I used to be fit, running, cycling, partner acrobatics, etc. But I have done very little cardio, strength, or flexibility training since our wonderful daughter came along. She doesn’t sleep well so part of the problem is energy. But the main issue is finding time. My partner and I both work remotely, I have a 08:00-16:30 tech job and my partner teaches music online in the evenings. So I’m either working, playing with my daughter, or exhausted. I’m not complaining, I love my life and being a dad. I want to stay fit and healthy so I can be my daughter’s father for as long as possible. I also don’t want to be hard on myself, I know these toddler years will fly past if I’m not mindful. How do other parents maintain fitness? We don’t have any extended family close.
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Bench press your toddler. They’re heavy.
But also schedule time during the week when the kid is distracted/somewhere else/mail them to in-laws or parents.
I hear you. My wife and I both work full time. The only option is weekends and one parent has to take kid duties. It’s frustrating and exhausting, but we manage to squeeze in a tiny bit of fitness.
I work from home so I can do house chores and stuff throughout the day and wife only works weekends. I do all my climbing after the kid goes to bed. Wife prefers to workout at home and does during naps.
It took about 6 months to a year to start getting a consistent schedule though. We also did sleep training around 10 months and it was hard for a couple nights but it was 1000% worth it.
So your options are early, naps, after bed, or having your partner watch the kid while you work out. When he was really little we had a play area (really large pack n play basically) and could workout while keeping an eye on him.
Like others have said, it gets better with time. I did a lot of cycling before my daughter was born. She’s 2 now and I’m finally getting back into evening rides after she’s in bed. Good lights are key!
Another option is to involve your kid somehow. When my daughter was a little younger, I would load her up in a kid carrier backpack and take her for long walks. A professor of mine in college trained to climb Mount Everest in part by using a treadmill on maximum incline with his kid in a backpack.
Oh that’s easy, I don’t.
Integrating your kid into your routine is key in my opinion:
- Toddlers are a nice progressive weight and you can e.g. do some kettlebell exercises like swings with them and they will be happy
- You can do things like pushup to pike and the kid can crawl underneath you each time you’re in pike position etc. Be creative, make it a game and they will have fun
- Do simple exercises together: Some simpler yoga things, airsquats and even things like turkish getups (and give them something like a TP roll as weight) work.
- Play with them while you’re resting. Most kids can play for themselves for small periods of time. You could also make that a game: Give them a task (“run to X and back”) and see who finishes first.
- Cardio: Lots of people like to run with a running stroller. Personally I prefer to bike and having a kid on your MTB in something like a “MacRide” or “Kids ride shotgun” seat is really fun. Even now with a 4 1/2 yo (@18kg + seat) it’s fun although sometimes I wish my surroundings wouldn’t be so hilly.
This is a great shout.
Super little kids (less than a year old or so) can’t really do much so you’ll probably have to deal without heavy exercise for a bit, but you can start - for want of a better term - chucking them about a bit (lifting them above your head, carrying them everywhere) when they are small they’ll have fun too.
Eventually you can start running with them when they get bikes or bouncing on a trampoline when they get bigger.
They tend to follow what their grown ups do so get them involved and it’ll be good for both of you!
I hear you. It’s such a struggle to find time for yourself when kids take SO. MUCH. ENERGY. I try to work out when they’re napping but sometimes I’m too tired even for that. One thing that I’ve found helps is to do short bursts of activity two or three times a day. Easier to fit in the exercise and the minutes add up.
Hello fellow parent. I also don’t have any extended family close and I went from workingout 6 days a week to barely doing two days a week.
I think one question needs to be asked first:
Why do you want to stay fit?
Is it because you want to stay healthy? Stay fit so you can be active with your kid(s)? Get kicks out of excerting yourself physically? Once you have your motivation, you need to answer another question:
What actually makes you take the actual step to make a workout?
Is it working out with others? Time to listen to music / podcasts? Seeing actual progress? A competition once your kid gets a bit older?
These questions are important to unlock the answers within you to start, and persist, in working out. In my case, I work out because I feel good when doing my sport, and I started a workout group because I perform best when working out with others. And since I started this group, I could also dictate the location of the group (hint: its 5 minutes walk from my place, thus saving precious minutes). Since I am responsible for coaching the group, I can’t back out days when I’m not in a mood since people count on me.
You could also make an agreement with your partner to take two mornings every week for working out, and do that on a feasting belly (remember warming up!). Or do a HIIT routine during lunch break, there’s plenty material on youtube for that (search for intense 20 minute HIIT). Or, like others suggested, you could do physical workout from home - Arnold Schwarzenegger make an excellent post on Reddit on a routine suggestion for that.
I hope you’ll find time and inspiration for keeping your physical activity going!
Housework and playing (so long as it involves bodily movement) with children count as exercise. It’s just not Gym!Bro approved exercise but it absolutely is exercise.
And every time you lift your child, consider it a medicine ball or kettlebell lift. Because those devices are actually used to approximate the reality motions you are going through.
What you used to be is lean. You are still fit.
A bit in line with what others said, find a way to take turns with your partner. Not only you will find the time to workout or whatever, but also you should not be sentenced to suffer the full frustration together. It is not necessary and doesn’t help anyone. Eventually things may grow stale and you can end up in a cabin fever scenario. Find small windows of time for each one to do other things too, it will help you maintain your mental health.
How are the trails/parks near you? In my town, there’s a paved path that runs along the top of the levee, and follows the river. It’s smoo th and straight enough that I can lock the front wheel of the running stroller, and get a good run in. Or I can strap my son into a bike trailer. A short drive away there’s a rails-to-trails that I can use for longer workouts. It’s not ideal, but at least it’s something.
Mostly though my wife and I are fortunate enough to work the same schedule and have a lot of family around to help out. Usually my wife watches him while I’m running after work, or I’ll come home and watch him while she goes to a class. If we’re both working out on the same day, we’ll just leave him with one of our parents.
I mean, PR’s are definitely behind me, but I can still get out for an occasional half marathon.
Lots of stress, not much time to eat both reduce the amount of intake, which can help. But if you want to implement exercise you can always go with body-weight since it’s not loud, doesn’t take much room and you don’t need any machines for it. And if you have room for one machine, I would suggest an indoor bike. Burn decent amount of calories, can do it whenever you want and maybe even have your toddler on your back cause the shaking motion might make the kid fall asleep. Or vomit. But that gives life excitement, doesn’t it?
