Fitting in exercise

[thehead]

How are people on here finding time to exercise when working over 50 hours a week?

What's your routine?

[betterdeal]

I cycle to work, do 2 hours of yoga on a Thursday evening, and 2 hours of rowing on Tuesday evening and Saturday day. I built up to it. It started with walking to the supermarket. Walking some of the way to work. Doing half an hour of yoga a week. Massage. Jacuzzis before work. Improving my diet. Each little improvement can be built on.

 

Getting into the habit of doing things to improve your body, no matter how small, is key. It's the habit you need to foster. The hours come from that.

[eerie_reverie]

In my experience, the most efficient way to fit it in is to do it in the morning, before you shower/ get ready. Even 20 minutes can be substiantial if you work hard and do it every day (example: 20 minutes of sprints). All it takes is waking up just a few minutes earlier than normal. I make myself do it even if I am running late and have only 5- 10 mins to work out, just to be consistent and avoid making excuses.

[Star Gazer]

In the winter, it seems there's less social activity during the workweek, so I go after work.

 

In the summer, there's a lot more social activity during the workweek, so I have to go in the morning. I just recently switched my schedule back to mornings. It was a tough adjustment sleep wise, but I'm so glad I did it. It's great starting the workday knowing my workout is already done!

[SleeplessRomantic]

The time you spend online, platoon it with time spent exercising.

[Eddie Edirol]

When you REALLY want to get fit, you naturally find the time. Same as finding time to date.

[tman666]

When you REALLY want to get fit, you naturally find the time. Same as finding time to date.

 

x2

 

Nothing wrong with streamlining your workouts to be more efficient though...

[Ms. Joolie]

With travel time to and from in Houston, it is like I work 50 hours a week. Cutting back on sleep is the only way to keep up regular workouts for me. I've done really well recently keeping up cardio and strength exercises, but with only 4-6 hours sleep. I have to be sure to sleep in over the weekend though.

[thehead]

Thanks for responding everyone.

 

Eddie, Tman, SleeplessRomantic: You're all right. I could find excuses but it boils down to just doing it. The 60 to now almost 70 hours a week I'm working is an adjustment but no excuse. Thanks for the bottom line.

 

MissJoolie: Yup, it's just got to be cutting back on sleep. I was trying to find a way around it but that's the reality. I dont do well with less than 7 hours. I mean I get migraines. I'll give it a try. Maybe my body will adjust. Thanks.

 

eerie_reverie, Star Gazer, betterdeal: I'm a former college athlete and after graduating, I was an assistant coach for the university. My schedule has always been flexible and exercise was so easy to come by I took it for granted. Now I've changed careers. You've all given me tips so I appreciate it. My workouts need to be smaller than I wanted but oh well. Better something than nothing. Thanks for your input.

[betterdeal]

eerie_reverie, Star Gazer, betterdeal: I'm a former college athlete and after graduating, I was an assistant coach for the university. My schedule has always been flexible and exercise was so easy to come by I took it for granted. Now I've changed careers. You've all given me tips so I appreciate it. My workouts need to be smaller than I wanted but oh well. Better something than nothing. Thanks for your input.

 

Your welcome! I was very active up to about age 24. The longer I left it, the less fit I was, and holding onto what I was previously like held me back from doing anything at all, making things worse. Rethinking it as I know I have the potential to be much fitter as I was much fitter than this helped me turn things around. We start from here, not there.

 

Anyway, turns out I have arthritis (hallax limitus) in my left big toe, and that goes to explains a lot why I avoided foot impact intensive exercise. Hence yoga, pilates, rowing and cycling are good for me. It's about finding things that you enjoy, are available, fit into your life and going to your edge each time. Your edge changes each time and, as you know, the best way to improve a muscle is regular exercise of that muscle.

 

Look into massage and other relaxing treatments for your body. As you're off schedule, it may prove useful to do some remedial work to start with. It's also enjoyable in itself, and helps you to develop a better relationship with your body.

[westernxer]

You can always incorporate more walking into your daily routine to burn calories as you go. I do this a lot during the week.

 

Pushups in the morning also work wonders if you don't have a lot of time. Refer to your local ex-con if you need more details. We have plenty of those here. LOL

[tman666]

Thanks for responding everyone.

 

Eddie, Tman, SleeplessRomantic: You're all right. I could find excuses but it boils down to just doing it. The 60 to now almost 70 hours a week I'm working is an adjustment but no excuse. Thanks for the bottom line.

 

MissJoolie: Yup, it's just got to be cutting back on sleep. I was trying to find a way around it but that's the reality. I dont do well with less than 7 hours. I mean I get migraines. I'll give it a try. Maybe my body will adjust. Thanks.

 

eerie_reverie, Star Gazer, betterdeal: I'm a former college athlete and after graduating, I was an assistant coach for the university. My schedule has always been flexible and exercise was so easy to come by I took it for granted. Now I've changed careers. You've all given me tips so I appreciate it. My workouts need to be smaller than I wanted but oh well. Better something than nothing. Thanks for your input.

 

60-70 hrs a week is a lot, but not unmanageable with regards to adding in some quick and effective workouts. You can get a lot done in a relatively short amount of time with compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench, rows, and pullups. You can pick one exercise for the day, and do 5x5's for strength and hypertrophy. Conditioning can be done VERY quickly with things like bodyweight only circuits, sprints, car pushes, etc. Another time saver is cutting down your rest times in between sets and pairing exercises together.

 

For example, you could do a set of 5 reps on deadlift, immediately followed by a set of as many push ups as you can do. Rest 1 minute, and repeat.

[orangelady]

have you heard of HIIT and bodyweight workouts? they only take you 10-20 minutes but very intense. It helped me lose the most weight as compared to doing an hour of jogging, stairclimbing, cardio ****, etc.

 

I never lost any weight on those kind of exercises.

[tanabanana92207]

TH, I had the same problem as you. I work approx. 60hrs/week and the last I want to do when I get home is hit the gym. That's the excuse I gave myself anyway. But, I finally got so frustrated and, let's face it, disgusted with myself that I made the time. I get up at 4:20 every morning and go to the gym from 5 'til 6:30. I have been doing this everyday since March 28th and I have lost 19 lbs so far. I came to the realization, after trying numerous diets, that I am not going to change my eating habits. So the only way for me to lose weight and sustain that weight loss is to exercise. I walk 4 miles on the treadmill every other day at a 15% incline, followed by a 1/2 hour of weight training. On alternate days, I do the elliptical for a 1/2 hour and the cycle for a 1/2, again followed by the weight training. Had I been counting calories as well, I probably would've lost double the weight but, I'm honest enough with myself to acknowledge that I'm an eater. Always have been, always will be. The trick for me is balance. And believe it or not, you actually feel pretty good when you go to the gym, especially when you compete with yourself and do a little more every time.

[thehead]

You are a good group, thanks for the replies.

I read every one and appreciate it. I'm trying to put on weight, build muscle and have no idea what I'm doing. I used to be lean and cut. Now I'm just slim and smooth.

 

A poster here (Gray Clouds) gave me some tips. The new work schedule is what's kicking my a$$. I'm able to get something out of every post though.

 

betterdeal: I'm going to work massage in there somewhere too. I never thought about its benefits. Thanks for helping me look at it more holistically.

 

nataliya89: You made me nostalgic for the days when sports was a daily part of life. If I understood correctly, you're getting 5 hours a day? 4 in the afternoon and 1 in the evening. Lucky. I'd kill for that now.

 

orangelady: HIIT can be great right? I'm trying to gain though but have recommended to others when I coached. For conditioning, I run but haven't had time for even that. Glad it's working for you though. Keep with it.

 

tanabanana: I give it to you. 4am is hardcore. Congrats on your weight loss. I guess you just got used to less sleep? How many hours do you average?

 

tman, westernxer: no doubt I need to plan this out carefully to maximize time. I gym-ed it yesterday and was late to work. Have to plan better. Your post gave me ideas.

[just_some_guy]

You have to make the time.

 

I know what high-demand, high-stress, high-commitment, long-hours work is like. It is what I do.

 

But you have to set boundaries on it, take care of your body, eat right, give yourself some mental rest too.

 

In ten years, all the work you're doing now will be long forgotten. It will be meaningless and most likely, all the money you are making will have been spent on things and stuff that you most likely won't have anymore either.

 

In ten years, you'll have the body you're building now. It will make you answer for how you took care of it too.

[denise_xo]

How are people on here finding time to exercise when working over 50 hours a week?

What's your routine?

 

I'm in a similar situation. My strategy at the moment is to make 'transportation' to and from work my exercise. It's a forty-forty five minutes brisk walk each way. I know it's not exactly high powered exercise, but definitely better than nothing.

[thehead]

just_some_guy: You're right. This new career is great but my health was suffering. I've scaled back my hours to 50 again. The 10 less hours make a big difference. I use them to exercise and nap.

 

denise x_o: I get your point that it's about finding opportunity. It's a good way to look at it. I wear a suit to work so sweating is a no-no but I've started walking the six flights to my office instead of taking the elevator.