leave before the kids are up, but they are up around 7, rather than 6. I try to get to the gym by 7. While I'm there, they get up, get ready for the day, eat breakfast and do breakfast clean up. I leave them a list of things to do.

 

For a while, I was exercising after we ate our last meal. I'd leave just as we we were all finishing, and the girls would be doing clean up. I'd come back in time for their bedtime routine. I prefer the morning routine as I'm more likely to get it done, and I don't like feeling so awake after a workout in the evening.

 

Currently, I'm trying to spend about 30 minutes on the treadmill after lunch. It's not working.

[sweetbaby]

I started out early in the morning but have fallen off the wagon so I guess this is an incentive to get back on.;)

[Twinmom]

This is a real struggle for me, too. My kids are young and I can't leave them to go exercise. Taking them with me to do something like walk the dog is a joke...the Things can't manage to walk in a straight line, and MUST always stop to explore, run into traffic, etc. No exercise there...just frustration unless I make it a nature walk. I have a membership at the Y with childcare, but DD is too old for childcare and is excluded from the exercise area by her age. My DH isn't reliably around to watch them (he works from home but is constantly on the road).

 

So, I'm left with getting up at the crack 'o dawn and trying to fit in exercise at home. We have an exercise bike in our detached garage/office. If I can drag myself out of bed by 5:30 am, I can manage a small workout, though I have to have time to eat beforehand (I'm one of those random folks who passes out if I don't eat before exercise!:glare:) and that means cooking...I've got an eating plan that requires eggs in the a.m. Of course, I'm not a morning person so getting around this early after my inevitable and usually unavoidable late night is torture for me. I also have to force the kiddos into leaving me alone while I do it, because they always hear me and try to get up with me...defeating the purpose of the early rising, of course! Then, of course, I'm trying to fit in a quiet time/Bible study before the kids get up, and have the wee ones ready to leave the house by 8:00 am for preschool...it's just nuts.

 

Whew...can you tell I'm frustrated about this? It seems there are constant barriers to self-care here. I refuse to give in, however. I'm not dropping dead by 45! :D This is one of the things about homeschooling that I have a love/hate relationship with...no time for me.

[laylamcb]

A couple of thoughts. First, my ds is routinely "up" between 6-6:30, but he knows the drill: No one leaves his/her room before 7. Whew. Dd is old enough to get up, pee, and then go back into her room and turn on an audiobook while she waits for the official wakeup time. Ds has learned to look at a book or play quietly in his bed (he often sings in there, too).

 

Another thought: Do your kids like exercise videos? Because mine really do. They really love it when, on a blustery winter morning, I tell them that we're going to stay inside and do a walking workout together with one of those walking DVDs. Could be fun! Sort of... ;)

 

Finally, if you watch evening TV sans kids, force yourself to get up during commercials and do bicep curls (you'll need weights for those, obviously), pushups, planks, squats (even OK for bad backs when you use a ball against the wall), etc. I get a great strength training workout that way.

[woolybear]

Some good ideas here. But Twinmom,dropping dead by 45 ??? That would give me just 6 months to live!! Well now, there's some good motivation,lol.

[bettyandbob]

you could try instituting "quiet time". Everyone must go to their room for 60-90 minutes. Maybe you do immediately following lunch (12:30) and let nothing get in your way. So, if the science experiment runs over you finish during history tomorrow and you do your history reading at bedtime --or some other scenario. The point is to make it a habit that exercise is a priority and does not get shoved aside. The most successful exercisers do not "miss" .

 

I am most likely to get exercise in if I'm up at 5 am. I go to the gym, swim, or walk in my neighborhood. If I don't do it early, it usually doesn't happen. On an inconsistent basis, a neighbor will go for a walk with me after dinner. I do not count on this activity. However, I NEVER turn down the opportunity either.

 

To help with your routine, look at the rest of your day. If you menu plan and use appliances like a crock pot or premake meals and freeze them on weekends, you will have more time on weekdays to get all you have to do done. Look over other "regular" chores and activities for other streamlining.

[Mama Lynx]

I prefer to exercise in the morning. I exercise to videos, and I HATE doing them if other people are up and around. Right now, that means I don't exercise in the mornings. I'd have to get up at 6 am, and that's not in the cards right now.

 

So instead, I make myself do it in the afternoon, usually around 3 or 4 pm. Our schoolwork is done, it's not time to start dinner yet, and the kids are usually off playing.

[Jenny in Atl]

I w/o each morning before school ~ 7:30- 8:30. During this time, dd12 is reading and dd8 is still sleeping. Then dd12 works out after I'm done and we start our day. I try to be flexible and move the time around if needed. I also walk with dh at night after dinner.

[Mrs Mungo]

Sorry, but I do it early in the morning, and I really hate it!!! But, I just can't find another time that works that well for me. I'm always happy once it is done! :001_smile:

 

Me too. My kids are frequently up and scrounging breakfast, I don't get up before them but I do get up early try to get it out of the way. I definitely have more energy when I workout, even though I get up early.

[JudoMom]

I prefer to exercise in the morning. I exercise to videos, and I HATE doing them if other people are up and around.

 

I don't like (read this HATE) exercising when others are up and around, either, but I like the early mornings so that's not a problem.

 

However, last year my SIL came to visit for 10 days. Imagine my horror when she found out (on the first day of her visit) that I exercised to a video daily and she asked when I did it. Knowing her propensity to sleep in a bit late (and worried she might be trying to join me), I told her early morning, that I got up at 5, thinking that would scare her off. I do get up at 5, but I don't exercise right away. And I get up at 5 to be alone before anyone else gets up.

 

Imagine my further horror and panic when she said she would join me at 5! I told her if that was the case that I would do them later (thinking I could get an hour or 2 of quiet alone time before everyone got up), but she was insistent that she didn't want to mess up my routine and we would do them at 5.

 

So she got up at 5, faithfully, everyday for 10 days. And then she went back to bed right about the time others got up.

[laylamcb]

So she got up at 5, faithfully, everyday for 10 days. And then she went back to bed right about the time others got up.

 

I think I might've executed a well-timed "accidental" judo chop to the leg...;) You are sooo good to have tolerated that. Bless your heart!

[Stacy in NJ]

I'm probably no help. I run with my boys in the a.m. I also work out, either treadmill or weights, at the YMCA while my guys are in their swimming class.

[Guest]

I've been doing walking videos and do 1 of 2 things.

 

1. Get up and walk at 5:30. I hate doing this, but it makes me happiest the rest of the day. If I am too lazy, then I...

 

2. Walk immediately after our school day (which ends early - 10:30am). The kids need to run around, so we all put our shoes on and I pop in the video. DD wanders (she's 1) and DS will walk with me for a few minutes. When he starts losing interest, I send him outside. I'm standing right next to the door that leads outside and sometimes DD will wander out there. I aim for 20-30 minutes and everyone's normally done by then.

 

HTH