To ask how you fit in exercise?

[drspouse]

I currently work 4 days and so does DH but he commutes quite a long way so I do most of the drop offs and pick ups. He does WFH sometimes but not on a regular day.
I cycle to work mostly on the day he's at home and I try to cycle with DD who currently goes to my workplace nursery but a) she's 4 and heavy and b) often I have too much to carry as her seat only allows one small pannier.
She's starting school in Sept but I'll still be doing at least 75% of the school runs.
I have a horrible hamstring pain at the moment so I want to do some yoga but leaving aside that many of the local classes close for the summer, they are all at 8 am (useless for school run) or 5 pm (ditto after school club).
I also really need to do some aerobic exercise - I do 10K steps most days with school run/errands/dashing to meetings at work but it's not helping me lose weight sadly.
So do share your secrets!
I'm happy doing gym classes but the machines leave me cold.
I'm in the kind of job where I have a meeting at 12, 1 and 2 one day but then can take a bit over an hour the next but it's not massively regular. Not sure I could fit in a full gym class plus shower at lunchtime regularly.
Weekends are quite full on (two DC, older awaiting SEN diagnosis, we try to both have a breather away from the DCs but we do have to schedule them, and us therefore, to help them both feel like they know what's happening).
Pre DCs I cycled more, but also went for a lot of long walks that they can't do. I also have annoying chest infections most winters!

arran I have no idea what arial or anti-gravity yoga hammocks are but as I said, if you can find me a class I can take my DCs to fire away.

Neither of my children would be safe while I was exercising on a rebounder... Neither of them would watch from a play area. I used to take DS swimming and I had DD on the side while he swam. A friend took her same-age DDs swimming at the same time. The friend left her 2 year old colouring on the side while she took the baby in. For half an hour! Then they swapped over.

I couldn't actually stay at the side of the pool once DD was mobile (she didn't have a lesson that day) and watch MY 2 year old swim, because DD was trying to fling herself in. If I'd been in the water with DD while my 2 year old was on the side, the 2 year old would have been in the baby pool/in the big pool/out the front door and into the car park before I could climb out of the pool to stop him.

He's 6 now but I still wouldn't trust him to stay safe while I did a class.

But loads of the suggestions you won’t do meet your op!

Which ones that I have rejected? I have added in additional information based on the fact that I didn't think some things were even things that people did (like get up at 5.30 i.e. go to bed before my DC) or go to classes with your DCs - or based on things I didn't think to say (like the speed my DCs cycle/scoot at).

I’ve come back to apologise. You’re right, @WellTidy; everyone is different and I think I’m projecting here because I get told all the time that I’m lucky I can exercise by people with shorter working hours / more readily available childcare / partner around more etc. It’s really annoying because it’s not about luck; it’s about the choices we make.

But... I’m not you OP, and you’re clearly busy and stressed. I’m sorry For my previous posts and I hope you find something that works for you.

Thanks MrsJane that means a lot.
FTR I would really love to go to a class with my DCs as I'm sure they would enjoy it if they could take part but there would be no sitting on the side, I can assure you all, and as I say I have never, ever heard of such a thing in my area beyond teenagers going running with their parents, or baby yoga.

MsJaneAusten I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I really didn't. We all have our own challenges. Best of luck with yours. Here's a or or or whatever your fancy.

What people are getting at op is that some of your 'limitations' such as not wanting to exercise in the late evening or the early morning/not wanting to do things you find boring like exercise machines etc are self imposed limitations. Obviously we understand your childcare issues that prevent daytime classes etc are real limitations!

Don’t worry WellTidy; you just made me think again, nowt wrong with that.

Op, I also dont know of classes I could take kids to. For me, the key is getting DH on side (for bedtimes / early morning runs / agreeing the importance of paid childcare, etc)

Have you tried any of the HIIT/Tabata apps? Quick 4 is good. You do a warmup and then the workout takes 4 mins. The idea is that you go ALL out. It is very effective.

Go for a run when the kids are in bed. Simple and free.

Is there a reason you cannot go to bed at 10pm and get up at 6am and do 30 mins exercise then?

You do appear to be full of excuses OP

I think you are like me, OP. I used to exercise a lot - 10 hours a week minimum. That's just impossible now.

BUT we need to stop writing off everything less than that as useless. A 30 min cycle/run at lunch or 6am is significantly better than nothing.

I'm doing c25k. Every time the voice over woman on my app says "well done, bet you never thought you'd run 5 min" I want to scream "No, actually I remember running 4 and a half hours like it was yesterday". But it wasn't yesterday. And it takes small steps.

I don't have a kid who will color whilst I exercise. Dunno who does.

Is there a reason you cannot go to bed at 10pm and get up at 6am and do 30 mins exercise then?
I am afraid I need (or at least, try to get) more sleep than that.
Sorry!
Some days the DCs aren't asleep till gone 9 and I spend the next hour madly running round (as does DH) cleaning the kitchen/getting lunches ready/getting things ready for tea the next day/doing various admin tasks, then I collapse into bed between 10.15 and 10.30, and wake up when DH hands the baton over at 6.45.
If I'm lucky and they are asleep before 9, I can try to go to bed earlier than 10, and get up early.
I did try for a period of time (when DD dropped her naps) to get up at 6.30 and do Shred but that was when the DCs noticed that someone was up and doing something fun that they could interfere with.
I also tried (when DS was a baby) to go out at 6.15 and run and then be back when DH was leaving. He is generally very accommodating* but he was getting VERY twitchy about missing his train when I did that and I didn't want to make it hard for him.

*I have just discovered an 8pm Pilates class that he's almost certain to be home for, on the majority of evenings, so I won't have to keep missing things - and as it's Pilates, it will wind me down rather than wind me up. So I'm going to give that a go.

Great news about the pilates op. I got results really quickly with it and it's varied and interesting enough to keep you engaged. Also you can do it anywhere so if you do even get some free time at home you can practise what you learned in class for extra exercise!

I've just had a thought that our local leisure centre runs classes for children (martial arts, trampolining, ballet etc.) where many parents leave their children and go to the gym/have a swim while the class is on. Is that something you can look into? obviously don't know the extent of your DC's SEN and whether they could be left at classes.

I was about to ask - have you checked if any of your local gyms have crèches? A few near us do, and you can leave the kids there for an hour while you do a class or have a swim?
Also is there nothing early on a weekend morning you could go to?

Could the whole family go swimming and you could fit 15 lengths in while your DH splashes in the children’s pool with the DC?

drspouse - I've no way of knowing if the franchise I mentioned is in your area or anyone else's.

However, there is a drop-down menu for UK venues and classes to see if anyone teaches in your area and offers child-friendly facilities.

There are anti-gravity yoga or other aerial classes in quite surprising places at times and then some cities where the availability is limited - it's hard to judge.

OP I totally understand, I’m finding exercising impossible at the moment too. My OH is out of the house at 6.30, I cant get up any earlier than that to exercise and stay sane as I’m still breastfeeding through the night. The baby has just now finally gone to sleep at 9.15 pm...I don’t have a lunch break at work so that I can finish in time to get the older kids from school, and then there’s after school stuff going on every night.

I’ve just started taking the kids to our local junior park run every Sunday morning though. They complain but it’s doing them good...I run with them so I’m managing a 2k run once a week, at least. I’m happy with that for now, I can’t do everything. As my youngest gets older I’ll reassess.

Ive entirely given up on classes and clubs. They’re always at prime childcare times.

Dh and I alternate bedtimes and I run on my bedtimes off. I go out as bedtime begins and sneak back in an hour later, wait till my bedtime when they’re asleep before I shower. Dh mountain bikes on my bedtime nights.

It works for us but is too fragile to add clubs/classes to the mix.

They'll grown up & you'll have more time when they're bigger.

Do you have a pool near you? A lot of leisure centres do a late swim at say 9, which works quite well if you have to wait till your DH is home and kids are in bed?

Annoyingly bugger the local public pool seems to be for clubs most nights. If DH gets home on time the one night it's open till 8 I may nip out to it though.
He's not that much of a swimmer though and doesn't feel massively confident taking them in on his own. Maybe when they are bigger (both are taking lessons).
Our weekends are mainly activities in term time and it does usually take both of us to manage them but I might be able to nip out for a swim or bike ride in the holidays before we go out for a day trip somewhere.
museum that does sound a lot like our house, any hint of parent going out/coming in/making noise out of the ordinary is disastrous! I'll have to practice sneaking.

Ok OP, I think you need to work on your "thinking" before your "doing".

Before you dismiss this comment as a load of namby pamby shit, consider the possibility that you are seeking opportunities to exercise not just for weight loss but to relax.

Maybe if you could find a way to relax/ meditate/ take time to be - whatever terminology works for you, the opportunities to exercise would become easier to identify. Surely you could sit in the car/ on a bench etc and just make some quiet time your goal. Just 5 minutes. Which could increase as you get used to it...You sound very stressed. And on edge.

The internet is your friend - mediations, podcasts etc Start to try to tune in to yourself.

Hope you find a way through this x

Tbh it sounds like your DH could step up a bit...if you can manage on your own with them every morning and evening, can he not manage them on his own for an hour on a weekend morning?