How and when do you find time to exercise?

I would love to know how and when the currently homeschooling mamas find time to exercise? This is one of my main concerns as we embark on this journey for the fall. I really want to make sure I still have some time to take care of myself and with 4 kids, this is a legitimate concern! I am thinking I might be able to squeeze in a couple mornings a week before we begin to go run, but would love to hear from others. Thanks!

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That is a great question. We think we can fit it all in and then reality sets in. I always think that exercising in the morning would be the best plan but it never works out for me. My kids wake up hungry. I wake up hungry. For our family the best time for exercise for me is in the afternoon. My kids usually have sports at night so between 3-5 pm is my window. I have learned to just stop whatever I doing at that time and just exercise(usually it is things that can wait). I find that on the days that I exercise, I have more energy later. At night when everyone is winding down and getting ready for bed, I usually can finish up with getting homeschooling ready for the morning and some light housework. That is what works for me.

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My daughter is still pretty young, so I am able to workout some time between 10-12. Since I have made it a habit she loves to work out with me ( she ends up making up her own moves ) and she is on top of reminding me “Hey Mommy we need to workout” : )

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I exercise here and there through the day. Do some yoga stretches in the afternoon after school for about 10 minutes, maybe n afternoon walk or jog with the kids, a couple reps of crunches or lifting weights in the morning…etc…

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I exercise first thing in the morning, usually between 4:30-6 am. I am a morning person, so its the best time for me. And even though waking up that early is hard sometimes, I LOVE starting my day with time alone.

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I run as soon as my husband gets home from work, usually from 4:15 until 4:45 or so and then after dinner we go for a big family walk. I can’t do mornings since my four kids gave up sleeping through the night for Lent. =) Plus, we are in Minnesota and it is very cold in the morning. Its slightly less cold in the afternoon. At least when the sun is shining I can pretend its not as cold. Also I’ll play Just Dance on the Wii with the kids if it’s too cold to be outside.

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I try to walk on the treadmill while my kids are coloring or doing crafts. But I have started to incorporate exercise into our homeschooling day by playing games. We also stretch as part of our morning board routine. It is little exercise but every little bit helps me!!

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We started the Family Time Fitness program. I was struggling to find time to work out. My kids wake up really early, and I am exhausted by evening. Now we all work out together! Planned curriculum, bike rides, hikes or walks at the zoo. I try to just get us moving throughout the day. That really helps us.

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We are a CrossFit family! I go alone at 6am, or hit up an afternoon class with kids in tow. Our coach lets the kids come up with their own workout, guiding them to choose upper body, lower body moves, to make a total body workout. They feel empowered, creating a routine, while learning what moves work each body part. I also walk walk walk during ball practices!

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I get up at 6:30 am and do Refit. It’s like Zumba. They have playlists on youtube. I do their online streaming option on their website so I stream their classes every day. It’s so much fun and makes exercising enjoyable!

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I am very curious about this! I need to find something that I can do at the house that is fun! I love Zumba!

I usually work out shortly after we all get up which is around 8:30. I get the kids breakfast and then workout during that time. I perform majority of my workouts via 30 minute videos and usually once a week I venture to our local zoo and workout by walking around the park. If mornings are not attainable, then I do it when my lil’ takes a nap and my older son then gets 30 mins of free ipad time.

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In the 5 years we have been homeschooling I have tried various workout schedules. I will tell you that, for me, it differs from year to year depending upon the kids ages and our school schedule.

Every once in a while I decide that I’m going to get up early and exercise to “start the day out right” – well, that never lasts (I tell you this as I’m sure many have been there.) I just can’t get up before everyone with enough time to exercise it seems but I have young ones that are up and then I find that if I exercise after I get them started on breakfast the morning routine falls apart and we are off track and working late.

So, I started doing naptime workouts when the little one sleeps and my oldest works out with me (mostly videos like zumba or yoga or wii fit work outs) and this is good for both of us. She looks forward to working out with me and taking the break from school. I let me middle child have some educational computer game time, which keeps him busy (I tried having him work out with us but he’s just not ready for that). My daughter can stop when she’s done or modify or drop in and out of the workout as needed. This has served to work the best (except when naptime is off).

I also do a little wakeup 10 minute yoga routine to stretch and wake up, which is helpful and at least I got that in if the other falls apart.

After dinner, in good weather, the whole family goes for a walk after dinner, or my husband and I take turns riding bikes with the bigger kids or jogging with the big kids riding their bikes, but this is hit or miss and extra.

I also have an app on my phone that has a situp, pushup and squat routine that has an alarm that goes off every day and when it goes off I usually take 5 minutes and do whichever alarm is going off. This helps keep me active and, again, the older ones will do it with me.

I know this may or may not work for you but maybe one of the suggestions is something that is helpful. I agree, fitting in working out can be difficult. Good luck.

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My goal is to wake up every morning and work out! But I am not a morning person so that doesn’t work! Usually we are done with school around 2-3 so thats when I work out. And sometimes the kids do it with me, sometimes they read or play a game. I either run on the treadmill or do Turbo Jam. (love this exercise video!)

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I exercise on a break, that I build in mid morning. My kids are early risers. I still have so younger ones. So I set up a activity that should last a bit.

tmhinton, what is the app called? Thanks!

Since my son is older, I will take a class at the gym nearby & he can stay home for a bit by himself. I put a list of things he can do independently on our whiteboard & he gets a reward if he’s finished by the time I get home. I also walk while he’s in boychoir.

You can search for refit on youtube and you’ll find their videos and they have some playlists, too. Their website is www.refitrev.com. I signed up for their online streaming option cause I loved the youtube playlists so much and really enjoyed it!

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Exercise has become a non negotiable part of our homeschool day. We have 2 exercise bikes, mini trampoline, exercise bands, family fitness curriculum, workouts DVDs and my oldest does P90x with me and some of the UFC fit no weights of course. Its just habit Mon.-Friday I set the kids up at a workout station and they switch every ten minutes while I workout. We hike and walk together and we have a hyperflex boxing bag too.

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I also have 4 kids!~ it has varied over the years from wee earlier hours (ie after nursing!) to late afternoon, to evening. Figure out what works for you and hubby and then go from there. Even when I didn’t feel like doing it I did and always felt better physically, etc. We started adding to our home gym and that really helped too.