working moms--when do you workout

[sbigelow]

I have been a SAHM for 4 years and over these 4 years I have had plenty of time to workout. I have decided to re-enter the workforce(going back on Monday!) fulltime and my biggest fear is that I won't have the time to workout. I have to be at work by 8:00 AM and would have to leave the house by 7-7:10am to take one child to her preschool and the other one to his "before school program" so I think I should have time in the morning.I am afraid if I wait til after the kids go to bed (8pm) I might be too exhausted.

For all of you working Moms what works for you when it comes to working out. Looking forward to your reponses.

 

[allwildgirl]

Good morning

I face those challenges too. There's no way I can workout in the morning before work and getting my girl off to school, so I workout after she goes to bed, which is around 8 p.m. Sometimes it's rough, but I find that once I start, I get into it and I'm fine. Also, I share custody of my daughter with her Dad - one week on and one week off - so I get that week in between where I can really push it.

Good luck!

 

[finsgirl]

Hi, Sarah -

I usually get up around 5 or 5:30am and get my workout in before my youngest gets on the bus at 7am. My kids are older so it makes it a little easier but I still like to eat breakfast with them. It's usually too crazy when I get home with getting dinner on the table, homework, school functions, etc to workout. (Although it's often a good MENTAL workout!)On calmer Friday nights, I like to squeeze in an extra workout before bed to work out the stress of the week. I sleep like a baby and I start the weekend refreshed!

Good luck on Monday!

Angie

 

[meredith]

very, very early

I work full time and have 2 kids. I get up at 4:10 and work out with Cathe, I've been doing it for about 5 years now. It's just part of my life. On Sat. I sleep in to 5:30! I am always in bed by 9:00 PM. It's just a matter of priorities and exercise is the one thing I still do for me. I enjoy the workouts so much that I really feel good getting up, it's not like I groan at the alarm. Usually I'm already slightly awake because I'm so used to this schedule. For the first few years after I had kids, I really struggled to fit in exercise. I gained weight, I hated it. I was an evening gym rat B.K. (before kids) and with kids that's completely unrealistic (it gets worse as they get older, they need homework help). Finally, someone told me to try the morning routine. I though - oh, that's ridiculous, I already get up early to get ready for work, etc. etc. But I really streamlined my morning routine - I can get myself and kids ready in 40 min. now. I let my hair mostly dry on the commute and keep an itty-bitty blowdryer in my desk, quickly fix it when I arrive at 8:00.

Try it. It's better than feeling fat, let me tell you.
Meredith

 

[sbigelow]

RE: very, very early

Thanks everyone. I am writing this at 5:10am on Sunday morning and planning to exercise right after this. Good practice for tomorrow when I actually start my job. I am much more of a morning person so getting up a little earlier will probably work best for me.

 

[lorihart]

RE: very, very early

Your going back full-time? Your jumping right back in,aren't you?
I use to have my workout schedule down pat.That was before I started switching jobs.I just started a new job a month ago and it is shift work.So my workout schedule as really taken a turn.
When I work day shifts I find it harder to workout then if I had worked a mid-night.Strange hey? By the time I leave here at 6:30,get dinner,homework done..etc...I am tired myself.Sometimes I will skip the workout but most times I will find the energy somewhere.Chances are, I are lots of sweets that day that I need to burn off.
This weekend I am working night shifts and I find it easier.I get off at 8 a.m,sleep until 12,get up and workout,be back for work at 6:30 p.m.I am not forcing myself out of bed but I need to get things done.And I can normally catch a few z's at work.
Don't worry,you will figure it all out.As long as you get your proper rest, you should find the time to workout.
Lori

 

[dss62467]

If I didn't have to be at work until 8:00 a.m., I would probably workout at 5:00 a.m.. Since I have to be to work at 7:00 a.m., though, I workout as soon as I get home (5:00 p.m.ish). Most nights we don't eat dinner until 7:00 - 7:30. I only work 35 hours per week, so I work 7:00 - 4:15 4 days a week, and have Wednesdays and the weekends off. On Wednesdays and the weekends, I workout about an hour after I get up in the morning.

If you don't have to leave until 7:00, I think you'd be best off getting up at 5:00 and doing your workout.

 

[amybmomofthree]

Hi all...I'm coming out of lurking to reply to this. I've been working out with Cathe, thanks to FitTV, for a year, and am loving my new hardcore series.

I went back to work full time last September, and my biggest concern was how I was going to squeeze in my workout with a crazy work schedule. I have to be at work at 6am, with a 40 minute commute. I get out of bed at 4:15 just to get ready for my day. I knew if I wanted to work out before work it would mean getting up at 3 am, which just wasn't doable with three kids.

I joined a gym right by my office, and I go there every day on my lunch break. Most days I try to do at least 20 minutes of cardio, and maybe some sets on one body part. In the evenings I try to do a timesaver premix for a couple of body parts (if I didn't lift at the gym that day) or an abs and/or stretch workout. The weekends are when I really get to enjoy an entire Cathe workout, and I can't tell you how much I look forward to them.

This is less than my dream workout schedule, but it works with my schedule, and keeps me sane. I still feel like I don't get a long enough workout most days, so I try to go for the burn on the weekends. My DH has learned that my workouts are a high priority for me, even now that I'm working outside the home. They make me better able to manage the stresses of being a working mom. His biggest question is still "Why do you need all this weight equipment at home if you work out at the gym?" (said yesterday as we were buying new sizes of dumbells) or "Why have a gym membership if you work out to Cathe at home?"

Good luck tomorrow! You'll figure out a balance to your schedule before you know it! Thanks for letting me de-lurk!