ugh how do you people do it?

I just recently started working  my first full time job  and I'm having the worst time trying to fit in a work out on any day of the week.  I am not a morning person so getting up earlier is not an option for me, I have a hard enough time doing it at 7am already :)  I usually work until about 6pm, the drive home takes 30-45 depending on traffic and when I get home around 6:45 I am so exhausted and starving that all I wanna do is sit down and eat dinner.  Once my butt hits that couch cushion its all over...

How do all you working people out there keep up your work out routine with so little time (and in my case also motivation) available??

It partly a matter of priorities and partly the longer you're in the workforce the more accustom to the hours you become.  Pack a good snack to eat when you get in the car for the drive to the gym. Eat dinner after your workout and don't hit the couch until after dinner.

I agree with trhawley...priorities.

It's important to me that I lose weight.  I too work 10 and a half hour days...I'm EXHAUSTED when I get home...so getting up at 3:30AM to do a work out is out of the question, I have to do it at night.  Basically, my work out days are get up, go to work, get home, work out, eat small dinner go to bed, but...it's what I *WANT* to do because I need to change my body. 

Can you possibly fit your work out in on your lunch hour?  That's what I do, but I'm lucky enough to have a flexible schedule and the gym is two blocks from my office.  However, I also know many people whose schedules are not as flexible that use their lunch hours to take power walks.  You can do your strength training either in the evenings (in which case I recommend that you eat a snack before leaving work, so you are not famished when you get home, and do a quick strentgh training routine first thing when you get home -- hitting all your major muscles twice a week is good to start).  On the weekends when you have more time, you can fit in longer or different workouts.  

It may take some time to become a habit, but once it does, you'll feel so much better you won't want to go without your workout. 

Good luck! 

 

 Try to avoid going home after work. For me its like the gym is the fun part of my work day.   

I don't know if kids are in your future, but you're in for a rude awakening if you have problems getting up before 7 am. 

I'm a working mom, so much of the time I have no choice but to either wake up early (~4:30 am) and exercise before work or kids wake up, or wait until after kids go to bed (but I have to be careful in that scheduling, because I don't want to interfere to much with alone time with hubby). 

I get walks in at lunch, and if my boys are in the mood, I get good activity when I take them for walks or we go on weekend outing. 

I second the suggestion about having a snack in the car on the way home - hold off that starving feeling so you might feel more motivated to work out.

In addition, once you get used to working out, you'll find that you have more energy.  I always used to be wiped out when I came home too, but since I got used to my routine, I find myself missing the exercise when I don't get it, and getting more tired to boot (and I don't sleep as well). 

When I was working, I used to park 10-15 minutes AWAY from my office, then walk the rest of the way. That guaranteed me at least 30 minutes of walking a day. Then I tried to get out again at lunch. When I got home, after dinner, I promised myself I'd only watch TV if I did weights at the same time.

Like it's been said, PRIORITIES!  Try getting up a few minutes earlier each day.  That's how I did it, and now I'm up at 5:20am every day.  It sucks sometimes, but its worth it everytime!  I hate going to the gym after work, b/c I too am tired and want to go home, but again, its all about how bad you want it!!  Have a snack before the gym or try to see if there is a gym close to your work where you can go.  That way you hop in there after work, get your workout in, and drive home!

I agree with Kate, if it's important enough to you then you will do it. I don't enjoy yawning on the treadmill at 4:45 but that's what I have to do so I can still enjoy my wife and kids and still lose weight and get healthy. By 6:30 am every morning I have worked out for at least an hour and had a shower, then the rest of my day begins. I don't have much other choice working 8 to 5 and picking my son up from daycare every day.

 

It's a lifestyle change, so part of your lifestyle change may be to become a morning person.

Picchick - I am like you - unless I am doing a competitive run, I am not much of a morning exerciser.

However, here's some insight: I have pretty much the same schedule as you do. I get up just before 7, work until about 6ish, and have a 30 minute commute. The key thing is that afternoon snack everyone is suggesting. It'll keep you going. I eat lunch around 12:30, and then have a solid snack around 4-4:30 at my desk (examples: a hard boiled egg and some blackberries; an apple with a tbsp of peanutbutter) and I drink A LOT of water all day. A lot of people don't realize the "slump" they feel in the afternoons is actually dehydration.

Three times a week, when I get home, I dump my stuff off, DON'T SIT DOWN, change into my running stuff and head towards the river running path (I live just west of NYC in New Jersey). I do my 3 miles, am home around 7:30 and have the right amount of time to get dinner ready by 8-8:30.

Two days a week (Thurs night and Sat morning) I take a yoga class. The Thursday night class doesn't get out until 8:45, but that's my "indulgent" night. I grab a glass of wine and a salad or some pita and hummus with a friend for dinner. It IS, as the previous posters have mentioned, about prioritizing, but you CAN do. Just keep up the momentum.

Good luck! :-)

~ Colleen

I get up at 5 am almost every day. The only exceptions are Saturday and Sunday when I get up at 6.

The first few days were hard, but your body adjusts to it eventually. 

I am also not a morning person, but its worth it to make myself get up early and just get my work out over with. As another poster mentioned, eventually you will get used to waking up earlier and it won't be so hard.

Im not going to say the "P" word again like the previous posters BUT I have a full time job, a 2 year old, a boyfriend, and a house to maintain.   If you WANT to do it, you'll do it.  My day doesnt end until I've gone to the gym..  PLUS you'll feel so much better after that work out.. .trust me.    Now is the time to do it..

picchick - I can sympathize! I was not an exerciser, either, but I found that the more I exercised, the more energy I had, and I would actually miss working out! It doesn't take long for that to happen. Try to get some inexpensive items to use to work out at home - rubber bands, some weights, etc. Then you can work out at home. I still don't get up early, and I am lucky enough to have a gym at work to use (every day for lunch!), but once you get more energy you will have a hard time sitting on the couch for long!

I agree with all the posts on here....how bad do you want this? I am up running at 6 am every morning. I have an hour commute to work and this is the time that fits for me to get it done, because I WANT IT. I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT AND BE HEALTHY. Either commit, or don't. It is hard, but doable.

Truthfully?

Sometimes I don't get done working out until 11:30 at night. I make myself do it. Just like I make myself watch what I eat.

Here's the trick after a long day at the office: Exercise gives you energy. Before you let your butt hit the couch, do your workout.

It's already been said that you need to eat in the afternoon. That's some advice to follow right there. Right now, I eat something every 2.5 hours, even if I'm not hungry. I feel better now than I have in years. So switch up your eating habits (it's not as hard as it sounds, you get used to it very quickly) plan what you're going to eat (My carbohydrate to protein ratio reverses itself completely from first meal to last) and make yourself do it.

Tell yourself: "Skipping my workout is NOT an option" and follow through with that sentiment

These are great tips. 

Also, try breaking up your workout.  Get it out of your head that working out demands a commitment of a large block of time.  Do 20 minutes of cardio 2 times a day to start out.  Can you possibly wake up just say 22 minutes earlier and as soon as you get up, put on your shoes and get outside for a walk?  Nothing crazy, just get your blood pumping. 

Then before or after lunch do another 20 minutes.  Walk or if you have the space, do some stetching yoga stuff. 

This little bit of exercise, especially the morning stuff, may be what you need to give you the energy to ramp up the length and intensity of your exercise program later.  Exercise does give you energy.  Also, if you find it hard to get up in the morning it would probably help to exercise a little in the morning.  Your body will quickly accustom itself to the rude awakening of exercise and it will be getting ready to wake up even as you sleep.

Also, when do you go to bed?  If you wake up at 7 you should be going to bed by absolutely no later than 11.  Working all day and commuting may make your brain tired and you end up sitting around staring at the tv until all hours.  Your body is not tired however, it has just been doing light or no activity all day.  But if you exercise every day all of the sudden you may find yourself ready to go to bed earlier, and sleeping better.  I love the feeling of being righteously tired, sleeping feels great in fact I happily trundled off to bed at 8:30 last night.  :D  Turn off the tv!

If you watch tv, at least do something else while you're at it.  Get down on the floor and do some stretches, crunches and exercises with hand weights.     

One more thing:  how much coffee are you drinking?  Has it gone up since you started this job?  That too will make you crash and burn by the end of the day.  And make you hungry.

   

Hey everyone,

I agree with many posters ahead of me, it's about priorities.

People keep saying oh I couldn't get up at 5am to go to the gym.

Well it's either that or not spend any time with friends and/or family in the evenings. Also my weekend is sacred I just want to relax and do my Tai Chi on Saturday mornings.

You gotta want to do it and just do it.

I agree that a snack after work on the commute will help fend off that feeling of craving dinner and may be all you need as an energy boost to actually go to the gym.

Priority is only part of the problem.  If you are coming home exhausted, then you probably need to bump some of your daily calories back to an earlier time so that you still have energy at the end of the work day.  Have a bigger lunch, or a bigger snack, or an extra snack before you leave the office.  Then you can go straight to the gym/park/bike and get your activity in.  When you're done, make sure you still have some calories left for a small, light dinner. 

Original Post by progressnotperfection:

 Try to avoid going home after work. For me its like the gym is the fun part of my work day.   

I agree.  I change at work when my shift is over, then go straight to the gym.  I'm not "done" with the day until I'm done at the gym.  It's nice doing it after work too, then you can burn off all that accumulated stress.

I work 7:30-4:30 every day.  I also take 2 classes a semester to finish my bachelors in Marketing.  And I am a single mother of a 5 year old. 

I work out at least 5 days a week doing something whether it's the gym, yoga, running or throwing on some sneakers in between classes to get a 45 minute walk in.  I think it's really about time management.