How to wake up early for workout if you already wake up early/evenings don't work??

[zeke4110]

I work a full time time but have a 30 minute commute and have to report at 730. I leave my house at 645 to drop daughter off at daycare. Get home at 5:30 or 6, then aaaaalllll the evening stuff happens. She's a bad sleeper so it's usually 9 or 930 before she's asleep even starting the routine at 7 pm. By the time I shower I am literally dead at least during the weekdays.
In the mornings I am exhausted. Maybe it's just this stage of my life. Idk.
I postulate I could get up at 5:30, and get 30 minutes in before I get mt daughter up, but it still doesn't seem like enough time.
I have an autoimmune disease that wrecks me if I over do it, so I am aiming for pilates/yoga and strength most days per week + longer on Saturday and rest sunday.

Does this seem adequate?? Or should I force myself to get up at 5? Typically I try to "take back" some time in the PM from 10 to 11. Because there the lunches, the dishes, the laundry, etc. That has to be done. So sleeping typically 6 to 6.5 hours. If I go without "decompression time" I start to suffer from mental health crap.

Just having trouble finding a balance.....any advice would help!

 

[bihzor]

@zeke4110 One thing that helped was not looking for that perfect block of time to exercise. A 30 minute workout might take all day, and that's ok.

 

[patti1011]

@bihzor Same. I’m doing squats in the kitchen while holding my baby and making scrambled eggs. Fit it in where you can

 

[bihzor]

@patti1011 Hell yeah. Dad of 4. Kids are the perfect size for weighted pushups (especially drop sets) and pullups. They also can be trained to like yoga, kickboxing, and all kinds of other workouts modalities so you are spending good time with them AND getting your work in.

 

[patti1011]

@bihzor I have a 1 Y/O and I incorporate her into everything, including my chopped-up workout routine. She does yoga with now too and it’s a bonding experience/fun time for her. I began with chest pressing her from the couch as an infant and it was all downhill after that, we have fun together

 

[annie0415]

@patti1011 By the time your baby is 18, you'll be squatting much bigger numbers. Gonna be hard to convince the kid to get with the programme though

 

[patti1011]

@annie0415 Well by that time hopefully I can utilize my garage gym more frequently

 

[turks4christ]

@bihzor Idk why I never thought to do this. I have a similar issue as OP. But I do drive by my gym multiple times a day. Your saying I could just pop in an get my sets one at a time through the day? That would be a fame changer

 

[bihzor]

@turks4christ Any harm in doing 4 working sets of chest and bailing? Hit the triceps at home with some calesthenics and do 8 minute abs on YouTube. Not ideal for a bodybuilder, but for most of us, it does the trick.

 

[nekkam]

@zeke4110 My advice to anyone who says “is this amount of time sufficient, etc” is always, every minute you spend working on yourself is better than not. You have 30 mintues to workout, do it. Have 10, great, knock out 20 pushups and some jumping jacks. Wake up early and have an hour, great, get nuts and do a full blown workout. Wake up late and have no time, so be it, couldn’t get to it, just try harder tomorrow. What? You fell of the bandwagon for two weeks, a month, and haven’t worked out, oh well. Get back at it, it’s gonna happen.

Point is. You do you, as long as you are doing something.

 

[ghex]

@nekkam That’s the best advice! Working out does not have to be an all or nothing thing! Some days it’s an hour of weights in the gym, some days it’s 30 minutes of cardio, some days it’s just 10 squats while I’m brushing my teeth.

Any movement is better than none, OP. You have a full plate. Fit in what you can. My little one was a bad sleeper too when young. This IS just a stage & you’ll have more time for yourself later when she’s older. For now, give yourself grace & just do the best you can and that is GOOD ENOUGH!

ETA: Sleep deprivation is not a good thing. Highly discourage. Doesn’t benefit you physically nor mentally, imo. Don’t make it worse to work out.

 

[broncofan]

@zeke4110 Dad of 2 here. Find the small wins ie take the stairs instead of the elevator, park far away from the store while doing groceries, take walks with the family etc.
if you go to the park, play tag, start doing random pull ups on the monkey bars etc. the kids will love it and they will see you as a role model for an active lifestyle.

Get a couple of kettlebells for home workouts. Easy to store and amazing workout tool. Add a pull up bar and you are good to go. If you can’t squeeze 20mn workouts just do random squats/pullups/pushups.

Also, finding wins means also eating healthy. Filter the crap out of the fridge, freezer and pantry. Cut the booze etc.

Parent life with young kids can be hectic. Play the long game and build your fitness routine around the crazyness one rep at a time.

Don’t let yourself go. The nail on the coffin is bad eating habits.

You got this!!!

 

[cbrow135]

@broncofan Play with the kids is a good way to squeeze exercise time in. Chase your kids around as a "bear" and bear crawl around. Or you could lay on the ground and leg press them while claiming they are an airplane. Use your kid to do curls and blow raspberries at the top.

Like sure it's not strict workout with weights but you are being active and moving your body around in ways it might not be used to.

 

[broncofan]

@cbrow135 As a bonus, a moving/active parent or caretaker will make a lasting impression on a child. My 7 year old is working on her first pull-up!

 

[cbrow135]

@broncofan My 2 year regularly asks for me to lift him up so he can dead hang on the pull up bar.

 

[lanman87]

@zeke4110 30 minutes is better than 0 minutes.

I used to wake up early to workout and it's hard, because you probably should go to bed earlier and finding that balance of what you call decompression time with sleep is hard. It gets easier when you develop the habit but never got easy for me.

I feel like when you have a job, kids etc, that you kind of have to prioritize it over those other things you might want to do. I watch a lot less TV than I used to for example, because I either need to workout at that time, or I feel like I need to go to bed to get enough sleep to recover.

 

[dawn16]

@zeke4110 Honestly, just try it. Even if you don't work out, start getting up a little earlier and get into the habit. Maybe the following week you can wake up, throw your workout clothes on, and accumulate a reasonable amount of push-ups, air squats, and sit-ups (i highly recommend pull-ups too of you can install a bar). Start small and build a foundation or you'll burn out.

 

[inchristwestand]

@zeke4110 I wake up between 4:50 and 5:15 to get a workout in before my daughter (3) wakes up. My wife and I tag team getting her ready while getting ourselves ready, and we are still able to be out the door between 6:15 and 6:30.

It’s only 1 or 2 times a week, but that’s 1 or 2 more workouts than I would fit into my schedule otherwise. I just end up going to bed a little earlier those nights.

 

[lostandafraid]

@zeke4110 Honestly if the kiddo is real young you might be just stuck for a bit without the help of another person. You could also try to get sets or minutes in through out the evening like during commercial breaks, while you are cooking or w/e. I have weights lying around my house for that exact reason.

 

[rholste]

@zeke4110 I would not focus on getting a workout in at this point. You have so much going on in your life. Once your kid starts sleeping better, things will be much less stressful.

For now, after the kid is finally in bed, do the smallest of workouts. Just 10 reps of a few movements like situps, leg lifts, etc. Or, you can do some planks. You can do these first thing in the morning. Make it so they are at most a 1-minute workout.

I have been where you are. It sucks to not be able to get the workouts in. But, just know you'll get more time in the future. You just have to get thru this very difficult time. Once you're on the other side, you'll have more available time.