Full time working mum - where does the exercise fit in?

[ryedalema]

I'm just wondering if anyone out there has a similar situation to me and manages to fit exercise into their schedule - I'm seriously looking for tips as my intentions are great, but I'm struggling to find the time.

I'm on weight watchers and have lost 2 stone 10 lbs so far (yee ha) and have 3/4 to a stone to go (depending on how far I take it). I'm working full time, walk about 30 mins a day during the nursery run, work out with someone for an hour a week and that's about all I'm consistently managing. The rest of my time (between 6am and 8pm) seems to be child/husband filled activities and although I'd dearly love to pass some of the child-related duties to my OH he's not the best at coping with the demands of our two whirling dirvishes. He freely admits to this so I'm not slagging him off - he 'sold' himself to me on the premise 'I'm not smart but I can lift heavy things' ;-).

Weekends are really family time - so not easy to extract myself then either. How do others manage it?

I thought Dulwich leisure centre might be my saviour but the creche only opens weekday mornings - does anyone know any organised exercise outlets where I can take two little ones too? Either between 6 and 8pm weekdays or anytime during the weekend?

I've signed up for Boris bikes in the hope that I'd cycle in my (ahem) lunch hour - but have only managed to have one of those once in the last couple of months.

Please - your advice would be fab. I exercised so much during my mat leave and am missing it like a mad thing.

xxx

[sian]

hI ryedalema

Have you tried running? I have made several attempts to run but it only stuck after the birth of our youngest when I realised it was the only way i oculd fit regular exercise around work, kids etc.

[ryedalema]

I've had a little go and it is something I'd like to get better at. There's a park on our doorstep so location is fine. When do you go? Please don't say 5 in the morning...:)

[Pickle]

I'm not a full time working Mum, but my weeks are mad and I manage to fit in exercise.

I have 4 hours in total a week where my kids are at creche, and work an 8 hour a week part time job from home (so have to fit it around kids). Two evenings a week I'm out at rehearsals, two evenings hubby is out at sports practice and I use the time to work. For me the only way to fit it in is to exercise early in the morning... which was great in summer but admittedly these days it's getting harder to drag myself out of bed.

I run at 6am two mornings a week, and do a British Military Fitness class on Wednesday mornings at 6:45am (this only works as hubby goes in to work a bit later so that I can fit it in). Weekends are generally full of concerts for me and hockey for hubby which limits what I can do, but we take the kids to Little Kickers on a Saturday morning in West Dulwich and I run there and back (or nowadays hubby can be convinced to take the kids there by himself so I go for a run while they're there).

So many people say to me that they can't fit exercise in to their day and then go through how busy they are. It would be easy for me to make the same excuses, but I made the decision that it's important for me, so I fit it in. Running the streets of East Dulwich at 6am on a cold Autumn morning is actually enjoyable once I'm out the door - it's just the getting out of bed that's hard!

You've done brilliantly with your weight loss, you must look so different to the last time I saw you!

P x

[crystal7]

I work 3 days but still find it hard to fit in exercise. My Oh leaves for work at 6.15 so mornings are not an option and as others have said weekends tend to get full. I need to motivate myself to run in the evenings which is what i did pre baby. Though not a great time of the year to start and would have to be after e is in bed. Also dulwich leisure centre has lane swimming from 8 some week day evenings- but very hard after a day at work and dealing with children either side of it! Hope you find a solution. Good luck!

[Vanessa3]

Hi Rydalema, Have you thought about cycling to work? It's the only exercise I fit in on a daily basis & reduces travel time to & from work, so I get to spend a little extra time with the little fella.

[dullified]

Hi I work full-time and have an off-peak membership deal with the gym closest to the office where I work. All the gym's lunchtime classes are 45 minutes as opposed to 60 minutes.

[chantelle]

I think you really need your husband to help you make the time. Your only options seem to be first thing in the morning or early evening. It will be dark now, but a 30-minute dash around the park a few times a week will make a massive difference.

I'd also make the time on the weekends - surely your hubby can handle an hour with the little ones?

I run on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and try to get out twice a week on the days we have a nanny - if I'm home by 5pm I have an hour to run and shower.

also, depending on where you work, maybe you could incorporate a Boris Bike into your commute? Say, get off at Elephant & Castle or London Bridge and cycle to work? I've also considered running home from work though haven't done it yet ...

Congrats on your weight loss so far!

[BeccaL]

Can you go running at lunchtime while at work? Also agree you need to "encourage" your hubbie to pull his finger out - as chantelle says an hour with the kids isn't that much, is it?

[snss75]

I don't know if it's something you'd consider instead of e.g. running but if you're interested then some good & effective pilates/yoga dvds that you could do any time at home could be an option? You could squeeze in a bit of exercise at any time that suits you, e.g. before the little ones wake up or after they've gone to bed even if you were on your own with them.

[prickle]

When I was working, the only way I could regularly fit in exercise was to work it into the daily routine. I love walking so I used to walk a part of the way to work. Instead of taking the train, I would walk to one or two stops eg. to peckham rye/queens road or get off a stop or two before and walk to work from there. It takes a little more time but if you walk at a brisk pace then its not too bad. Much better than being in a crowded train and I found it a good destressing time before the mayhem of work/home!

I also invested in some mbt trainers which seemed to add a bit more discipline to my posture and also a good backpack so that my arms could swing free.

[Kes]

Hi Ryedalema

first off well done on the weight loss! Good on you.

I'm only working 3 days a week but husband works very long hours so I can't really get out to do exercise on my "days off" The only thing I've managed to do is to run part of the way home from work once a week. Would this be possible where you work? I run back towards home and get on a few stations after where I normally would. Sometimes manage to fit in an early run at the weekend too.

If you're new to running I can recommend the couch to 5k training podcasts, builds up slowly from walking with short runs to running for about 25min http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/ each podcast is about 30min so doesn't need too much time.

K

[supergolden88]

The only way I could fit it in when working was to join a gym near work and do 45mins during lunch. Exercising at home while my daughter is around only resulted in her joining me and usually lying under me while I tried to do yoga/pilates.

The 10 minute solution DVDs are very good though and split into ten minute segments so easy (!) to fit in if you have a few minutes to spare. Good luck sounds like you are doing amazingly well

[fearnpw1]

I'm in awe of your weight loss Ryedalema! I'm 38 weeks pregnant so have it all ahead of me but, like you, I'm struggling to see how I can fit any exercise at all into my day. When I go back to work I'll be up at 5.30am each morning, leave home at 7am. Drive to work dropping off my baby at nursery en route, take half an hour lunch break so I can then leave at 4pm to collect baby from nursery and pick up my 5 year old from school. Then my OH doesn't get home until around 7pm, by which time I'm exhausted! There is the potential for doing something at the weekends if my OH is supportive, which I think he will be. And I can accommodate exericse into my maternity leave. But the day is so back to back once I go back to work I don't think I can do it. And as the weekends are the only real quality time I spend with my babies I kind of begrudge giving that up.....but I think I'm gonna have to if I'm going to shift any of this baby weight!

All I can say is I totally get where you're coming from.

[arworld]

Hi,

I am still on maternity leave so not a full time working mum yet.

My son is 5 months old and I have just started doing some exercise. I found AHM very helpful . My husband and I go for a run on Saturday morning at 10:00am, with our little one in the buggy. It's free and you do not require anything but yourself. Everyone is at different level in terms of fitness so no pressure whatsoever.

All you need to do is talk to Julia or Martin and turn up!

Anna

[nunheadmum]

Sounds like you're doing well with weight watchers. It sounds like you're doing reasonably well with the exercise as it is.

If it helps, British Military Fitness do a class in Dulwich Park at 8.30am on a Saturday. I know you said your hubby isn't great with the kids but I find that I can do this one while hubby has a reasonably relaxed time - all he has to do is get the kids breakfast and dressed by 10am so it's not so pressured. And, provided it's not raining, the park at that time in the morning can be lovely!

[new mother]

Tbh, I think you've done amazingly well already.

[nylonmeals]

Ditto a lot of what's been said - its tough and it sounds like you've done brilliantly. Could you try and run home from work?? I have no idea how far away your work is but I know when I go back after maternity in Jan, I am planning on doing that a couple of days a week.

Also I am a recent Davina DVDs - excellent and in blocks of 20 minutes too.

[alethea]

Give yourself a break my dear, I've resorted to doing squats while doing the ironing, and steps on patricks toilet step while he is in the bath and the plank whilst watching eastenders.

Failing that have a colonic, that can help!!

Ax

[ryedalema]

Ha ha >:D< have you really done that? Have a colonic I mean? O gawd I bet you all have and I'm as green as I'm cabbage looking. Most people think I'm full of sh1te - not sure I want to prove them right :)

I was doing the Davina videos - and yes they are still sitting next to the Tv, slowing settling into their pile of dust. I'm afraid she's rather getting on my proverbials now - it's all the knowing winks and the 'go on you're doing really wells' when you know for a fact the only person she's talking to is the cameraman. (Gosh I'm such a grumpy old cynic).

But running sounds soo good. And Courtney I got your PM - I'd love to do a weekly evening stomp around the Rye with you! Cycling sounds fab in theory - but ED to Farringdon? Sounds like it might as well be here to Botswana right about now. How does anyone do 'proper' cycling without fearing for their life around E&C roundabout and getting into work without a suitcase full of new clothes, hairdriers, make up etc?

I would love love love to do the BMF - I've a really good friend doing it. She wears gloves cos you have to put your hands into some pretty muddy (well hope it's mud!) situations. But don't you have to be Paula Radcliffe to start with to do that stuff?

I'm not disheartened I'm totally chuffed with what I've done so far - and it feels great to be able to run up the tube escalators etc. Just want to step it up a notch and actually I'm quite fearful that my goal weight is in sight and that after I get there (and with winter approaching) I'll fall back into my seriously unhealthy ways of biscuits, pies and all that lovely but v. high naughty-factor winter food!

xxx

[snowboarder]

Ryedalema - I used to cycle ED to Hatton Garden and it was FINE up to Blackfriars Bridge where you just have to be a bit more feisty. It's a fab cycle but I'm not sure the winter evenings would be a great time to start. I used to follow a cycle route through Bellenden to Peckham Pulse, along the old canal path, wiggle to Tower Bridge Road round the back of Bricklayers arms, then cut through past Borough tube to Blackfriars and straight up to Farringdon from there. Would be happy to show you on map....

[Pickle]

You sooooo don't have to be Paula Radcliffe to do BMF - it really does cater for everyone. There's a real mix of abilities at every class I've been to, and it's amazing how quickly you adapt to it and build up fitness.

I wore gloves for the first time this morning, as last Wednesday it was verging on a frost and while the rest of me was toasty warm my hands were bl**dy freezing. Of course this morning it was positively balmy and I didn't need them (although they did help to keep my hands dry).

It is honestly really good fun. Hard work, yes, but I absolutely love it. Every Wednesday morning we have a great guy called Richard as our instructor - he is really friendly and not at all shouty/scary like I imagined them to be.

They also do "Walk Fit" classes now, for anyone not quite brave enough to try the full on BMF class.

P x

p.s... if anyone fancies joining me for a run, I go at about 6am and run for 30 mins (pace is about 10 min miling)

[nunheadmum]

Have to echo Pickle re BMF - it's much easier than you imagine. I am sooooo not the typical exercise person - I've been crap at sport since school, can't run to save myself, liked the idea of BMF but thought it'd be way too hardcore for someone like me......a year on, I'm still doing it and really enjoying it. Ok I'm the blue bib at the back of the group every time they go running - but it doesn't stop me enjoying it. You can take it at your own pace to a certain extent so if you're on a good day, you push yourself or a slack day, you hold back a bit. The instructors are great I find at judging where you're at and whether you want a push or not. Richard is lovely.

Yes, it is getting cold and muddy but there's something nice too about not caring about that - let that Mummy Pig in you come out and jump in that mud!!

[Ruth_Baldock]

Ryedale, you do make me laugh! Although, ED to Farringdon is a bit far if you've never commuted by bike!

I cycle to work, SE5 to Holborn and the scariest bits are indeed EC roundabout (I can always be heard muttering 'oh god oh god oh bloody f***, help!") until I get to St George's Circus. Aldwych/Kingsway is sometimes a bit hairy, but I get by. I keep some spare clothes at work, and my hair always looks like a nest but if you have long hair and you put it in an 'up' do, pony tail or bun or whatever, it helps to reduce helmet hair. You can get cycle proof makeup, or don't bother with it till you get to work. I always look like a zombie, but I can get away with it by mumbling 'I have a 10 month old, and no time to look nice'. Have an office full of men, all terrified of sexual discrimination lawsuits to banter with me about it.

Could you, Mr Rydedale and C's both big and little go biking at the weekends? You could have a trailer for Big C and a baby seat for little C, or seats for both of them? Go as a family? It's what me and Mr Baldock do, Seb loves it, points at things, giggles, sometimes falls asleep. We cycle to dulwich park, then go round and round. It must be working because I'm back to 8stone6 now. WHOO HOO!

Can't stand the Davina DVDs either, they're in Seb's toy box. He uses them to chuck about and hit his tambourine with.

[Layla's Mum]

Where do you work? Have you thought of running to work? I run to work from Honor Oak Park to the City twice a week. It takes about an hour and is brilliant because it combines getting to work and exercise so you don't have to find extra time in your day to do it. You have to be pretty organised though, bringing your work clothes into the office the day before and having a shower when you get there (assuming you have that facility?) It works for me. Good luck!