Working Moms, how do you find time to workout?
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@CC this sounds so perfect! I wish I could do this. For those that can’t work out at home (I don’t work from home and have to start before 9 am) I have started doing it at 5. I agree with most other posters, for me if it’s not before 6 it doesn’t happen!
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Before anyone is awake. I’ll admit that I’m really tired tho. Like so tired and I’ll occasionally skip to sleep the extra hour.
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5:30 AM workout class three days/week and it’s SO hard to get into the routine, but once you’re in it, you won’t regret it! I make my husband get up with the kids the night before if someone isn’t sleeping. He knows that I need good sleep before my MWF early mornings!
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C Camryn-MomBrain moved this topic from All the Tea on
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I’ll be honest, I’m not in the best shape of my life but it’s a goal to get there. I’m struggling with all the things above. Morning is really the only time, or if I can block my calendar first thing after drop off but then I’m on back to backs all day trying to catch up. Maybe I need a less intense job?
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I don’t!
Need this advice. -
If I don't do it in the morning, it's not happening and sometimes when it doesn't happen, it's ok! Being a mom IS a workout (lol) so give yourself some grace. This morning I was getting the kids ready for daycare, eating my breakfast and doing squats. It's not ideal, but right now that's all I can fit in with my work life.
It's not a workout, but we've started to take family walks after dinner. It's not as great as a cardio workout, but it's still nice to get some movement. -
I totally get it—finding time for yourself, especially to work out, can feel like an impossible task when you're juggling kids, work, and lack of sleep. It’s hard to prioritize exercise when you're running on fumes and just trying to make it through the day. You ladies are not alone in feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day. However, even small steps can make a big difference. Here are some helpful exercise tips that I've given to my working mom clients:
- Start small, remember that 10-15 minutes here and there will add up over time.
- Track your steps—I use fitbit — when you monitor them, you start to realize how active you truly are, and it can become a game to hit 10K steps.
- At-home workouts save time commuting to a gym. Use online workout videos or apps like Beachbody or Peloton to guide your exercises.
- Join the 5am Club—waking up before the kids allows some moms to work out before anyone else is up, leaving time for the morning routine guilt-free.
- Include the kids—take them on stroller jogs, family walks, or play outside. It’s a great way to model the importance of exercise.
- Utilize the weekends for longer workout sessions or outdoor activities.
- Lastly, schedule exercise like an appointment—if your health is important, make time for it on your calendar.
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I like the idea of life being like four burners on a stove (not my metaphor - borrowed from another article): career, health/fitness, friends, family. They can’t all be on high at once or you’ll probably burn dinner. Safe to say the family burner for most of us is way up. This thread is for working moms, so even those of us trying to downshift or “do less” in our careers are probably still on a high simmer with that career burner. It was hard for me to acknowledge that meant my social life or fitness burners might need to turn down in this chapter, or my career needed to downshift further so I could turn some of those other things up. There’s a quote that says, “you can have it all … but not all at once.” Almost every post here says people are waking up at the butt crack of dawn to work out … which can work and I definitely try to do that, but that isn’t always realistic and has led to some burn out for me. I’m trying to have a little grace with myself and redefine what I can do realistically. I try to move in some capacity every day and do three “active” movements per week (aka something that looks like a workout). But that might not be the wonderful and perfect workout it was pre kids … maybe it’s something with the kids like a long walk, a meeting I take on the Peloton, leaving work early on Friday to do yoga, I keep a set of weights by my desk, taking a jog with the dogs after dinner, waking up early two days a week (instead of five) to do a legit workout. All with a little grace and celebration to acknowledge when that realistic definition of success does happen each (or most) weeks. Or sometimes not at all.
I want fitness to be a priority and it’s frustrating when it can’t be, but it’s helped me redefine that fitness can look a lot of ways and that I can squeeze in healthy lifestyle choices a lot of places and a lot of ways … even if it looks different than it used to or different from my ideal. 
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I don’t
I was trying the early morning work out schedule and it worked for a while, but then became too difficult with corporate Return To Office and commutes. -
I found it easier to try and incorporate something during my lunch hour, and it made it a lot easier for me to be consistent. My office is close to a lot of gyms, or classes and even outdoor parks and trails, so even if I couldn't afford a membership anywhere, I was still able to do something to get in a work out in for about 50 minutes. If i'm not able to do something during lunch, then I just try to block out 10-15 minutes when I get home. I use the Fit On app and can sort by time, area of focus, etc. It has been great for getting me back in some sort of routine!
