Family obligations & finances limiting access to gym
 

I was a very active and gym-maniac for many years... then came marriage and gym time started to be a negotiation... later came my two angels one after the other and one day I wake up to a life of running around in the usual rat race & stuck by the too common debt's never ending cycle... I haven't seen a gym for more than 5 years now, feeling like a potatoe whenever I start doing a couple of pushups... Anyone relates? Mind sharing some ideas & tips on how to manage your time for weight training at home with small children around and still being able to stay in shape so that you don't look 50 when you just crossed 40 ?

I haven't been able to keep my 'gym habit' up, despite still belonging to a gym! However, my non-gym habit in the past was the Royal Canadian Air Force Exercises. Look for the book on Amazon, get a cheap used copy (or a new, if they have it) there or at a local library sale. It only takes around 20 minutes to do what ends up being a progressive program of basic exercises. You start with fewer reps, and slowly add on reps until you're doing much more, but still in the same amount of time. No equipment needed. Not much space needed, either. If you don't stick with the program, you don't increase reps. You only increase reps if you're following the calendar, and working out daily. If you 'fall off the wagon,' you continue at the same level until you're back on track, and then you can move ahead.

It works, it feels good, and it makes you want to do more.

There are a lot of programs out on the internet that promote bodyweight exercises. One site that I remember that I used a few years ago was Turbulence Training by Craig Ballyntine. Some good stuff.

build your own gym
 

CJMT,

Do you have a garage or a corner of the cellar to set your gym up? In another month or so the yard sales will start and all of the exercise equipment that was bought on a New Years resolution will be up for sale. There's Craigs List as well.

Checkout a Yahoo newsgroup called Freecycle, they have local subsidiaries in your area, people put equipment up for free.

My kids and I have been training in the cellar for years.

Dave

I dropped my gym membership and just ride my bike too and from work. First there is the money savings angle. No gym membership, no parking, no gas, one less car cheaper auto insurance and the bike commuter benefit. (see link below).

Second there is the time savings. I used to drive to and from work as well as to and from the gym. That was mostly dead time sitting in my car. While it takes my about twice as long to ride as to drive to work, avoiding spending an hour at the gym plus 10 minutes getting to and from the gym freed up and extra 80 minutes a day.

Third I fall off the wagon less often. For me exercise it all about forming good habits. When I went to the gym generally I would go pretty regularly for about 6 to 8 weeks, then something would happen, I would fall off the wagon and I wouldn't see the inside of a gym for 2 or 3 months. But because you have to go to work linking exercise to commuting means that you will do it much more frequently. I have ridden my bike pretty consistently for the past 2 years. Getting rid of the second car, really committed me to exercising every day.

League of American Bicyclists * News

I do alot of calisthenics around the house/at work, just keep active 3-4 days a week! I can relate I work full time and I have 3 kids!!! :)

Thanks for the great replies.

I live in a two bedroom apartment so I don’t really have the space to set up a home gym. Previously I had a 4 bedroom dream apartment where one of the rooms was my home office and where I had treadmill. Unfortunately I had to let go of it once the second daughter was born and the increasing debt was eating all resources at that time.

Currently, finding the space to exercise at home is more than anything a creativity and will power exercise.

Riding to work is a magnificent idea, but it’s something that I can’t apply in my case, I guess it would take me about 2 or 3 hours per commute by going the minor roads. It’s a 45 minute drive through heavy city traffic and then the highway (no bikes in there).

Even though I still miss the gym environment and the comfort of having the nice equipment and exclusive focus on the workout, I am starting to move a bit more and finding a compromise between job, the household and my health and fitness.

I have acquired a cheap set of rubber bands and am finding it enjoyable enough to at least create a basic workout routine that I am trying to stick with.

Giving the living-room door a new meaning :)

Well, I too have almost the same story but I am not married yet, Thanks God. I moslty plan for gym infact I plan every month to start gym from next month but my routines and two consecutive jobs does not allow me to have a gym. In studies time I usually thought I will start gym and yoga after studies and now all messed up with daily 9 to 11 jobs.

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