FT working moms - how can I motivate myself to work out? When??

[Anonymous]

Tuesday and Thursday I get up at 4am, run 6 miles, shower, eat, get the kids taken care of, and go to work. Saturday and Sunday I get up at 7am and run 6 miles again. DH may or may not need to start breakfast before I get back. I'm usually walking in as they wake up. I do crunches with medicine and Swiss balls in the evening right before bed on days I don't run.

[Anonymous]

Seriously? 4 am? You guys are my heroes.

I really want to be able to do that, but with an 8 month old who still isn't sleeping through the night, I just can't motivate myself to get up any earlier than I do.

I'm not the OP, but have the same problem. Going to try the workout at lunch route.

[Anonymous]

I joined a gym for a year and went to step classes on nights when my husband could be home with our daughter. Then his school schedule got too crazy and that became impossible. Then I started doing ExerciseTV workouts - either On Demand or online. I am trying to do their 10 Pound Slimdown this month - just started last night. Every month they have a new exercise plan online for free where they offer you a plan and stream the videos for free. A lot of the time, they also put them on the TV, too. This month's workout plan is 30 Days Til I Do, and I have done a couple of the 30 minute workouts on the TV.

I like anything with Amy Dixon, Kendall Hogan, Teri Ann Kreftig and Chris Freytag. My mom is a Leslie Sansone devotee, but I find her somewhat annoying, although I have at times done her 2 mile walk workout.

I am not as good about diet and exercise as I need to be, but I have found that my best way to fit in exercise is either to join a gym for regular classes OR doing a video at night. We do have a treadmill in the house, but I'm not a runner AT ALL. I sometimes get on and walk while I watch some TV, so that is also a way to fit in some exercise.

You basically have to force it into your schedule and force yourself to stick to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously? 4 am? You guys are my heroes.

I really want to be able to do that, but with an 8 month old who still isn't sleeping through the night, I just can't motivate myself to get up any earlier than I do.

I'm not the OP, but have the same problem. Going to try the workout at lunch route.

I agree--you guys are impressive. 4/5 am runs? Wow.

I am one of the PPs who does lunch work outs. And I have a 8 month old too who also gets up 2-4x a night, so yeah, there is no way in hell I could do an early morning work out. I am eating better than ever, and I have never had a hard time as I am now losing the last 7 pounds which are adorning my middle...

[Anonymous]

I haven't figured it out either: DS is 19 months and after losing all the baby weight before he was a year, I'm now slowly putting it back on. B/c I'm not exercising!! I too like AM workouts - you will make it a priority rather than the report to finish/laundry to fold/whatever. I'd see if you can move your work schedule to later b/c there's no way I could get up at 4 AM to do a workout.

[Anonymous]

You've gotten a lot of good suggestions so the trick is to figure out which time of day you are most likely to be able to be consistent and then stick with it. "They" say it takes 3 weeks to develop a habit, and when it comes to exercising, I truly believe that to be true. After 3 weeks, you will crave the workouts and feel gross if you skip too many of them. I work fulltime and have two kids, ages 3 and 6. I've always been a morning exerciser, even before kids. I'm really lucky in that I have the luxury of not needing to leave the house until about 8:35 in the morning, and my DH is home in the morning as well so I'm not trying to workout and get my kids up and out by myself. I wake up around 6:15, and either run or do a DVD (kettlebells or power yoga) for about 40 minutes, then I have time to shower before getting my kids up. It doesn't work every morning, but I'd say 4-5 times a week it does, and then I reserve one day a weekend to either take a zumba class or a yoga class. Creating the habit feels like a chore but once you get into it, it'll feel worse to not work out and you'll find a way to carve out the time b/c it'll make you feel so good mentally and physically.

[Anonymous]

Fit4Moms at 6 am at Trinity Church on 16th Street in Arlington. It has absolutely changed my life.

[Anonymous]

I don't have time to work out and I really am not interested in sacrificing any of my time with my kids to create the time. I got a pedometer and started making sure I got in 10K steps per day. For me, this means getting up from my desk twice a day at work and walking a few laps of the building. I lost 8 lbs doing this, so it might be all you need to do.

[Anonymous]

I have a similar schedule OP, and I would start with a small goal of walking 20 minutes during lunch. You aren't really clear in your first post about why you don't have much time at lunch, but if you have 20 min and could work up to 30 min. of walking 5 days a week that would be a great start. Also, how and where do you commute. I have a friend that gets off two metro stops before her final destination and walks or jogs home. She basically builds it in to the "commute time." I do a combination of both--I try to walk a lot at lunch, and a couple days a week I bike or run for part of my commute. It is also very hard for me to fit it in once I'm at home or in the mornings before work.

[Anonymous]

Over the past 20+ years that I've been exercising, I've changed up the time based solely on my lifestyle at the time. I used to work out at work - lunchtime at the gym. Then, I switched it up to late in the afternoon at work, I didn't take lunch and I could get their quickly and get back to the office. What works best for me now, and has since having small kids, is to get up very early and workout before anybody even notices I'm gone. I do a 'boot-camp' type class, but you could do whatever you like. It was very brutal to awake up at 5:45 at first, but now (it's been 10 years) it's nothing at all. Experiment and find a time that works for you.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you ALL so much for your posts. I've got a lot of ideas and just have to decide which ones sounds good to me. I really think mornings would be best so I could shower and then leave for work - but I have a lot of trouble getting out of bed as it is. I think I just need to commit myself to it for a month (I've heard that about a habit taking 3 weeks, PP) and then see if I can maintain it. Getting to work late is a cronic problem for me too, so maybe if I can get my a** out of bed earlier, that would help. I'm thinking of starting with every other day. I also have a problem with falling asleep on the couch every night and sauntering back to the bedroom around midnight, too tired to brush my teeth. I hate this about myself - I really need some self discipline! I'm been complaining about it for several years now but can't seem to find the inititave to change my habits.

I like the PP that talked about getting a pedometer and forcing myself to get away from my desk a few times a day (that's one of the problems with no time at lunch to workout - work just seems to keep on coming and I can't form a reliable workout routine because of it - I've tried). I'm really inspired by her story of losing 7 pounds that way! You women that wake up at 4am - wow! Good for you!

I drive to metro (too far to walk). But just over a year ago, I did start walking from one station further away to get into work. I also take steps at metro and work instead of the escalator/elevator - but I'm thinking maybe I could joint that bikeshare program and ride a bike from one stop further or something like that - food for thought...

Thank you all - please keep the ideas coming! It's a new month and I have a free weekend for once - seems like a good time to start a new routine...