Fitness with 2 kids

[SassyPants87]

Sorry not really parenting rates but thought I’d find more people who can relate here. Parents with multiple kids….how on earth do you find time to exercise! I have a 3 year old and 11 month old and my body confidence is rock bottom. I really want to get into fitness but I don’t know how to find the time!? I’m up at 6am with the kids, after they are sorted and dropped off to nursery I then need to start work(5 days ). We pick them up at 5/5.30, give them dinner, have a little play with them, bath time and bed. They’re normally down by 7.30/8pm.
It’s then us having dinner, cleaning up the kitchen and playroom. By the time we’re done it’s about 9/9.30pm.
So when do I find time to exercise? I’m really struggling with this. Any tips would be very welcome

Definitely eat with them to save some time rather than do another whole round of meals once they're in bed? Clear up while they're playing after tea and get them to tidy the playroom with you before bedtime routine. Then you've got all evening? I split my work hours two days a week so I come home mid afternoon and exercise + cook before I pick up from nursery, then work in the evening once bedtime done. Could work if a bit of WFH is an option for you? At weekends we both exercise one of the days each while the other holds the fort.

It's impossible I swear. My plan is to cycle to work, let's see how it goes!

Eat with them.
Alternate one clearing up and one putting them to bed.
They help tidy up playroom before bed.

Is home to nursery, then nursery to work cyclable?

I have tried eating with them before but I’m just not hungry at that time and then find I need to eat again at 9pm! Maybe I need to look at my meals and timings through the day and see if I can shift them.
they do ‘help’ tidy up the playroom 😂

Mine are a bit older, but on office days I cycle to the office early and then go to the gym first thing at 7am. On non-office days I work out at home between 5pm and 6pm. Or on the weekend I work out while DH watches them.

Where is your DH in all this, is the obvious question.

@donkra DH is also helping out with the kids and doing chores and working full time. Maybe it’s because the kids are still quite young and dependant on us. Weekends were always out too. I guess I just need to try a few things and see what works best for me

You have a partner. Could you alternate the evening housework so you can take turns in going out for a run/evening gym session?

It took me a while to get my head round it but yes eating dinner together earlier in the evening frees up a lot of time. If you're hungry later on have a bit of cheese or something so you're not going to bed hungry. Your stomach will soon get used to it.
We used to have set nights each week for exercise. I went Mon, Wed and DH went Tue and Thu. Then an hour here or there at the weekend. The other half just got on with it at home on their own.
I loved the time for me so didn't see it as another chore.

Surely he can manage half an hour of care on the weekend, or a bed and bathtime, alone though so you can exercise a few times a week.

It's one of those things that will happen if make the decision it's a priority and not happen if you don't. Very few people are run so completely ragged that they can't find half an hour a few times a week.

The only way I’ve been able to manage it is if one of you holds the fort while the other goes out. We don’t bathe DD every night which makes the bedtime routine easier on DH when I am out. If a gym near you does a HIIT class that’s good because it’s a short class and you feel like you’ve worked really hard! On the nights I go to my classes we sometime have a proper meal together later but sometimes something quick like egg on toast. I get up early on weekends to go to a class but also try to run on a Friday night because it feels like a good way to shake the week off and we’re a bit more lax with bedtime at the weekend so gives more wriggle room!

We've got two kids similar ages to yours (3 and 7m)

DP goes to the gym in the morning before work and I sort the kids out do the nursery run etc etc
I go in the evenings. Some days are a bit like

Feed the kids dinner and prep all our dinner. I put the baby to bed and then go to the gym. DP can then eat his dinner and I'll have mine when I get back

Or

Feed the kids dinner and prep all our dinner. Then I'll go to the gym whilst DP puts the kids to bed etc and then I'll do dinner when I get back or he'll do it if he gets chance

Then one of us goes to the gym on a Saturday and one on a Sunday

It's tough and tiring but it's really the only way we both get it in to be honest

Dh will take every second evening bedtime while you get a 30 minute session in. Same on weekends, again find that half an hour.

That seems like a good system actually! I’m going to try a few suggestions from some of the posts and see what works for us. If the kids didn’t wake up at 6am that’s when I would work out but I’ll try and find a different way/time that works for me

Friends who both work - one dies the kids in the morning while the other runs or goes to the gym, the other does a run or workout during lunch break, or if can't fit it in does it on the way home while the other has the kids. On weekends they trade off.
My gym had a crèche so could leave my first there while I worked out. He was going to daycare a couple days a week when I had my second so she went to the crèche or they both did.

I do a workout at home 4x a week after the dc have gone to bed. I could go out to a gym as they mostly sleep well enough for the first few hours (DC2 wakes but after about 5 hours). But it's not worth the hassle walking there, I do HIIT videos and some resistance and I can do it at home. DH has a gym at his office so he does fitness classes during work time.

We like to split bedtimes as it's tricky to have one adult do both dcs, so one of us takes a child each. So the suggestion of having DH do bedtime while I go to gym wouldn't work for us. And we spend weekends together as a family so wouldn't be able to get out to the gym then (we're mostly out and about all day).

Same here we tend to do one child each for bedtime as that works best for us. I do think at home workouts is going to be best for me. My problem is I tend to be drained and lack energy by the time they’ve gone to bed but I guess I just need to force myself to do it and start creating a habit of it

I have 3 kids, 1, 5&7. I go to the gym every Sunday when my husband takes the kids to his mums. I do park run most Saturdays, husband takes kids to the playground. And then I do two additional workouts In the week when husband puts the kids to bed. Usually one run and one gym session. In the summer I would occasionally go running once the kids were in bed at 8 but not now it's dark.

I used to, and still do get up early to exercise otherwise it doesn't get done, even if that's 5am. Then it's over and done with and gives you energy for the day.

I definitely have more motivation to work out in the mornings but the thought of getting up before 6am kills me!!

It’s really tough. We do the same as you and eat later. The only way I can fit it in is gym in my lunch break 3 x week plus a run on the weekend morning. I’d love to do more or get it done in the morning but it isn’t happening until they’re older. Just doing something is better than nothing.

Thank you everyone for your insights into how you fit exercise in! I’m going to try a few of the suggestions and see what works best for me/us as a family

I used to get up at 5am / 5.30 to run but appreciate that’s not for everyone 😊

Good luck, it is tough but do-able. As someone else said, I think you just have to make it a priority and make it work - accept it might not be when you ideally want to do it but you can get it done.

I would really try eating with your children a few days a week - it saves so much time. Just adjust your eating during the day. I have breakfast at 6.30 when I get up, lunch at 11.30/12 and then we have tea at 5.30. I'll have a small snack later in the evening to keep me going overnight.

Our kids are similar ages and evenings can also be messy and long! My 13 month old needs help to stay asleep starting around 5am so mornings are generally out. We eat together but I often find it’s 9.30 or even 10 before chores are done and I’m free.
i used to be a morning person but through habit I now stay up to do 15-30 minutes of exercise almost every night. You can do free HIIT on YouTube, some as short as 12 minutes and surprisingly effective (I like Kayla itsines). I do yoga or dance classes or whatever I feel like. Sometimes I’m dreading starting but once I do, my brain feels calm and I enjoy every minute of the alone time. If I skip it now I have too much excess energy when I get into bed :) so new habits can definitely form!