When do you do your exercise and how frequent?

[notanotheraibu]

I'm just trying to get into exercise. I need to crest a habit and routine rather than just expect the exercise will happen.

When do you get your workout in? Morning, lunchtime, evening, weekend!

How many times do you workout and what kind of fitness do you do?

I'm thinking 3-4 times per week, couple if runs, a walk and something strength related.

After work (not a morning person) it works as I can shower straight after
Try to peloton 4-6 times a week and do 20/30/45 min rides, mix of fun ones and endurance

I work full time (secondary school teacher) - but exercise is really good for my head, so getting up at 5am to run is worth it.

All the advice is great but I'm finding I can't do any of what you lot do. I have a 6 month old and no partner or grandparents to mind him. Can't even have a nice shower most of the time. I feel stuck.

@EliyanahM

All the advice is great but I'm finding I can't do any of what you lot do. I have a 6 month old and no partner or grandparents to mind him. Can't even have a nice shower most of the time. I feel stuck.

What about walking workouts on you tube, just a 10-15 minute one to get started

It won't be cheap but a gym with a creche or there's buggy bootcamp type classes in most areas. Or a brisk walk with the buggy, or he's old enough now for a running buggy, and there's plenty of workouts available online to do at home while he's having a nap or gone to bed.

I wasn't doing all this when I had a 6mo either, to be fair. I did go to Buggyfit though, so that's worth checking into.

Workouts at home during naps or after baby is in bed is what I'd advise. I don't belong to a gym any more and, other than my runs, do all my working out at home.

I didn't exercise at all when my kids were babies and toddlers, I think if you can manage one or two sessions a week you are doing better than I did.
Don't be too hard on yourself, children are small for a very short time, and exercise will always be there.
It will get easier to find time.

At the moment it's one 5k run a week at a run club that takes place one evening.
I will also do one home workout (Heather Robertson) on YouTube in the evening.
Then I'll hike very fast up a mountain at the weekend and (in a good week) go for a 5k run on Sunday afternoon.

@Watapalava

This thread has made me realise how few people must work full time? I’m in work by 8am and it’s an hour commute

Are you all sahm or part time?

I work full time! I do 2 evening gym classes a week (Monday and Wednesday), go to running club Tuesday evening, run on my own Thursday evening and do a long run Saturday morning. It means I don't eat or sit down til gone 8pm during the week but it's worth it, I love my exercise routine. I do have older kids thought I couldn't have done this when they were little!

I leave for work at 7am, but like others, morning is my best time. I cycle to and from work (20mins in and 35mins home - due to steep hills!) every day unless it’s dangerously windy/icy. In winter, I quite often cannot be arsed cycling home, but by the end of the day, when all I have with me is the bike, I just have to get on with it.

I find that the more exercise I do, the more I want to do. So when I’ve taken the car to work for a full week due to snow or whatever, I get less and less enthusiastic about doing any other exercise. When I’m in a good cycling routine, I’m constantly bouncing off the walls like a puppy and find plenty of spare time in the evenings and on weekends for runs, hikes, mountain biking etc.

I need a better routine for strength training though. I have a roomful of weights and things at home that I rarely use. I just can’t seem to develop a good habit there.

Always in the morning. I run most days with my dogs, 6ish km, but on Saturday morning I run a longer distance on my own.

Swap a run for a swim one morning a week. Do a 10minute yoga stretch after running, and a longer 30 minute yoga session (I use YouTube videos like Sarah Beth) on sunday when I have a rest from running or swimming. I also lift weights for 10 minutes twice a week

I work full time but from home. Noone micromanaging me so if I'm not back from my run by 9am noone cares. Shower at lunchtime if I go straight into meetings.

I don't understand how people find the time with working, young dc, seeing friends & family.
Also do many people have partners not that into exercise or hobbies because there's no way we both could do loads.

Early mornings. Evenings after the kids are in bed. Time I would otherwise have spent commuting in the past. It's not hard to have one parent look after the DC while the other goes for a 40min run on the weekend. And yes, we both have our interests and enable each other to pursue them.

By getting up early, @giggbig, and out of the way before the rest of the house are up. I can do a decent run and be home and showered in time to then get the kids ready and leave for work at 7.30am ish.
DH is also a keen runner and cyclist so if we're both in training for something big, we generally take one weekend morning each - but we're home by 10am or so to make sure we can still spend a full weekend with the kids.

I can imagine it's far harder if you're competing at a high standard and need more training time, but at our level (decent club runner standard) it's not that hard to fit in training around work and kids. It just means prioritising and getting up earlier. And not drinking much/at all, as alcohol tends to be a drain on time!

It's not hard to have one parent look after the DC while the other goes for a 40min run on the weekend.

Who said that was hard? I'm talking about both partners fitting in loads of exercise.

I can do a decent run and be home and showered in time to then get the kids ready and leave for work at 7.30am ish.

Do you go to bed very early then?

We both find time to exercise once a week & I try to work to walk.

Depends what you call very early - I usually go up to bed at 10ish.

That would be pretty early for us, Im also not someone who falls asleep when my head hits the pillow.

I know it will get easier when the dc are older though & can be left alone.

Im also not someone who falls asleep when my head hits the pillow

.... but if you were up at 5.30am in the morning, running, you probably would be!!

this is true!
I spend my evenings talking to friends, family & then some time with DH & always have some kind of project on (it's moving house at the moment.

I need to stop dicking about on MNs!

I work almost FT - compressed hours over 4 days, shift work so cover Mon to Sun. I get up early to get it done, sometimes I spread it out with a bit in the morning and a bit in the evening. I have a spin bike at home and do at least 3.5 hours of spin classes every week. I also so 4 days minimum of weights classes for around 30-45 minutes. Also throw in some yoga or hiit cardio some days. I prioritise it over TV because its important to me, so when colleagues talk about TV shows I never have a clue but that's fine by me. My DC are at the stage of not needing constant supervision so that helps too, I didn't do this much when they were little. If I don't feel like it, I am fine with that, I just don't do it. But that doesn't happen much. All my working out is done at home, with the Peloton app.

@giggbig we don't have kids, but my friends who do literally tag team to fit their exercise in. One of my friends with 2 small kids, who works full time, has no family support, and has a clean and tidy home, will run a half marathon on a Saturday morning. The second she gets home, her husband heads out and does the same. I see their routes and timings on Strava so know this is true. They're both done before lunchtime and have the rest of the weekend for chores and family time. She's a superwoman and I could NOT motivate myself to do this personally!

Im retired now, so have plenty of time to exercise in the morning. When my kids (twins....) were little, I turned the front room into a giant kid-proof playpen, so I could exercise in the backroom (double reception). Or I'd exercise - more gently.... - in the evening, instead of watching TV.

I do 3 x 5k treadmill runs at the gym each week and I’m currently trying out a new activity at a class once/week. I tend to run on Sat and Sun and once after work, I’m trying to increase my distance and after running I always walk for another 1k to prevent DOMS. I plank and bridge for 2 min each most days.

I leave the house at 7:45 and get back at 6:30 Mon-Fri for work. I’m not a morning person and not prepared to get up early enough to exercise first thing before work.

I’m amazed by how much some of you do. I would really struggle to do more and feel that I got to see enough of my teen dc, my dp, my family and friends and do other things I enjoy whilst still working as I do.