How do you fit in training when you don\u2019t have time?<\/strong><\/h2>\nWe all know there are different life circumstances and scenarios that bring about a range of reasons why a person has to give up, is unable to, or simply doesn\u2019t want to exercise.<\/p>\n
But the issue I encounter the most as a personal trainer to women and mums is time, or lack thereof. And with this lack of time comes a lack of energy, which itself leads to a lack of desire or inclination to exercise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHaving experienced this first hand with a full-time job in the city and a toddler at home, I fully relate. After giving all your time and energy to your job and\/or your children, what is there left to give?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like looking at your bank account and seeing which regular outgoings needs to be scrapped in order to\u00a0save money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSadly, in this case, we choose something that would actually benefit our own mental and physical health, and, ironically, is why we remain so exhausted.<\/p>\n
- Why good energy balance is vital for female triathletes<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
Because of my own experience, I\u2019m not one of those trainers who says, \u2018Come on, all you need to do is fit in X amount of minutes into your day!\u2019 I would recommend to these types of trainers that they need to listen to their clients.<\/p>\n
They need\u00a0to understand their clients\u2019 days a\u00a0bit more and help them instead\u00a0of heaping even more pressure on.\u00a0We need to inspire and motivate, not preach and castigate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI saw one desperate mum share on a Facebook support group:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do people do it? Seriously, how do you work full-time, do childcare, afford holidays and going out, stay fit and healthy, eat decent food and deal with the kids when they\u2019re poorly? Is it just me? Tips welcome on how I can keep going this way.\u201d<\/p>\n
One could argue it\u2019s not exactly fair game for women and mums when it comes to time to \u2018stay fit\u2019, and there\u2019s more than just anecdotal evidence to back that argument up. Let\u2019s look at the facts.<\/p>\n How to make the time-struggle work for you<\/strong><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here are some examples of how a few of my real-life mum clients manage to juggle the time-struggle in their household\u2026<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband and I have started going to the gym together and taking turns to watch our daughter while the other does a class\/goes for a swim, etc.\u201d\u00a0Sophie Ellingham, mum of one<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIncorporating my baby into a workout with the baby carrier or simply getting out for a walk. And finding a mum and baby workout group!\u201d\u00a0Nikki Wolstenholme, mum of two<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI go to a morning class while my husband looks after the kids. He has his time away from the kids when he goes to football.\u201d\u00a0Ruth Moody, mum of two<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI put workout gear on as soon as I wake up. Committing to and paying for a class helps me prioritise it.\u201d\u00a0Lyndsey Walton, mum of three<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband\u2019s parents do the drop-off on Fridays, so we will run together early doors.\u201d\u00a0Mel, mum of two<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way I can make it work so far is video classes after the kids have gone to bed.\u201d\u00a0Hannah, mum of two<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWalking the kids to school uphill with the baby in the buggy is a heart-rate raiser! Mum & Baby classes are also timed for after school\/nursery drop-offs, which is a great incentive too.\u201d\u00a0Catherine Kennedy, mum of three<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hubby ran the 100k London 2 Brighton Challenge. There\u2019s been months of me horse riding on a weekend morning, followed by him doing long runs.\u201d\u00a0Helen Watson, mum of two<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
Do women sacrifice their training time more than men?<\/strong><\/h2>\nAccording to a study from the Australian National University (ANU), women sacrifice their workout time when their jobs and families need attention, whereas men might be \u201cborrowing\u201d the time that women sacrifice to squeeze their own workouts in.<\/p>\n
The study on heterosexual couples, aged 25-64 in more than 7,000 households, found that\u00a034% of the men reported being physically active (three or more moderately intense bouts of exercise of more than 30mins per week), yet only 28.6% of women reported exercising on a regular basis.<\/p>\n
And if their working week increased by 10 hours either by paid work or family commitments, this decreased by a further 6%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThis is one of the first studies to show how, hour for hour, women\u2019s time for their health is being squeezed to manage their jobs and the family, whereas men\u2019s time for jobs and health is more protected,\u201d stated Lyndall Strazdins, PhD, study author and ANU professor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s currently a global exercise drought, and this is pushing huge disease burdens\u00a0from the cardiovascular<\/strong><\/a> to the cognitive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\u201cWe need to cap work hours on the job, and even the sharing of care hours in the home, for men and women to both have enough time to keep healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all know that saying \u2018You can\u2019t keep pouring from an empty cup\u2019, and it\u2019s important to see that the power is just as much in our own hands as the cups are.<\/p>\n
It was one of the reasons I set up my business to offer achievable and flexible fitness solutions for busy mums, from classes they can bring their little ones along to, evening classes after bedtime, to short and varied online workouts ranging from 15-30mins that can be squeezed in around work lunchtimes and nap times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n- Indoor strength training: 3 quick workouts for swim, bike and run<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- 51 essential lunchtime training sessions<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- 30-minute run sessions<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Credit: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nTake advantage of technology to\u00a0fit in exercise<\/strong><\/h2>\nAdvances in technology since the Covid 19 pandemic can also not\u00a0be underestimated\u2026 and should\u00a0be taken advantage of at every available opportunity.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s enabled us fitness trainers to be more flexible to accommodate time-poor clients. The beauty of exercise\u00a0now is that it doesn\u2019t have to be restricted to a certain discipline, location or duration.<\/p>\n
This also ties in nicely with my mantra \u2013 if you don\u2019t enjoy it, don\u2019t do it. Find something else that sparks joy\u00a0\u2013 life, and time, are too short.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Top tips to fit in fitness<\/strong><\/h4>\n- Start with manageable goals \u2013 whether that\u2019s training for a run, couch to 5k, triathlon \u2013 following a personal training plan, other type of health and fitness plan, or just to be a healthier version of you.<\/li>\n
- Put your classes or workout time in the diary and stick to a regular routine that works for you and your partner around family and work commitments.<\/li>\n
- Get your workout kit ready the night before or get dressed in advance so you\u2019re ready to go.<\/li>\n
- Pay or book for your classes and you\u2019re less likely to give it a miss.<\/li>\n
- Have a tag team with your partner if you have kids.<\/li>\n
- Make it something you look forward to by finding an active lifestyle that brings a smile.<\/li>\n
- Join a workout community to keep you motivated.<\/li>\n
- Get outside at least once a day and find active options, like taking the stairs, or doing walking lunges to the next room!<\/li>\n<\/ol>
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
Top image:<\/strong> Getty Images<\/p>\n- How to fit Ironman training around shift work<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Chrissie Wellington on\u2026 How to fit triathlon training into a busy life<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lauren Drinkwater Published: Tuesday, 02 August 2022 at 12:00 am One of the first things you learn when training to be an exercise instructor or personal trainer is to understand obstacles and barriers to exercise. Why would a person be unable to fit exercise into their lives? And how can you help them to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16051,"template":"","categories":[1,23],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Lauren Drinkwater Published: Tuesday, 02 August 2022 at 12:00 am One of the first things you learn when training to be an exercise instructor or personal trainer is to understand obstacles and barriers to exercise. Why would a person be unable to fit exercise into their lives? And how can you help them to…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/16048"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Having experienced this first hand with a full-time job in the city and a toddler at home, I fully relate. After giving all your time and energy to your job and\/or your children, what is there left to give?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like looking at your bank account and seeing which regular outgoings needs to be scrapped in order to\u00a0save money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sadly, in this case, we choose something that would actually benefit our own mental and physical health, and, ironically, is why we remain so exhausted.<\/p>\n Because of my own experience, I\u2019m not one of those trainers who says, \u2018Come on, all you need to do is fit in X amount of minutes into your day!\u2019 I would recommend to these types of trainers that they need to listen to their clients.<\/p>\n They need\u00a0to understand their clients\u2019 days a\u00a0bit more and help them instead\u00a0of heaping even more pressure on.\u00a0We need to inspire and motivate, not preach and castigate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I saw one desperate mum share on a Facebook support group:<\/p>\n \u201cHow do people do it? Seriously, how do you work full-time, do childcare, afford holidays and going out, stay fit and healthy, eat decent food and deal with the kids when they\u2019re poorly? Is it just me? Tips welcome on how I can keep going this way.\u201d<\/p>\n One could argue it\u2019s not exactly fair game for women and mums when it comes to time to \u2018stay fit\u2019, and there\u2019s more than just anecdotal evidence to back that argument up. Let\u2019s look at the facts.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are some examples of how a few of my real-life mum clients manage to juggle the time-struggle in their household\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy husband and I have started going to the gym together and taking turns to watch our daughter while the other does a class\/goes for a swim, etc.\u201d\u00a0Sophie Ellingham, mum of one<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIncorporating my baby into a workout with the baby carrier or simply getting out for a walk. And finding a mum and baby workout group!\u201d\u00a0Nikki Wolstenholme, mum of two<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI go to a morning class while my husband looks after the kids. He has his time away from the kids when he goes to football.\u201d\u00a0Ruth Moody, mum of two<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI put workout gear on as soon as I wake up. Committing to and paying for a class helps me prioritise it.\u201d\u00a0Lyndsey Walton, mum of three<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy husband\u2019s parents do the drop-off on Fridays, so we will run together early doors.\u201d\u00a0Mel, mum of two<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe only way I can make it work so far is video classes after the kids have gone to bed.\u201d\u00a0Hannah, mum of two<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWalking the kids to school uphill with the baby in the buggy is a heart-rate raiser! Mum & Baby classes are also timed for after school\/nursery drop-offs, which is a great incentive too.\u201d\u00a0Catherine Kennedy, mum of three<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy hubby ran the 100k London 2 Brighton Challenge. There\u2019s been months of me horse riding on a weekend morning, followed by him doing long runs.\u201d\u00a0Helen Watson, mum of two<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> According to a study from the Australian National University (ANU), women sacrifice their workout time when their jobs and families need attention, whereas men might be \u201cborrowing\u201d the time that women sacrifice to squeeze their own workouts in.<\/p>\n The study on heterosexual couples, aged 25-64 in more than 7,000 households, found that\u00a034% of the men reported being physically active (three or more moderately intense bouts of exercise of more than 30mins per week), yet only 28.6% of women reported exercising on a regular basis.<\/p>\n And if their working week increased by 10 hours either by paid work or family commitments, this decreased by a further 6%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is one of the first studies to show how, hour for hour, women\u2019s time for their health is being squeezed to manage their jobs and the family, whereas men\u2019s time for jobs and health is more protected,\u201d stated Lyndall Strazdins, PhD, study author and ANU professor.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s currently a global exercise drought, and this is pushing huge disease burdens\u00a0from the cardiovascular<\/strong><\/a> to the cognitive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to cap work hours on the job, and even the sharing of care hours in the home, for men and women to both have enough time to keep healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n We all know that saying \u2018You can\u2019t keep pouring from an empty cup\u2019, and it\u2019s important to see that the power is just as much in our own hands as the cups are.<\/p>\n It was one of the reasons I set up my business to offer achievable and flexible fitness solutions for busy mums, from classes they can bring their little ones along to, evening classes after bedtime, to short and varied online workouts ranging from 15-30mins that can be squeezed in around work lunchtimes and nap times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Advances in technology since the Covid 19 pandemic can also not\u00a0be underestimated\u2026 and should\u00a0be taken advantage of at every available opportunity.<\/p>\n It\u2019s enabled us fitness trainers to be more flexible to accommodate time-poor clients. The beauty of exercise\u00a0now is that it doesn\u2019t have to be restricted to a certain discipline, location or duration.<\/p>\n This also ties in nicely with my mantra \u2013 if you don\u2019t enjoy it, don\u2019t do it. Find something else that sparks joy\u00a0\u2013 life, and time, are too short.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Top image:<\/strong> Getty Images<\/p>\n By Lauren Drinkwater Published: Tuesday, 02 August 2022 at 12:00 am One of the first things you learn when training to be an exercise instructor or personal trainer is to understand obstacles and barriers to exercise. Why would a person be unable to fit exercise into their lives? And how can you help them to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16051,"template":"","categories":[1,23],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/how-to-fit-in-training-around-work-and-family-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Lauren Drinkwater Published: Tuesday, 02 August 2022 at 12:00 am One of the first things you learn when training to be an exercise instructor or personal trainer is to understand obstacles and barriers to exercise. Why would a person be unable to fit exercise into their lives? And how can you help them to…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/16048"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How to make the time-struggle work for you<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Do women sacrifice their training time more than men?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/34\/2022\/08\/woman-bike-training-5201d33.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Take advantage of technology to\u00a0fit in exercise<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Top tips to fit in fitness<\/strong><\/h4>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"