Mother of 3 under 5 years old. When to workout?

[Anonymous]

I have 3 kids under 5. My day starts at 6:15/6:30 and ends by 9. Nonstop! I go to bed by 10-11. When can I workout?

[Anonymous]

You wait till they're older and in school.

[Anonymous]

5:30 am or when they nap

[Anonymous]

5 minutes here and there throughout the day.

[Anonymous]

Isn't having 3 under 5 enough of a workout?!?!

Seriously, I grew up with a girl who was overweight from childhood on- 3 kids later she was a size 4- she says it's from running around after her kids!

[Anonymous]

Try getting a running stroller and go for a jog with the kids

[Anonymous]

Just get up an hour earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You wait till they're older and in school.

This is my plan. 2 more weeks!!

[Anonymous]

Do you work? I know somepeople who get a quick workout in before / after work or during lunch.

I work FT and have 3 within 4.5 years. Now that my youngest is finally sleeping through the night, I work out in either the morning or after they are in bed. Night is hard b/c getting on the treadmill at 9PM makes it tough to fall asleep.

[Anonymous]

Chase them around the park - play active games. let them play in the backyard while you do yoga or another outdoor exercise near them.

[Anonymous]

Stay up later or get up earlier. I just finished working out.

[Anonymous]

I go to the gym once they are in bed! Just figured out I could get netflix on my phone, so I actually look forward to it!

[Anonymous]

I only have one kid and my schedule is like that!

I try to squeeze in some stretches, or crunches or leg lifts before sleeping. Or do it while they are on the floor playing.
If you work outside the home, you can walk/run during lunch time or half of the lunch time. If you take breaks, you can walk instead of heading to the vending machine which is always tempting-and I'm not even a snack person.
And if you eat a healthy meals, you won't get any cravings.
If you have a partner that is understandable, you can excuse yourself for 30 minutes to walk fast/run/swim. You have to schedule it in, like every other day (or twice a week), otherwise partner won't think you want to exercise. After exercising, you actually feel energized.

If you have an exercise machine at home, that's helpful. If not, go outside and run.

[Anonymous]

Are you at home with them all day? If so, find a gym with childcare. Or get a mother's helper to come by in the afternoon while you workout at home.

If not, can you go for a 30 minute run sometime in the evening while DH takes the kids? I fit in my workouts here and there - mostly after they go to bed. One or two nights a week though, as soon as DH walks in the door, I head out on a run. (I get home a bit before him, so on those nights, usually have an easy dinner prepped and ready to go for as soon as I get back). I try to get a long run in on the weekends.

Also, as others have said, you might just need to put serious workouts on the back burner for awhile and just try to be as active as you can with your kids. Despite my best intentions, it wasn't really until my youngest was 2 that I was able to get back into a regular, intense workout regime.

[Anonymous]

I have 3 under 3, and my schedule is much like yours. We both work full time, and time home is go-go-go. The only way I can find time for anything is to sleep less: we go to bed closer to midnight.

I work out for an hour in the evening once a week, arrange for DH to pick up kids once or twice a week so I can run/bike home from the office, and wake up early early once a week to get in a 20-30 minute workout. I shoot for one longer workout on the weekends. On a good week, I get in 3-4 workouts.

And before anyone flames, we have one set of twins. I don't think anyone actually plans to have 3 kids under 3.