People who work, how on earth do you exercise?

[HeadFairy]

I work 3 or 4 days a week (7 day fortnight) but they’re long days, 12 hour shifts with an hour and a half travel time each way. I rarely get a lunch break and there are no shower facilities at work. I get up at 4.30am on a standard working day so before work isn’t practical and I don’t get home until 8.15pm. My days off are filled almost entirely with domestic stuff, housework, cooking ferrying teens around etc. DH does his fair share at the weekends, he works a 5 day week. I manage to get a short run twice a week but I know that’s not enough. I’m overweight and unfit. How on earth do people find time to properly take care of their fitness?

It’s a pretty standard shift pattern I’d say. Plus gives her 3-4 days off a week

I have long stretches of my job (years at a time) where I've worked 10 hour days 6 days a week. Being unfit was not an option, to maintain that workload and deal with the stress.

What I did:

• You put it in your diary and that hour is non-negotiable
• I exercise in the morning as that sets me up for the day
• I make sure that the exercise (gym, dance class) is near either a) where I work or b) where I live. So travel time is not an excuse

Basically, you schedule it in as part of your day, and then you find that the time does exist.

Only working 3-4 days a week sounds like bliss to me. There's an hour a day in the 4-3 days you're not working.

Also, you say you're unfit and overweight. Dealing with those two things are slightly different. Exercise isn't the main way to lose weight. Overweight - well, that's about diet.

Fitness - a good way to start to deal with this is, whenever you can, to ditch the car. Walk or get off one stop earlier on the bus etc etc. Walking 15,000 steps a day will do good things for your underlying fitness - although it sounds like you might be doing that and more.

I once had a job which was a 2 hour public transport commute each day. I worked 5-6 days a week in that job, but 3 of them from home. I used the commute to work in the morning, and doze or read in the evening. It is tiring, doing those sorts of hours & that commute. I had to be quite disciplined not to comfort eat to combat tiredness. The fitter I was, the more I could cope with the tiredness of the long hours heavy workload + commute.

I prioritise it over other things. It has got easier since I’ve been hybrid working with my new job as I can put a wash on, do odd bits etc before work/on my lunch hour/ in a quiet moment so there isn’t as much to do on the evenings and weekend. I’m not a morning runner, I’m not a morning person full stop. I do however love a run in the evening. I’ll usually go straight after work and then have a shower when I get back. If I decide to do a long run then it means dinner won’t be until gone 8 but we don’t mind that as there’s no young kids to consider. I also run on a weekend morning. Earlier (like 8.30/9am) if we’re doing something that day. Later if we’re not doing anything and a 10 mile run is the main thing for the day. I also fit in gym sessions whenever I can. Sometimes I’ll go to the gym at like 9pm. I enjoy it so it’s not a chore.

I heard a researcher talk on the radio, and studied the people living in a hill town somewhere who had great longevity. He reckoned it was due to the workout they got just walking round their village. His conclusion was that short bouts of intense effort punctuated throughout the day were better than one longer session. Have to say I am inclined to agree. Sitting on my arse and then going to the gym for an hour is doing me no favors. I need to build more regular activity throughout the day.

( and having him dated in hill towns, I think that researcher is right. The streets are really steep!)

I work 48-65h weeks as a Dr. Cycle to work is about 3miles return. Every day I'm not at work I force myself to book a gym class that fines u if cancel last minute. On a night shift I'll do a morning gym class first thing. If I force myself then it'll happen, has to be a class where they shout at you as I have zero self motivation

Also, unless we are talking about school transport (and even rurally, there's usually a school bus) it's ok to say to teens: on these two times a week, I'm doing X, so unless it's an emergency you're going to have to arrange some other way to get there, or change your plans to another time.

I don't drop my own plans every time just because kids want to make plans.

I did 13h days, 3h commute to London and 3x 10h days in 7d, still forced myself to do a 45min gym class on my day off and the morning of the night shift... you just have to force yourself. I see day in day out as an anaesthetist the consequences of self neglect and won't let that become me

I get up an hour before anyone else in the house, we have a peloton treadmill we got during covid, not cheap but it has been one of my only ways of staying fit with a full time job and children. Worth it's weight in gold.

Focus on what your putting in your mouth instead. Weight loss starts in the kitchen.

You sound plenty active enough

I know the feeling!

Sooo much inspiration, thank you all. I’m still at work at 8.15pm of course but you have given me the jolt to really focus on myself. I think the most effective thing is going to be on days off. I stopped properly running a while ago, but I’m really active on my days off, rarely do less than 15k steps, never sitting for long. Foolishly I thought that was enough - maybe it was when I was younger, but clearly it isn’t now. My husband has got some free weights at home, and I also have some bands, so I’ll have to get on with doing it at weekends and my days off.
I’ll also look up those you tube sessions. I do the occasional yoga one when I’m feeling stiff but I’m going to work at making them a habit more often.

You can do so much from home with a couple of dumbbells and or a kettlebell! The internet is amazing for home workouts.

I must admit I find it easier to fit in now I work 12 hour shifts than when I was doing 9-5 but I don’t have young children.

I go to the gym after work some days and on my days off. I love the swimming aspect of the gym, otherwise I think I would exercise at home.

I work FT and am a single parent to two pre school children and I exercise five days per week. I think if you want to, you will find a way.

That being said, I wfh (when not travelling) so can go for a run or swim or yoga class. I often pay for a babysitter for an hour once the kids are in bed (via Bubble) so I can swim.

on the 3 or 4 days you don’t work you should be able to carve out time

Those sound like hospital shifts on a ward, is that right? I'm in clinic these days so doing more normal hours but when I was ward-based I used to cycle 30 minites to and from work at least twice a week. If that's not feasible, can you try and fit some exercise into your commute some other way? Parking a mile away and doing a 15 minute brisk walk at the start and end of each shift wouldn't add too much time to your commute (and is a nice way to clear your head after a long shift!)
I also used to run once a week on one of my days off and do weights at home, because you can get a decent weights workout done in 20 minutes.
I did feel like I had more free time when I worked 3 or 4 x 12.5hr days than I do now working 5 x 7.5hr days, but appreciate that might not be the same for everyone.

Early Sunday morning and now the nights are lighter I’m going mid week too (mountain biking)

I was just thinking this the other day as I have a toddler and it’s hard to fit in exercise.

I work from home four days a week so I use before work or my lunch break to exercise. I do 30 minute power walks.

I don’t eat dinner (DC does) so in some weird way without it being intentional, I am following the intermittent fasting approach.

7 days/ fortnight your time is truly all taken (the commuting + long shifts).

7 days/fortniight you could exercise. Plan the entire day around the exercise is what I do. For instance: you ferry teen to Judo. They need fetching 60 minutes later. What do you do in that 60 minutes? I went for a run while the car stayed at Judo.

Or... Saturday morning there is a billion things to do but nothing scheduled before 10am. Great: go to early lanes at the pool & you'll be back, dressed & breakfasted by 9:30am.

I'm not a home workout person but the same principles apply. Carve out a 30 minute window (5 set up, 15 minutes activity, 10 shower). Units of 10 minutes or more for the activity are thought to => health benefits.

I work full time, but 2 days at home and 3 in the office.

I go to the gym at 6am on the two days I work from home, I get an hour of with training in before I’m home for the school run/log into work.
Sometimes I will also run or walk at lunch.

On the days I work from the office, I will sometimes go for an hour’s fast walking at 6am (if I run I need to wash my hair, so choose to power walk). I get home for 7, quick shower and get ready for work and we tend to leave the house before 7:30 🤪

We also have an empty meeting room in the office so a couple of us have made a makeshift gym, with a few dumbbells and kettlebells in there, or I’ll do Pilates or yoga from YouTube.

My DS (11) plays football a couple of nights a week so I try to run or walk while he is there. Or if my DH takes him I might make it to the gym.

I don’t plan any structured exercise at a weekend, I might go for walks or make it to a yoga class if we aren’t doing anything but I tend to try and do all of the things I listed above around work, to keep my weekends for family

Editing to add - I also plan all of my exercise in for the month ahead. I keep a spreadsheet and plan what I’ll do on each day, making sure to fit in my strength sessions, cardio/running sessions and yoga and pilates over the course of each week. If I make a note on there of what plans and appointments I have that week that might mean I can’t do a specific workout, I rejig my workouts. It keeps me accountable

Perfect 👌