ways to balance workouts, work, and family tips and suggestions

3 girls 4, 6, 8 and it is always a struggle to get the workouts in. Luckily I can
get 1 hour workouts in during lunch (with a pool nearby) so I only have 3 work
outs I need to do in non-work time.

Basically
2 of the 3 happen early in the morning or late at night (Ran 13 miles yesterday
finishing around midnight). I might get 1 3 hour block on the weekend

I ride at 5am so I can in 3 hours before the kids wakeup in the morning. When the
kids start saying "you’re working out again" it’s time to adjust your
schedule a little bit

Keeping the spouse happy is the number 1 thing otherwise family life becomes a lot harder.

Early mornings get a lot of work done then, when family is still sleeping etc. Then, i also do some at night when necessary (bike trainer).

Time management is important for those in training obviously.

What time are you leaving for work and what time are you back from work?

Bike commuting.  It takes me 25 minutes each way to drive to/from work or 45 minutes on the bike.  That means every day I ride to work I'm getting 90 minutes on my bike at a cost of only 40 minutes of extra time.

I run early morning.. like you. I am often up by 5 a.m. The best thing I ever did was purchase a great spinner off Craigslist. I paid 350 for a 1200 dollar spinner.

I set it up in my husband's office, got a computer shelf that fits on it.. and have a tv in front of me. 

60 minute spins go by .. effortlessly.. and I can cycle anytime w/o messing with my bicycle and  a trainer. I save my long bikes for the days my husband is off.. and get out the door at sunrise. I''m usually back just as everyone is getting up.

I go to bed at 9:30 p.m. most nights.

Also, I run during my son's karate and drum lesson.. That's a good hour twice a week.. I don't sit there during  his lesson.. but i come in a few minutes before it's over.. to watch.. 

Talk about a thread hitting this nail on the head. 

I have 3 boys.  8, 7, and 3.  I am lucky in that I can take over an hour for lunch to do a good pool workout or a 5-7 mile run and still be back to work in a reasonable time.  Almost every morning I'm either running or biking.  I try to get in 30 miles on the bike or 7 mile run.  All of course start before 5:00 AM. 

I've tried to be creative with some workouts too.  For example, we are going to a friends house to swim, as a family, tonight.  I know that will not be a workout.  But they live about 8 miles from us.  I'm going to run there and meet up with my wife and kids.  I plan to leave about 40 minutes before she does and it should work out pretty well time wise. 

Weekends are the days for long bike rides.  I have one scheduled tomorrow with a group of other family guys at 6AM.  We are hoping to get in 60-70 miles and be back by 9:30.  Most of the kids are awake and fed by then, but the day is not totally shot.  Then it's time to super dad things up and mow the grass, go to the pool, clean the garage, etc etc etc.

I have tried to do runs or rides after kids go to bed but that gets to be pretty late (and dangerous) on the bike expecially.

My wife is a trooper.  She understands this addiction of mine and has been supportive.  If we were going to fight everytime I went on a workout I would have to adjust my goals.  So far so good.

3.) I take advantage of my time at work.  I've been know to BT now and then.

According to my watch, it's 3:30 CST, on Friday and I work 8-5.  Is that considered stealing from your employer?

great ideas

I have had a week of for me to re focus

but simular with 2 children under 3 its a challenge and i run my own company, so i go out early at the pool 530am knocking on the door and at work by 7am twice a week. get up very early saturday 4/430am so i can ride for 2-3 hours before the pool opens at 7am then 1 hour swim back home by 9am ready for the children. other mornings i am up very early run/walking etc . sundays is rest and family day

I only have a husband, no kids as of yet, but it's still hard to make sure he gets to see me more than in passing. Getting up early doesn't work for me, since I'd just end up going to bed earlier and we'd lose that evening time.

Here's what I do, though:

-Try to schedule rest days to optimize husband time. It doesn't always work, but I'm going to try to schedule a short work day (my schedule has some flexibility) once a week so I can do my long run that day and take Saturdays off. Saturdays we can spend the whole day together, as opposed to me having a rest day when he's at work.

-Lots of quick, but healthy, meals. Leftovers, repurposing food (like making a whole chicken and then using the cooked chicken in a casserole, soup or salad), chopping veggies ahead of time, etc. so that less of my non-workout time is spent slaving in the kitchen. Meal planning is a must.

-Try to bike to the gym or bike to group rides if I want extra bike time. (Biking to work is not an option for me.)

-Be willing to sacrifice the occasional workout for family time. It won't kill your training. Promise.

-BOUNDARIES, with EVERYTHING. No, I don't have to do the workout volume that my friends are doing, or ride the route the group wants to ride because it's 45 minutes one way from my house. No, I'm not picking up extra work hours. No, I'm not going out drinking until 3 AM.

-Be flexible with your training. It used to be that if I couldn't bike or swim for an hour (or whatever it said on the plan), I wouldn't do it at all. Now if I'm running late to the gym or only have a little time to squeeze in a workout, I'll take it. Better than nothing.

Little misunderstanding..... I'm the one stealing from my employer.. 

LOL