Exercising for free?

ash23

Hi all.
I'm a 27 yr old woman with about 3 stone to lose

I have a fairly good diet aside from the fact that I love wine and chocolate. Have lost about 4 stone through diet alone but am stuck and realise exercise is going to have to become a part of my life

But how to do it?
I am a single parent and literally have no money so gyms aren't an option, even the cheap ones.
Also my time is restricted. I work full time (walking to work insn't an option). Started walking on my lunch break but I only get 45 mins so ended up wolfing down my lunch when I got back which isn't good either.
Get home at 5.30, cook dinner, spend time with the little 'un and then she goes to bed at 7.30 and I can't leave the house.

So, the obvious answer is exercise when she is in bed, at home.

Where to start though? Any advice? I need something that will motivate me.

Khannie

I can move this to parenting after it's done its run in fitness if you like.

Anyway, I have a few suggestions:

1) Skipping. You can do this at home after you have the little one tucked away. It's decent exercise and a rope costs around 7 euro. Make sure you don't get one in the 2 euro shop. You'll regret it.
2) Exercise DVD's. You could pick up a 2nd hand one for under a tenner. Again , this is something you can do in the house after the kids have hit the hay.
3) Do you have a bike? I have a kiddies bike seat which I stick the little one on and we go for long cycles at the weekend to the playground, have a picnic there then cycle back. Great calorie burner though it does require the investment in the bike seat even if you have a bike.

I'll put my thinking cap on but they're reasonable as a start.

ash23

Thanks a mill. Never thought of putting it in the parenting forum.

The little one isn't so little, she's nearly 7 so I'd have a job putting her in a kiddie seat
She has a bike but her co-ordination isn't great so she's not the best cyclist. I usually walk beside her while she's cycling at the weekends.

Must look up some 2nd hand fitness dvds. I didn't want to buy one as I was afraid it'd get repetitive and not do much good after a bit. Didn't want to be spending 20 quid every few weeks.

She has a skipping rope actually. It's a fairly good one. And a hula hoop lol. Might give it a go this evening. Her dad is promising her a wii for christmas (we go halves) so hopefully I'll be able to get the wii fit for that and use it.
Just hoping to have a bit done by christmas.

Thanks

Remmy

What does your morning look like op?
Can you set aside 40 mins for a jog or a brisk walk in the morning before work?

Khannie

If you're gonna go the fitness dvd route, have a look at play.com. They do free delivery to ireland.

I started cycling on the road with my youngfella at 7 but i laid down some serious ground rules first. Worked out grand, but we were cycling within the town limits.

EileenG

Cycling is great. You can put the little one in a baby seat on the back of the bike. Properly fitted, they are extremely safe. I've had falls on my bike where I got banged up and the child in the baby seat didn't get a scratch.

Can you cycle to work? If you are within ten miles of work, cycling is probably a faster option than the bus. And if it's under five miles, it definitely is.

One great way to get fit with a child is dancing to loud rock music. Put it one and let rip. Lots of high kicks and jumping around. Put on "Can't get no" and pretend to be Mick Jagger. And after an hour of that, your little one will sleep like an angel.

Depending on the age of your child, going walking with her in a back pack is an option. The extra weight will make you work harder and burn more calories.

You can also do a weight training routine using your child as a weight. What, you've never heard of baby deadlifts, baby bench press or baby squats?

http://www.exercisetv.tv/ streams free workout videos.

I find Ministry of sound DVD's brilliant. As good as going to aerobics classes, if not better. In my humble.

It is probably worth looking at your diet again.
You may need less calories now that you weigh so much less.
Well done by the way!

I use sparkpeople.com to work out my diet requirments....It will tailor a weights program you can use with cheap equipment at home. It also has more fitness videos.

ash23

Thanks all.
No way to fit in a morning walk as pretty much same scenario as the evenings in that I have my daughter. As in other post she's nearly 7 so baby weights are out as lifting her would kill me never mind doing squats with her as the weight.

I could bring her for a walk in the morning but we leave the house at 8.30 as it is (work is 20 miles away). I'd need to be getting her up far too early and the walk would be more like a stroll with her in tow.

She's in bed now so am going to dig out the hula hoop and skipping rope. Am also starting calorie counting and a food diary again tomorrow. Prob do need to decrease the calorie intake again.

Did some gardening yesterday and was stiff and sore today but loosening up a bit now so gonna stick on some tunes and get my lardy ass in gear

Khannie

Very best of luck to you. If you could report back on how you get on I'd be much obliged.

With the skipping, start off with just a few minutes or your legs will be in ribbons the next day. It takes a while to build that up.

Transform

Do all the things i mention here - http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/10kg-dumbbell-set-for-just-e20/

and watch the video - its reallllllll simple and there are lots of people (my wife included) that do short 15-20mins sessions at home and successfully stay in great shape.

ash23

Hi all. OP back.

Been doing this a week. Picked up a 2nd hand dvd and have been doing that. Also went back on the healthy eating plan, cut back on the usual glasses of wine in the evening and restrict chocolate to one evening per week.

And in a week I've lost 5lbs, skin is looking brighter and I feel better in myself, less sluggish and tired.

It's only been a week but I did find it very easy to get back into the healthy eating. I was surprised at how much easier it has been to get back on track than it used to be.
Hopefully I can keep going with it.

Colm_OReilly

Congratz!

Sounds like you're forming very positive habits. Keep it up!

rubadub

ash23 wrote: »

Hopefully I can keep going with it.

Do, and do not get disheartened when your weight loss per week falls. 5lb in a week will be fluids & some fat, do not expect this every week! you should aim for 1-2lb fat loss MAX per week. 5lb in your first week is fine so do not worry, it could be fluid retention/bloating due to a poor diet.

I aimed for 0.5lb loss which is easier to manage, and the slower it comes off the more likely it is to stay off, it will not mess up your metabolism.

So keep track of your weight loss overall, and if you go up one week look at the overall average, if it is 0.5-1lb per week loss you are doing fine. Also take photos & measurements to track progress too.

If your work is far away you could possibly park somewhere and walk a bit of they way. I cycle to work and it is faster than driving. I am in an industrial estate and it is jammed with cars once I hit a certain road. If I was driving I could park at this point, get out and walk 15-20mins to work, it would actually be quicker than driving most days as it is so jammed, I see people get off the bus and walk on this stretch.

Buckeye

ash23 wrote: »

Thanks all.
No way to fit in a morning walk as pretty much same scenario as the evenings in that I have my daughter. As in other post she's nearly 7 so baby weights are out as lifting her would kill me never mind doing squats with her as the weight.

I could bring her for a walk in the morning but we leave the house at 8.30 as it is (work is 20 miles away). I'd need to be getting her up far too early and the walk would be more like a stroll with her in tow.

Is it feasible to have her stay at her father's place more often? If she could stay with him an extra two nights a week, you could get in a couple of really good workouts.

jayoo

way to go:)

maybe you could start a log? I find it a good way to keep motivated and a good way to motivate others, im sure there are plenty of other people who are in the same boat as you and would be helped by watching your progress

jayoo

Squats are an excellent excercise and can be done anywhere. they target the biggest muscles in the body,legs bum and core, so can burn a lot of cals in a small period of time.

sometimes balance can be tricky when ur not used to them so if you do them beside a wall or holding on to a chair it can help. you could plan to do 100 in your first workout, pfrehaps in groups of 10, and then work your way up. You may have a sore bum the next day:rolleyes: but the stiffness/soreness which occurs after new excercises will lessen as your body adjusts to the new range of motion

ash23

Buckeye wrote: »

Is it feasible to have her stay at her father's place more often? If she could stay with him an extra two nights a week, you could get in a couple of really good workouts.

Thats a whole other thread
But no, he will only have her one night a week by choice.

Thanks to everyone who posted. I know this weeks weight loss was water weight etc and am expecting it to slow down. I lost 5 stone last year over a few months when i went through a very rough time and have managed to keep most of that off for over a year (bar about 10 lbs I gained recently when I slipped into bad habits again).
I know that it's going to take longer to lose the last few and that healthy eating alone won't shift it for me.

Thanks all.

sfag

chest - pressups for the chest (60 to a 100 - take as long as you like )
legs - squats for the legs - own bodyweight. do lots.
abs (& back) - 15 mins various ab exercises
arms: bicup curls (4 sets of 12) with a bag of shopping, and tricips dips on a dining chair.
garden swing for chin ups or pull ups - 4 sets of 10.