How a Mother Can Find Time to Get Fit

Being a mother is ALL about giving. Although my nine-year-old daughter is somewhat independent, my one-year-old and almost three-year-old require far more individual attention. Since deciding to run a small licensed child care from my home, I have even less time for myself during the day. Reluctantly, I must admit there are nights that I am so exhausted, so completely drained, I sometimes questions whether I have anything left to give. But each morning I realize that I do. But I’ve come to the realization that I can only do this if I take care of myself FIRST! One of the biggest challenges after having three children and running a household was finding the time to exercise.

Over the years I have kept many different types of schedules: work, school, children’s activity, church schedule, etc. At any given time, a mother juggles at least half a dozen activities simultaneously, and that’s not including the other half dozen activities dwelling on her mind for the day! With so many obligations, I’ve struggled to find the RIGHT time to exercise that works for my life. For the past fifteen years I’ve been active, not always consistent, but somehow managed to exercise at every possible hour of the day imaginable. Early on in my marriage I can recall heading to the gym at 4:30 in the morning! It was 1998 and at the time we only had one vehicle so the best time for me to exercise was immediately after dropping off my husband at work and before I headed to class. Years later, I was working on a morning news show and headed to the gym after my graveyard shift ended at 8am. I’ll never forget the zombie-like feeling state my body was in while trying to run on the treadmill. But I knew myself well enough to know that trying to sleep first, then head to the gym, would be harder to do since my motherly duties started as soon as I woke from my five-hour sleep. Life changes, schedules change, so finding the right time to exercise (a time that fits well with your lifestyle) is critical.

After the birth of our third baby in 2007, I tried mid-morning workouts. It usually involved a power walk with the stroller followed by resistance training in our garage gym. I placed the baby in her bouncy seat; my toddler played with toys and mommy pumped iron. But the interruptions were endless. Between changing diapers, preparing bottles, adjusting pacifiers, or simply dealing with fussiness, what started as a one-hour workout resulted in a two and a half hour circus event! When trying to exercise at the end of the day, there is usually a huge risk that it won‘t end up happening. With endless things on my to-do-list, it’s easier to decide to do them FIRST before working out.

Some of the exercises I did early this year included power walking, or an aerobic or Pilates DVD, and lifting weights in the garage. I knew that working out at home posed some challenges - disruptions. But because we had just moved to California from Michigan and finances were tight, I hesitated purchasing a gym membership. I did however, make myself a promise: if I worked out from home for at least 2-3 months consistently, proving to myself that I was committed to transforming my body, I would then “reward” myself with a gym membership. The idea may sound silly, but that’s actually how I chose to view it. Going to the gym became my reward -- my time alone. So for those few months, I dedicated myself to daily power walks with the jogging stroller and resistance training in the garage before I actually signed up at a local gym.

In April of this year I joined a gym relatively close to our home. Once again I had to consider my schedule as well as my husband’s schedule when deciding what would be the best time for me to incorporate my exercise. I came to the conclusion that dedicating the very first part of my morning (before the children woke) worked best for me. Through out the years I always seemed to have great success when I worked out first thing in the morning. There was little chance of me missing a workout. Every fitness expert will tell you that consistency is key to weight loss. For me, working out in the early morning meant little or no interference with my work outs. It was just a matter of rolling out of bed and hitting the gym!