Teaching and going to the Gym

[liquoricecolours]

Hey everyone, I'm doing a PGCE for the next year, any advice on having a routine for going to the gym from fellow teachers, I used to go to the gym before the pandemic but have fallen off the wagon and not been to the gym since. I'm a bit worried that I'm going to be so busy working that going to the gym will simply not happen as I would like to get back in to going to the gym.

I had a Saturday job as a PGCE student and it almost killed me! Needed it to survive financially though and partly because I had very long commute to my placement schools. I didn’t do anything other than work, school placement or PGCE work. I literally had no life

IProbably going after school commitments, on the way home is best, but then you might be exhausted for essay writing, lesson planning etc. Also depends on the school and expectations around when you (actually not theoretically) can leave.

@YouMadeABear

My routine mainly involved coffee and crying and no gym whatsoever but maybe I was doing it wrong. Good luck.

This made me laugh! So true, crying is an essential part of the PGCE routine. Best of luck @liquoricecolours

Do you have kids? I would have found it really hard to fit in PGCE workload, being a mum AND gym. In fact I only did PGCE without the other 2 and it nearly killed me.
Now many yrs later I'm a full time teacher and a mum and I still don't have time to gym - however some colleagues manage it. Up to you how you do it - early morning may suit you, or after work.

''I used to go to a gym that a lot of teachers went to. They came straight after school. I left because of them. I was sick of the moaning.''

why were you listening to them? I be at the gym but am too busy working to listen to the conversations of others.

your school might have a gym

I used to go straight after work pretty much everyday so I could then have dinner and carry on working. Was manageable whilst doing a PGCE, and then teaching full-time for several years. Becomes almost impossible, however, when you have young children as well!

For my PGCE, especially on placement, I was at school by 7:30am, home again at 6pm, dinner then work until close to midnight.

If you think you can fit the gym in then go for it. But you may find you just have to much to do.

I couldn’t have fitted it in during my PGCE, but I joined a gym super close to my school once I was working normally, so I either go before school, at 7am, or straight after, at 4pm. Kids go to it but I don’t care - they’re mostly there for a chat and a flirt so I’m ignored on the whole!

I book a class for after work and go straight from school to the class. I wouldn't go home and go back out again and I want to be there for my kids bedtime/reading etc. You have to incorporate it into your routine. However, that goes out the window when DH is travelling as I can't fit it in then. It does depend on personal factors.

I'll be frank. Finding gym time when doing PGCE will be the least of your worries.
Of all the things I would be thinking about and preparing for just a month away from starting PGCE is the gym.

whoops - should read - 'it would not be the gym'

During pgce I could barely feed and clothe myself, let alone get to the gym.

Now I’m old and experienced, I find you just have to be really disciplined and decide to go. It’s really hard to stop work and just say “that is good enough in the time I have to give it”. Obviously marking etc has to be done but I find there’s often a point where I have to decide I’m finished even if things could be better. Teaching can expand to fill every free moment you have to spare. You have to keep it in check!

I used to get up at 5am, go to the gym and shower there and then go straight to work. I loved it but had to give it up when my husband changed jobs.

There's lots of folks saying you never have time for a life on PGCE but that wasn't my experience at all.

You could carry on not going to the gym as you are not going to the gym now.

@Kelvingrove

You could carry on not going to the gym as you are not going to the gym now.

This is probably the most helpful advice

I would probably just see how it pans out and then work out where the gym fits in to your day

I'm not a teacher but really early morning gym works for me but equally some of my colleagues are evening gym goers. Horses for courses innit?

I used to be a teacher and regular gym-goer. There was no way I could fit it in before work as I tended to arrive at around 7-7.15am for the day, so I used to finish up at school (on days when there were no meetings) at around an hour after the kids left, go to the gym, go home, do some work at home and then salvage whatever I could of my evening (usually barely anything - I loved teaching but I had no life because here was so much work to get through).

However, I’ve just seen that you are doing your pgce this year. Fuck the gym - you’re going to be exhausted.

@KindergartenKop

Get into school early (7:30ish). Book a class at the gym for 6pm. Leave school at 5:30pm to go to gym. Eat dinner at 7pm. Work 8-10:30pm. Sleep. Etc.

See, this is why OP needs advice from teachers because this ludicrous amount of extra work at home is routine in England from what I know. And before someone starts, no I'm not saying other careers don't do additional unpaid hours. I just know it's rife in English teaching and presumably extra so while on PGCE.

I was going to mention what @Needingideashas suggested- my school has a fitness suite that staff can use after school hours. At least there's no gym fees to worry about (particularly as you'll probably rarely get to go) and no travelling.

In all honesty, you'll probably manage about twice in term time all year, perhaps more in holidays. You'll probably never be as tired in your life as this year (unless you get a non-sleeping baby later ).

Anyway, what I do (not PGCE year!) is get up at 5, run, shower, sort the children, go to work.

Fitting in any time for yourself will be hard.

If your school is within walking or cycling distance, I would try and do that as many times a week as possible (hard if you need to carry books). Even getting off the bus a few stops earlier can help, without taking too much time.

I would also plan for how you can eat well over this year, not just for keeping trim purposes but to keep healthy. Pre covid times, and even In-Covid times, schools are notoriously great for their illness potential, and combined with stress and your body being run down you are more likely to be ill this next year than usual.

So, lots of fruit/veg, soups, make sure you have some freezer meals in for those nights where that will make life easier, or have a go to list of easy dinners. Look at taking a good vitamin supplement, which ups your zinc, vit c, selenium, even if you don't take every day.

I joined a gym near my work, would cycle there in the morning (5 miles) do a 30 minute work out then have my shower etc at the gym. Did that maybe 3/4 times a week.

So I left the house at 7am, got to the gym at 7.30am and did my work out, 8.15am I was in the shower / getting dressed, at my desk for 9am. I ate 2 boiled eggs for breakfast walking from the gym round to work.

Wasn't in teaching but a demanding full time job.

Try to find time before work, even if this means getting up really early. Its difficult at first but once you get into the routine it becomes easy.

When I am in the early routine the benefits are huge, sets you up for the day with loads more energy, sleep better and find I am more conscious about my food choices.
As said very hard to start but worth it.

So I left the house at 7am, got to the gym at 7.30am and did my work out, 8.15am I was in the shower / getting dressed, at my desk for 9am.

How does that help a trainee teacher?