elderwanda

I've been feeling very inspired to start going to the gym again, to do weight training.

I've got a gym right here within walking distance, and now that my husband has a job again, I've got the money to join.

The problem is, my husband is out of the house from about 6:30 am to 9 pm most days (work, long commute, plus his own fitness needs) We've got two kids who can't be left home alone. Now, I'm perfectly willing to get up at 5:30 to go to the gym--in fact, I used to do that several years ago when my kids were little and went to sleep early (and my husband was home with them). The problem is that I NEED about 8 hours of sleep per night. If I get less than that, consistently, I start having all kinds of problems. But since my husband isn't even getting home until 9, going to bed early simply isn't possible. There's just too much family stuff that needs to be done, not to mention that we want to keep our relationship healthy, which means spending time together as a couple.


I don't want to be a person who makes excuses, but I'm not sure how to find gym time without having to become sleep deprived.

How have the rest of you dealt with challenges like this?

cjohnson728

Hi Elderwanda...I understand your dilemma. As of January we had the same change; it was wonderful for my husband to be working again, but he was gone long, long hours and the pattern we had fallen into prior to that required a lot of adjustment. Is it possible for the two of you to work out together and have some time with each other that way? How old are your children? Is this only temporary, till school starts again? Can you at least get in two days on the weekend at the gym? I guess if you are doing weights you don't want to do those back to back days, though. Does your gym have babysitting?

What about co-op -ing babysitting hours? If the gym is that close, maybe someone in your neighborhood or someone you know from the gym would be willing to swap hours with you watching their kids and them watching your kids. You don't say whether or not you work, so I don't know what your daytime hours are. This time of year you might be able to find a teen or someone as an inexpensive sitter for an hour or two a couple times a week to run to the gym; lots of kids home for summer.

You are correct in that sleep deprivation won't do you any favors. There's gotta be a way, here. Congrats on finding the motivation and being willing to get back in there!

DarcyGawlik

Depending on you fitness Goals, Working out at Home might be the way to go with just some dumbells and a few extras or simple Bodyweight workouts. I've tried Slim in Six, Turbulence Training, P90X and Insanity at one time or another. All them are quite capable of giving you the look and feel you are after in the comfort of your home.

SeiferWar

I'd recommend working out at home too. All you need are dumb bells and some weights and you can do almost any exercise you can at the gym.

elderwanda

To answer the questions people have asked:

My kids are 8 and 12, but the 12 year old is autistic, and not at all ready to be left on his own. There is a gym nearby that has childcare, but they are way too expensive. I don't think they take kids his age anyway. I'm a stay-at-home mom, and have recently started homeschooling the 12-year-old, so he's not even going back to school in the fall.

At home, I only have a small patch of floor space, not enough if I want to use a weight bench. We're already cramped into this tiny house as it is, so I'm trying to avoid putting even more stuff in the way. (Gotta love this economy, eh?)


Co-oping babysitting? The autism thing kind of gets in the way when it comes to stuff like that. (excuses excuses) If we knew someone really well, and my son was comfortable with them and their kids, it might work, but we don't really know anyone like that.

I think what I'm going to do is just work on my push-ups and no-weight squats at home. I'm weak and inflexible enough that doing squats with no weight is challenging enough! And whatever pilates type floor exercises I can manage in the space I've got. That'll at least be something. And I can continue jogging in place for aerobic exercise, although I was hoping to do something with less impact, because I hurt my foot. Oh well. One does what one can.

DarcyGawlik

I would look into the Slim in 6 (weeks) package. It's a 3 stage workout plan and it's basically all using your own bodyweight. She uses a couple of dumbells or the Elastic Bands for resistance training in phase 2 and 3. You really don't need much room other then to stand in front of the TV to do it. You will definately get an aerobic workout ,slim down and get some tone if you follow thru with the program and eat right.

Good luck

cjohnson728

Elderwanda, do you have an Autism / Asperger's support group in your area that could help you with resources to keep an eye on your son? Those are great places to network.

If you decide to work out at home, I would suggest the DVDs 30-Day Shred and No More Trouble Zones with Jillian Michaels. I have a bunch of DVDs and those were the fastest to show results. They combine cardio and weights.

Lizzycritter

If you can only work out on the weekends, you could do an hour one day cardio and one day weights, or even one day of weights if it's not too expensive to pay for a membership for one day. I understand how hard it is to schedule workout time, my kids are 2 and 6, my husband works nights, and our house is just barely 1000 sq ft. With the first, I could exercise while she was napping, but my youngest wakes up if you so much as sneeze in his direction. The oldest is very dramatic, and likes to cry, loudly, the second I tell her something she doesn't want to hear. If you can get in a day of weight training, and maybe get the kids out for walks or soccer in the backyard to sneak in a little more cardio? Do what you can, every little bit adds up.

I also have some Pilates and yoga dvd's that I use when I can't get to the gym or when I want to do a little bit extra. Pilates will kick yer butt, and you don't need a lot of floorspace like most aerobics videos.

almeeker

We have 3 kids and I watch 2 more, so with 5 kids total it's a bit tricky getting in a workout. But today the weather was nice, so we walked to the library then on the way back we stopped at the park, the kids played around on the monkey bars while I lapped the bike path around the place. Okay it wasn't any kind of hard cardio workout, but I now have 13,000 steps on the pedometer and my kids are going to sleep really well tonight.

Cupcake126

I had time management challenges as well. I finally (just started last week) decided that the only time I had was early in the morning. I started doing it and actually love it! I am shocked! (I actually get up at 4:30 am). Try it. You may be surprised. I was.