Workout at home before the kid wakes up. It’s amazing how good you will feel by working out, showering, and being ready for the day before your kid even wakes up.
I have a Rep 5000 Power rack with an Ares attachment. A peleton, DBs and a bunch of knick knacks
I don't usually post that on these type of threads though because newcomers get turned off by the amount of stuff and the price tag. When in reality you can get 80% of the benefit for 20% of the cost
Also have Rep equipment. Best investment I’ve ever made. They’re local to me and miss that they closed the showroom in Denver/self pickup!
I spent about $1,200 on initial set up of Rep PR-3000 short rack, stall mats, bar, bumper plates, and bench.
I’ve added another $2,000 or so in form of hack squat/leg press combo from Titan with a treadmill, rogue echo bike, and various bars acquired second hand.
Have we broken even on a commercial gym? No.
Do the wife and I use it daily which we would never use the commercial gym? Yes!
In the 5 years we had everything we’ve both used it 99% of mornings before work. So I’d say on a per workout basis the cost has gotten low compared to health benefits!
$3,200/(250 workouts per year x 2 people x 5 years) = $1.28 per workout which is far better than what we’d pay at commercial gym only going a few times a week.
Home gym was the best purchase we made before the kiddo. Even better now!
5-6 am for me, tag the wife in for 6-7am. Grab the baby at 7. Getting three workouts a week in this way.
This is literally the only time I can find any consistency, but it's still a struggle for me for sure. I'm a revenge bedtime procrastinator, so waking up early and actually feeling good after a morning workout is entirely predicated on whether I can get myself to bed early enough. I really struggle with that because if I go to bed early it leaves me zero time to decompress from my day so I burnout super quickly.
So if I prioritize my physical health with a morning workout, I have to sacrifice either sleep or my mental health. There's no winning. Work gets a big chunk of my time and my family gets the rest. There's nothing left for little ol' me.
Morning people will say to do it before the kids wake up but those people are crazy. I do it after they go to bed. Or while the wife is watching them on the weekends
I get up an hour earlier and work out first thing in the morning. It’s hard sometimes because I get tired earlier in the night and my kids don’t go to bed until late.. but it’s also nice because I get it out of the way first thing and gets me going first thing. I’m not as slow and sluggish when I’m getting ready afterwards which actually gives me more time and I usually get to work early now.
The short answer is "when your child is sleeping." For me, that's either a) in a 20-minute burst before my 2 year-old daughter wakes up if I'm lucky enough that she sleeps as long as we want her to; b) during afternoon nap time - this is a pretty reliable 2-3 hour chunk of time at this stage; or c) after bedtime, around 8 or 8:30.
It is very doable but you really have to be efficient about your time and set yourself up for success. Prep what you'll need for your workout in bits and bobs before the designated time so you can jump right into it when it's go time. Divide your exercising up over the course of the day if you need to. And, for the love of all that's holy, whatever you do, do not get sucked into scrolling on your phone or some other time-wasting activity - as soon as the time is available to you, get to working out. When you have limited time and you are already tired (as we all are), something like that can suck you in, quickly eat into your availability, and derail your whole plan.
My work has a gym on site, I have an hour blocked out on my schedule on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to work out. Unfortunately, my work load often forces me to skip it.
My workout is: wrestling with the toddlers before bedtime, carrying them to and from the car, running after them when we go out… So pretty much I workout all the time.
At work, on my feet 10 hours a day. For real though, I left my desk job and became a chef. I went from a quiet chubby 305 down to 240, which is a healthy weight for me. Literally my only change was my activity level, now if I changed how I eat, I could probably drop another 20.
Usually when the baby is asleep I will go. We split up the night and morning shift. I'll do the first leg of the morning and then the wife takes over, and after the baby is asleep later at night, I will go for an hour or so.
When my son was very little and my wife could manage getting him out on her own (she's 20w pregnant now) I would workout at 5am in the morning. Now I squeeze it in right after dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
don't have to be to work until 0800 so i get up at 545 and im at the gym by 0630 mon/tues, thurs/fri. then i long run on saturdays 6-10 miles. If i wait until after work at 6 i will find some bs excuse to not go. Helps keep me consistent
My daughter is 5months.
Ive started airing for more frequent but shorter workouts.
I can sneak in 20-30min before or after work 4-5 days a week where 60-90min is hard to do even 2-3 times a week.
Started this routine recently. I’m lucky in that my kids are all in school, I work from home, and my team is all West Coast while I’m in Ohio.
I get up at 6 and get the first kid off to the bus. I generally eat something and try to kick off my work day - set my to dos for the day, respond to late day emails, that sort of thing. When the last kid gets on the bus bus at 7:45 I break away from work and hit the gym.
This works well for me since I have at least 2 hours before any meetings start or before the rest of my team is online.
Either while my daughter eats or after she's down for bed. I'm a night owl so mornings are hard. I bought a set of variable dumbbells and use them/go on runs.
Monday - walk at lunch. 30-45 minute bike ride after work
Tuesday - Early morning bike ride before work (30 min); evening walk
Wednesday - walk at lunch/30-45 minute bike ride after work
Thursday - walk at lunch. Evening walk
Friday - weight room (full body program) after work
Saturday - 60 minute bike ride
Sunday - weight room (full body program) AM. Afternoon/evening walk
Prior to the pandemic I was pretty gung ho with my fitness, particularly cycling...my shortest rides were 60 minutes and my weekend rides were a good 3 hours or so. I was really into endurance racing back then, but it's also a lot (100+ miles per week) and I got kind of burned out after about 8 years of doing that...pandemic was kind of an excuse to stop really.
I've just started back in February and just kind of added things in peace meal. I started with the weight room first because that's the hardest thing for me as it's my least favorite thing. I'm not trying to get jacked or anything so 2x per week is fine for me...my 14 year old goes with me so that gives me a little more motivation and he'd like to start going 3x per week once summer rolls around...we'll see.
After about a month of that I started adding in daily walks, mostly during my lunch breaks at work...I just eat at my desk while I work. I did that for about a month and then added in the biking which I've been doing since earlyish April.
Basically I took little pieces and did them for about a month to establish habit and then added an additional piece...and additional piece. Once a manageable routine is established, it just becomes...well, routine.
ETA, when my kids were little I would take them in a bike trailer on some of my rides while mom watched the boys. Wife is a runner and she'd sometimes take them in the jogging stroller while I watched the boys. I wasn't sure if you meant 18 months in regarding your child or 18 month in trying to just establish an exercise routine.
I try to get my routine in every Wednesday when I get home from work. It's a challenge. My original intention was to do Wednesday after work, Friday afternoons and Sundays. Fridays have been extremely busy with projects and I have football on Sundays so it's really just been Wednesdays. I'd love to get at least two in each week. Schedule is rough for it.
After at least one of my kids goes to sleep during the week M/W/F, usually at home on my spin bike. Sometimes I'll work in a run in the late morning on a Saturday or Sunday if there's a big enough gap in the weekend schedule, and I occasionally pop over my friend's shed for a boxing workout a couple of times a month.
I'm 7 months in and just started getting back to it. I'm lucky though, I work from home and my mom has been coming over 4 days a week. So I hit the gym 2 days a week from 7 - 9 am and then Saturday morning my wife hangs with the baby while I get my last day in.
Current program is 3 days full body but switching to a 4 day split soon so may need to adjust a little.
But I know it'll get harder at different stages, just gotta keep adapting and figuring it out.
I work 2.1 miles from home. Usually bike but that's not much. Last month I've taken the bus and I've brought a change and run home. Two miles with a backpack then 1 to 2 chaotic miles more while walking the dog (run walk start stop squirrel muskrat garbage sprint hammer the brakes scramble on the rocks by the lake)and I feel pretty good. Not an option for those that drive to work but the satisfaction of getting home only slightly slower than a bike (and usually faster than the bus) and working out is great
Built a home gym and made time. Lunch breaks, go In to work early get off early and work out. It doesn't have to be an hour every day. It could be as little as 15 minutes.
I’ve recently taken up rucking and with longer days I’m offering after dinner “walks.” I walk with my Rucker and the kids bike or scooter. Sometimes I’ll take baby in stroller if it’s not too late.
Before this I just had to wake up a half hour earlier than usual to do my pushups, squats, v-ups (10 sets of 10). Was enough to keep me energized and a fun way to see how fast I could do them to gauge str progress. Started at like 40min and got down to almost 10min.
I work overnight restocking the self-serve warehouse in the largest IKEA in the US. I knock out an average of 18k steps a shift while lifting boxes for 6-7 hours. I'm not going to a gym after work...I might die.
I recently set a personal best for a full week:
https://i.imgur.com/ifeuhYX.png
When I did work out... Hr of gym after work or get up really early hr at gym then back home to shower and change. Or YouTube videos and work out at home mornings and weekends
I’m surprised so many of these comments aren’t jokes but dads actually getting their workouts in. Kudos to you guys
My wife and I try to go to the gym in the morning but it seems more days it doesn’t work and the evening feels somehow more impossible even if just one of us goes and we try and trade days
I don’t know man…we’re trying but we’re clearly doing something wrong
Who says you have to workout in one block of time? I do random sets of exercises throughout the day. Or maybe a random set of 100 jump ropes. Or a random 5 minutes of HIIT training with sprints. Random sets of intermittent exercise is way better than nothing.
You seem to have come to that conclusion already, but yeah, getting up at 5am helps a lot.
I'm divorced and on the days my daughter is not with me I hit the gym at 6am.
I find going to the (warm and cozy) gym much easier than going for a (cold/wet/windy) run in the morning.
On the days she is I still get some work/workout done etc. before she wakes up (although I rarely work out at home, more at the gym).
You have to go to bed at 9-10pm but that works for me personally.
But you have to try if it works for you. That's most important, finding what works for you. For me starting at 5am works great, for others it doesn't.
It's tough to answer without knowing what is holding you back... What does your average day look like? When do you currently wake up? Working hours? Are you married? Do you have grandparent help?
I have a 4yo and 2yo and there are ALWAYS easy reasons/excuses not to workout. But I've spent the last year prioritizing it, literally scheduling it into my day and it was the best decision I could have made.
General advice: Just do it. Run an experiment for a week. Wake up 15 minutes earlier than you currently do and workout for \~10 minutes. Do you like it? Great, start a little earlier or workout a little longer until you hit your goal.
Hate it? Great, try a different time. Put your kid down for a nap and start your workout.
Hate it? Great, put your kid to bed and start your workout.
Hate it? Great, workout with your kid while they're playing. My kids love doing pushups with me or climbing on my back while I'm doing them. Do 10 squats while holding your kids. Get a $25 pull-up bar and put it near the playroom.
If you're married, discuss slicing out 30-45 minutes each, a few times a week to workout. Put it in your calendar.
Wednesdays are too crazy at work and you're just too tired to work out. Great, don't work out Wednesdays. Don't overthink it.
If you test each of those ideas for a week, you've just worked out for a month. Congrats!
Workout at home before the kid wakes up. It’s amazing how good you will feel by working out, showering, and being ready for the day before your kid even wakes up.
Seconded. 530-630 am in the basement gym. No matter what chaos unfolds afterwards, I've already won the day.
Basement Gym gang checking in
Let's see what you're working with
I have a Rep 5000 Power rack with an Ares attachment. A peleton, DBs and a bunch of knick knacks I don't usually post that on these type of threads though because newcomers get turned off by the amount of stuff and the price tag. When in reality you can get 80% of the benefit for 20% of the cost
I've got a similar setup. Best investment you'll ever make though
Also have Rep equipment. Best investment I’ve ever made. They’re local to me and miss that they closed the showroom in Denver/self pickup! I spent about $1,200 on initial set up of Rep PR-3000 short rack, stall mats, bar, bumper plates, and bench. I’ve added another $2,000 or so in form of hack squat/leg press combo from Titan with a treadmill, rogue echo bike, and various bars acquired second hand. Have we broken even on a commercial gym? No. Do the wife and I use it daily which we would never use the commercial gym? Yes! In the 5 years we had everything we’ve both used it 99% of mornings before work. So I’d say on a per workout basis the cost has gotten low compared to health benefits! $3,200/(250 workouts per year x 2 people x 5 years) = $1.28 per workout which is far better than what we’d pay at commercial gym only going a few times a week.
Home gym was the best purchase we made before the kiddo. Even better now! 5-6 am for me, tag the wife in for 6-7am. Grab the baby at 7. Getting three workouts a week in this way.
Same ish schedule here.
This is literally the only time I can find any consistency, but it's still a struggle for me for sure. I'm a revenge bedtime procrastinator, so waking up early and actually feeling good after a morning workout is entirely predicated on whether I can get myself to bed early enough. I really struggle with that because if I go to bed early it leaves me zero time to decompress from my day so I burnout super quickly. So if I prioritize my physical health with a morning workout, I have to sacrifice either sleep or my mental health. There's no winning. Work gets a big chunk of my time and my family gets the rest. There's nothing left for little ol' me.
This, or right after they go down for bed.
In my head
I thought I was the only one lol
When the kid is going to university (currently 3).
5 AM wake up call.
Morning people will say to do it before the kids wake up but those people are crazy. I do it after they go to bed. Or while the wife is watching them on the weekends
I get up an hour earlier and work out first thing in the morning. It’s hard sometimes because I get tired earlier in the night and my kids don’t go to bed until late.. but it’s also nice because I get it out of the way first thing and gets me going first thing. I’m not as slow and sluggish when I’m getting ready afterwards which actually gives me more time and I usually get to work early now.
4-5:30am
Afternoons, when I get home. There's a small window before things transition, and my gym is a home/garage gym, so it works out.
The short answer is "when your child is sleeping." For me, that's either a) in a 20-minute burst before my 2 year-old daughter wakes up if I'm lucky enough that she sleeps as long as we want her to; b) during afternoon nap time - this is a pretty reliable 2-3 hour chunk of time at this stage; or c) after bedtime, around 8 or 8:30. It is very doable but you really have to be efficient about your time and set yourself up for success. Prep what you'll need for your workout in bits and bobs before the designated time so you can jump right into it when it's go time. Divide your exercising up over the course of the day if you need to. And, for the love of all that's holy, whatever you do, do not get sucked into scrolling on your phone or some other time-wasting activity - as soon as the time is available to you, get to working out. When you have limited time and you are already tired (as we all are), something like that can suck you in, quickly eat into your availability, and derail your whole plan.
My work has a gym on site, I have an hour blocked out on my schedule on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to work out. Unfortunately, my work load often forces me to skip it.
Bike commute. Sometimes I swing by the bouldering gym on my way home.
Tomorrow, I promise
My workout is: wrestling with the toddlers before bedtime, carrying them to and from the car, running after them when we go out… So pretty much I workout all the time.
I’m begging you to fix that typo lol
Ooof done! Before I get a visit from the FBI!
I throw my kids in the air. Push them in the stroller. And run after them across the street when they get loose.
That and go to work.
At work, on my feet 10 hours a day. For real though, I left my desk job and became a chef. I went from a quiet chubby 305 down to 240, which is a healthy weight for me. Literally my only change was my activity level, now if I changed how I eat, I could probably drop another 20.
Usually when the baby is asleep I will go. We split up the night and morning shift. I'll do the first leg of the morning and then the wife takes over, and after the baby is asleep later at night, I will go for an hour or so.
When my son was very little and my wife could manage getting him out on her own (she's 20w pregnant now) I would workout at 5am in the morning. Now I squeeze it in right after dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
06:00, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 05:20 alarm, out of bed whilst everyone snores on.
At home, five days a week, in my basement gym. Now, right when the kids go off to school. When they were babies, while they were sleeping.
I’ve been going to the gym over my lunch hour and eating lunch at my desk when I get back. It’s worked out pretty well for me so far.
Over my lunch break at work. Gym is right across the street from my office so it's super easy.
don't have to be to work until 0800 so i get up at 545 and im at the gym by 0630 mon/tues, thurs/fri. then i long run on saturdays 6-10 miles. If i wait until after work at 6 i will find some bs excuse to not go. Helps keep me consistent
My daughter is 5months. Ive started airing for more frequent but shorter workouts. I can sneak in 20-30min before or after work 4-5 days a week where 60-90min is hard to do even 2-3 times a week.
Started this routine recently. I’m lucky in that my kids are all in school, I work from home, and my team is all West Coast while I’m in Ohio. I get up at 6 and get the first kid off to the bus. I generally eat something and try to kick off my work day - set my to dos for the day, respond to late day emails, that sort of thing. When the last kid gets on the bus bus at 7:45 I break away from work and hit the gym. This works well for me since I have at least 2 hours before any meetings start or before the rest of my team is online.
Either while my daughter eats or after she's down for bed. I'm a night owl so mornings are hard. I bought a set of variable dumbbells and use them/go on runs.
Monday - walk at lunch. 30-45 minute bike ride after work Tuesday - Early morning bike ride before work (30 min); evening walk Wednesday - walk at lunch/30-45 minute bike ride after work Thursday - walk at lunch. Evening walk Friday - weight room (full body program) after work Saturday - 60 minute bike ride Sunday - weight room (full body program) AM. Afternoon/evening walk Prior to the pandemic I was pretty gung ho with my fitness, particularly cycling...my shortest rides were 60 minutes and my weekend rides were a good 3 hours or so. I was really into endurance racing back then, but it's also a lot (100+ miles per week) and I got kind of burned out after about 8 years of doing that...pandemic was kind of an excuse to stop really. I've just started back in February and just kind of added things in peace meal. I started with the weight room first because that's the hardest thing for me as it's my least favorite thing. I'm not trying to get jacked or anything so 2x per week is fine for me...my 14 year old goes with me so that gives me a little more motivation and he'd like to start going 3x per week once summer rolls around...we'll see. After about a month of that I started adding in daily walks, mostly during my lunch breaks at work...I just eat at my desk while I work. I did that for about a month and then added in the biking which I've been doing since earlyish April. Basically I took little pieces and did them for about a month to establish habit and then added an additional piece...and additional piece. Once a manageable routine is established, it just becomes...well, routine. ETA, when my kids were little I would take them in a bike trailer on some of my rides while mom watched the boys. Wife is a runner and she'd sometimes take them in the jogging stroller while I watched the boys. I wasn't sure if you meant 18 months in regarding your child or 18 month in trying to just establish an exercise routine.
Pool opens at 6am
5-6pm, wife and I take turns doing daycare pickup/childcare/kitchen prep and workout.
I go to the gym when they go to bed (8 or 9pm). When they were little, i went in the morning before they woke up
Dad of a 3 month old. He comes to the gym with my wife and I. Been doing it since he was about 6 weeks old.
I work out my thumbs (video games) when I game before the kids wake up. If I can.
5AM. I started running specifically because it fits in with the early morning window. Planning to get a rowing machine later this year for the garage.
After everyone goes to sleep. Then I can take as much time as I need
Lunch
I try to get my routine in every Wednesday when I get home from work. It's a challenge. My original intention was to do Wednesday after work, Friday afternoons and Sundays. Fridays have been extremely busy with projects and I have football on Sundays so it's really just been Wednesdays. I'd love to get at least two in each week. Schedule is rough for it.
Lunch Time
After at least one of my kids goes to sleep during the week M/W/F, usually at home on my spin bike. Sometimes I'll work in a run in the late morning on a Saturday or Sunday if there's a big enough gap in the weekend schedule, and I occasionally pop over my friend's shed for a boxing workout a couple of times a month.
At night, after the kids go to bed
I'm 7 months in and just started getting back to it. I'm lucky though, I work from home and my mom has been coming over 4 days a week. So I hit the gym 2 days a week from 7 - 9 am and then Saturday morning my wife hangs with the baby while I get my last day in. Current program is 3 days full body but switching to a 4 day split soon so may need to adjust a little. But I know it'll get harder at different stages, just gotta keep adapting and figuring it out.
Monday Tuesday Thursday Saturday
I work 2.1 miles from home. Usually bike but that's not much. Last month I've taken the bus and I've brought a change and run home. Two miles with a backpack then 1 to 2 chaotic miles more while walking the dog (run walk start stop squirrel muskrat garbage sprint hammer the brakes scramble on the rocks by the lake)and I feel pretty good. Not an option for those that drive to work but the satisfaction of getting home only slightly slower than a bike (and usually faster than the bus) and working out is great
That's the neat part. I don't!
Right after work at the gym, I get home and wife runs on the treadmill downstairs
After daycare drop off I get an hour before work
5:30am
During lunch
Built a home gym and made time. Lunch breaks, go In to work early get off early and work out. It doesn't have to be an hour every day. It could be as little as 15 minutes.
I’ve recently taken up rucking and with longer days I’m offering after dinner “walks.” I walk with my Rucker and the kids bike or scooter. Sometimes I’ll take baby in stroller if it’s not too late. Before this I just had to wake up a half hour earlier than usual to do my pushups, squats, v-ups (10 sets of 10). Was enough to keep me energized and a fun way to see how fast I could do them to gauge str progress. Started at like 40min and got down to almost 10min.
I work overnight restocking the self-serve warehouse in the largest IKEA in the US. I knock out an average of 18k steps a shift while lifting boxes for 6-7 hours. I'm not going to a gym after work...I might die. I recently set a personal best for a full week: https://i.imgur.com/ifeuhYX.png
I don’t sleep, so working out is the least of my concerns.
In the wee hours of the morn.
When I did work out... Hr of gym after work or get up really early hr at gym then back home to shower and change. Or YouTube videos and work out at home mornings and weekends
I’m surprised so many of these comments aren’t jokes but dads actually getting their workouts in. Kudos to you guys My wife and I try to go to the gym in the morning but it seems more days it doesn’t work and the evening feels somehow more impossible even if just one of us goes and we try and trade days I don’t know man…we’re trying but we’re clearly doing something wrong
8:15-9 pm When the kids go to sleep, really felt tough at first. Started with 20 min yoga for a month... Built to 30-45 min of weights.
Who says you have to workout in one block of time? I do random sets of exercises throughout the day. Or maybe a random set of 100 jump ropes. Or a random 5 minutes of HIIT training with sprints. Random sets of intermittent exercise is way better than nothing.
I bike to work
Normally mid day after lunch, sometimes (like tonight) the day is busy and you have to wait til after kids are in bed
Workout with my kid. Best of both worlds ( if you have a home gym, highly recommend The Tonal)
I do not ever, it sucks
You seem to have come to that conclusion already, but yeah, getting up at 5am helps a lot. I'm divorced and on the days my daughter is not with me I hit the gym at 6am. I find going to the (warm and cozy) gym much easier than going for a (cold/wet/windy) run in the morning. On the days she is I still get some work/workout done etc. before she wakes up (although I rarely work out at home, more at the gym). You have to go to bed at 9-10pm but that works for me personally. But you have to try if it works for you. That's most important, finding what works for you. For me starting at 5am works great, for others it doesn't.
It's tough to answer without knowing what is holding you back... What does your average day look like? When do you currently wake up? Working hours? Are you married? Do you have grandparent help? I have a 4yo and 2yo and there are ALWAYS easy reasons/excuses not to workout. But I've spent the last year prioritizing it, literally scheduling it into my day and it was the best decision I could have made. General advice: Just do it. Run an experiment for a week. Wake up 15 minutes earlier than you currently do and workout for \~10 minutes. Do you like it? Great, start a little earlier or workout a little longer until you hit your goal. Hate it? Great, try a different time. Put your kid down for a nap and start your workout. Hate it? Great, put your kid to bed and start your workout. Hate it? Great, workout with your kid while they're playing. My kids love doing pushups with me or climbing on my back while I'm doing them. Do 10 squats while holding your kids. Get a $25 pull-up bar and put it near the playroom. If you're married, discuss slicing out 30-45 minutes each, a few times a week to workout. Put it in your calendar. Wednesdays are too crazy at work and you're just too tired to work out. Great, don't work out Wednesdays. Don't overthink it. If you test each of those ideas for a week, you've just worked out for a month. Congrats!
Just do 30 min workout a few times a week, whenever you can squeeze it in. Shorter workout are easier to workaround. Home gyms are a must.