Working out with babies requires sacrifice from the entire family

@redeemedsinner Why not just work out at home, lunch break, or after work? I don’t get why people think they can only work out at the gym. I get that gym has the machine for weight training but cardio is important than looking buff.
 
@sponty Not everyone has space. I do have an old exercise bike but my home is small and open plan so I'd wake my child if I did it early and she'd bug me if I did it when she was awake. Not everyone works at home either to work out at lunch. Plus you then need to shower.
 
@sponty I can't go out because I have a child at home. And as I said all those other things would wake her up. And there's no space to do it when she's awake except right in the middle of the living room which means nowhere for her to play and being interrupted. I can do a couple of sit ups maybe but not an actual workout.
 
@sponty as soon as my son hit 3 months we put a home gym in the shed. Has 90 percent of what we need and it takes me 15 seconds to walk to our gym now. If baby cries monitor goes off and I’m back inside for him. I think I spent a little over 1k and it’s paid for itself.
 
@redeemedsinner I don't have kids myself but two of my closest friends have toddlers so I've seen how they make it work. Both couples are pretty athletic and they make time for each other to be able to work out, it has to go both ways.

One of my friends wakes up before her son for her run and lifts weights in her garage during her lunch break. Her husband gets to play basketball several times a week while she takes the kid, and also lifts occasionally. My friend successfully completed a triathlon (and placed really well for her age group) right around when the kid turned two, so she'd managed some really meaningful training.

The other friend signed up for a gym that includes daycare. It's a little more expensive but it makes sense for her family because it means she actually uses it multiple times a week rather than relying on her husband to take the baby. They often go together so it's good couple time as well.
 
@redeemedsinner Yup I went years where I wasn't going to the gym for this very reason. She aways wanted me home the moment I was done work. Operating on a few hours if sleep wasn't an option for me. Mentally draining job where I couldn't really don't job on little sleep.

Now I'm a single dad, which allowed me more time again for a while, but with my custody increases and volunteering for scouts I only have a few days every two weeks, which often just turns into catching up on chores. Can't leave them here alone
 
@redeemedsinner 💯-I get up at 4:30 sometimes to work out before work. 5:30 on other days. That way I can be done before kids wake up. Am I tired everyday?! For sure. Still worth it.

I know a nurse who gets up at 4, loads his toddlers in the stroller, and runs a shit ton of miles before his ICU shift. Even on cold Idaho mornings…That I COULD NOT do.
 
@redeemedsinner Thank you! I haven’t been to the gym for months. And while there are different reasons (low on cash right now) but one of the biggest reasons is my 3 kids. My youngest started to wake up very early and I couldn’t go and I started to get too tired at night and she needed me too.
I am working on getting back but it will require a sacrifice from my wife and she isn’t very keen to do that right now. We both are tired.
 
@redeemedsinner Just had my third kid, and I’m struggling too. You’d think I’d know how to handle this by now but alas here we are. Life happens.

Last month I don’t think I made the gym but three times due to a double ear and eye infection in the baby that put her out of daycare for a whole week. And one of those days, I sat in my car eating chick-fila because I was just dog tired.

Not to mention ever since she was born, I’ve gotten sick three separate times from whatever she had. It’s been challenging.

Aprils a smidge better, weather is nicer so I take the baby and dogs for a walk everyday. Yard is waking up so I’m out there on weekends.

But to top it all off my FIL woke up one day not being able to walk and was diagnosed with stage iv cancer that’s spread to liver lungs and bones. So we’re spending every free moment we can with him now for the limited time he has left. They live two hours away, so it’s exhausting driving to and from.

In the meantime I’m doing my best to eat as healthy as I can. I can’t control what life throws at me but I can control what I eat. So making the best choices seems like the right thing to do.

It brings a whole new meaning to “I get to work out today” vs my younger perspective “I have to work out today.”
 
@elishiva Yeah, it feels very hard to make any progress when you keep having setbacks like multiple weeks of illness, and my mother in law was sick when I had a baby/toddler.
 
@redeemedsinner I raised my twins on my own, no mom. It's the hardest shit ever lol but I managed to lose 25 lbs a month first 2 months. Diet and exercise. The lack of sleep is the real killer. Affects damn near everything.

Mornings, I hopped on my elliptical by forcing myself because later in the day, I wouldn't have time or energy. Finding time to clean the whole house was some more cardio. Finding time to feed them 3 times a day was a blur. Idek how I did it all but they're almost ready for school lol you just have to sacrifice everything. That's all.
 
@redeemedsinner I jave 2 year old twins and am just not getting back into the routine. Work and family always take priority over it, but as the kids become less time needy then you can work on yourself easier.
 
@redeemedsinner It’s so hard finding the time to work out with kids! I am hoping as they get older and more independent I’ll have more time. Once they are capable of getting their own breakfast together and I can leave them in a room and not worry about hearing a loud crash then crying 😅
 
@redeemedsinner I switched to a low volume/high intensity full body routine so I only need 3 good sessions per week. Home gym. I fit in some dumbbell accessory stuff and pull ups randomly whenever I have a few spare minutes. It’s hard to get even that.
 
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