My two-year-old goes to preschool at the YMCA, so I work out for about 45 min for a couple weekdays before I pick him. Go again for longer on the weekend. This has been great! A no excuses arrangement.

I am a 5:45er 3x a week and I let myself "sleep in" until 6 on the one weekend morning I do my long run. I should be in bed right now, but am stupidly posting on DCUM b/c I had no down time tonight.

Really it isn't that bad. I told myself it really wasn't that much earlier then I was getting up anyway and I always feel so good to have accomplished that first thing in the a.m.

If at all possible, see if there is any other mom in the neighborhood that you can run with (you never know). That is what has kept me on track and still motivated. I just finished the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and a year ago I could barely run for 10 minutes straight let alone 1 1/2 hours. Good luck!

This has given me some inspiration! My DH is a morning person so he gets up well before me and the kids to workout. He's around for me to go for a run in the morning, it's the getting out of bed part that stops me. What I like about it is that then I wouldn't have to worry about fitting it in later. I guess 5:45 isn't TOO bad.

If you work out in the morning, what time do you go to bed??

I have a compressed schedule so, instead of taking a lunch, I eat at my desk so I can leave the office around 4. Today, I actually left at 4 (a miracle) and ran when I got home before the nanny left. I just felt so guilty for not taking over with the kids since they haven't seen me all day.

Weekends aren't a problem since we go to the rec center as a family and I work out while my DH swims with the kids.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. If you work out at lunchtime, when do you actually eat something? I am usually ravenous by 12:00 and certainly by 1:00! Do you eat afterwards or eat a huge breakfast with a mid-morning snack?

I am very strange and like to work out on a relativly full stomach and often eat before I leave to work out.


i always have raw nuts/seeds in my desk drawer and if I'm not in the mood for a full lunch before the gym, then I eat a hand full of nuts/seeds.

I wake up at 5AM and go to the gym a few mornings a week and DH get the kids off to school, he then does the same thing on the other mornings. I am not a morning person, but more than not being a morning person, my desire not to be fat and out of shape overwhelms my desire to sleep in.

On my husbands morning days, I work out at the office and shower after, those days I normally take a 75min lunch from desk to desk.

On a very rare occasion, i work out at night, but only go for runs ouside on those days. When it gets lighter in the AM, I will not be doing the gym as much in the early morning, but do runs, and possibly double up at lunch and do weights.

I work out both weekend mornings.

I end up working out 5-6 days a week.

OP, do you have a spouse that helps with the kids or are you a single mother?

Anonymous wrote:How long do you exercisers get for lunch? I'm a teacher and I get 30 mins so I can't imagine having enough time to change, exercise, shower, get dressed and get back to work.

I couldn't do it on 30 minutes. Benefits of being an office rat, I guess.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. If you work out at lunchtime, when do you actually eat something? I am usually ravenous by 12:00 and certainly by 1:00! Do you eat afterwards or eat a huge breakfast with a mid-morning snack?

Yes, I eat a heavier breakfast (e.g., eggs, oatmeal, fruit), and then I have a mid morning snack like fruit or yogurt. I know I won't be eating until 1 so I plan my eating around that.

How long do you exercisers get for lunch? I'm a teacher and I get 30 mins so I can't imagine having enough time to change, exercise, shower, get dressed and get back to work.

NP here. If you work out at lunchtime, when do you actually eat something? I am usually ravenous by 12:00 and certainly by 1:00! Do you eat afterwards or eat a huge breakfast with a mid-morning snack?

Lunch time 4 days wk. If i get called into a meeting etc.. I make it up on the wekkend and always run on sun nights

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who run during lunch, do you have time to shower after or what?

Yes, but I limit my runs to 30-35 min max (get 1 hr for lunch), then quick shower, braid wet hair, swipe on some makeup and back to work. On those days since I spend all my time running/gym, lunch is a smoothie.

Yes, quick shower in cold water to stop the sweating. I don't wash my hair. I bring my lunch and eat it while I work.

I work out during lunch - my boss is cool with it. I'm generally gone 60-70ish minutes, including shower, and then I eat lunch at my desk. I'm low-maintenance and have a position where I don't have many meetings and no client interaction, so hair/makeup take just a few minutes.

on weekends, i hit the gym first thing with my daughter, or take her for a run with me. one night a week, I take a yoga class and my daughter hangs with her dad.

balancing workouts with work and family sometimes means a workout has to be "good enough" even if it's not ideal. if work is busy and I only fit in a quick 30 minutes on the arc trainer downstairs, or a 3-mile run instead of 5-6, so be it. sometimes it means running with my daughter after work when I'd rather run without her. occasionally it means a long walk with her and some jungle gym climbing instead of a real workout. better than nothing!

For those of you who work out after work, how does dinner prep play into this? My kid goes to sleep between 6:30-7. By this time I'm exhausted but once she's asleep I start to make dinner. We eat by 8:30. Then I put away leftovers, clean up the kitchen, etc and it's 9pm. And then I have to do actual work, which I do for about an hour. And then it's time for bed!

Any tips on how to rearrange my schedule or carve out a time to exercise in this time frame?

Lunchtime 3 days and 8:30 am once during the week. Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons. I set my own hours, so I don't have to in the office at a particular time, but I like the break at lunchtime. I bring my lunch and eat at my desk after working out.

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who run during lunch, do you have time to shower after or what?

Yes, but I limit my runs to 30-35 min max (get 1 hr for lunch), then quick shower, braid wet hair, swipe on some makeup and back to work. On those days since I spend all my time running/gym, lunch is a smoothie.