Commuters, what are your tips?

cinnamony

As the title says I'm seeking advice from those of you who go to the gym despite long commutes.

I myself commute 4 hours to go to work everyday and as you can imagine this is having a big toll on me. Previously I was going to the gym mon-fri however I have now changed to 2x during weekdays and sat and sunday.
Honestly I would love to be able to just rest during the weekend but I feel absolutely wiped out at work on the days after I go to the gym.
Unfortunately we dont have flexi time so I can't go in the morning before work

So for those of you in the same position as me do you have any tips on how to incorporate the gym with a long commute?

Thanks in advance!

Blacktie.

Sounds like you've come up with what works for you already. Honestly I'd focus on finding a way to a shorter commute. Another 20 hours a week on top of work gone sounds like torture to me.

cinnamony

Blacktie. wrote: »

Sounds like you've come up with what works for you already. Honestly I'd focus on finding a way to a shorter commute. Another 20 hours a week on top of work gone sounds like torture to me.

Honestly its killing me already. I know there are people who commute longer but when youre in your 20s it kills all your social life. No chance of that happening unless I move out of Dublin though. I was considering giving up the gym but I know its good for both my physical and mental health especially after sitting all day!

jester77

Any gym in your work place or close by? A lunch time workout is a nice boost in the middle of the day.

cinnamony

jester77 wrote: »

Any gym in your work place or close by? A lunch time workout is a nice boost in the middle of the day.

Yes but it costs 70 pm my current gym costs me 40

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

Yes but it costs 70 pm my current gym costs me 40

It’s only 8 euro a week extra. Do you drive or bus. I’d have slept on the bus as a young lad so that I could go gym with full energy later.
I’d also prepare all my meals once a week to stop me falling off the wagon food wise.
If you go gym beside work you will have a clear run home each night with no traffic saving you the 8 euro and time if you drive.

Go get the gains bruh.

cinnamony

Conservatory wrote: »

It’s only 8 euro a week extra. Do you drive or bus. I’d have slept on the bus as a young lad so that I could go gym with full energy later.
I’d also prepare all my meals once a week to stop me falling off the wagon food wise.
If you go gym beside work you will have a clear run home each night with no traffic saving you the 8 euro and time if you drive.

Go get the gains bruh.

I cant afford it, and especially cause i heard bad things about it I dont think its worth the price and I already dont eat on the weekends. I only have a 30 min break anyway, walking to and from is 30 mins so id only walk there look at the front door then come back ahaha. It would be handy after work but no luck. I take the luas and dart to work the bus would add more to my commute, around an extra hour.
I prepare my meals as much as I can during the weekend but I only have one shelf in the fridge so its hard to store it and some things will spoil so I'll have to cook again eventually during the week.

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

I cant afford it, and especially cause i heard bad things about it I dont think its worth the price. I only have a 30 min break anyway, walking to and from is 30 mins so id only walk there look at the front door then come back ahaha. I take the luas and dart to work the bus would add more to my commute, around an extra hour.
I prepare my meals as much as I can during the weekend but I only have one shelf in the fridge so its hard to store it and some things will spoil so I'll have to cook again eventually during the week.

Take a look at your life. You have a houseshare two hours from your job. Why?to save maybe 30 euro a week? You probably spend that on buses. I did it as a first year apprentice with a kid still on night feeds. I used to sleep on the buses then get an hour run in most nights. How much would it cost you to move?

cinnamony

Conservatory wrote: »

Take a look at your life. You have a houseshare two hours from your job. Why?to save maybe 30 euro a week? You probably spend that on buses. I did it as a first year apprentice with a kid still on night feeds. I used to sleep on the buses then get an hour run in each night. How much would it cost you to move?

The area of Dublin I work in is not only very expensive but also hard to commute to to be honest. As I previously mentioned I don't commute by bus because it just adds an extra hour to my commute and its not reliable. It is also the only bus that stops where I work so my best option is the luas and dart, I decided on this after spending a month trying each out. Moving anywhere close to my job would increase my rent by about 300, if not more.
The best option would be to move out of Dublin really, but I was unemployed or in low skilled employment at home and dont have enough saved up yet to emigrate(which I am trying to do)

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

The area of Dublin I work in is not only very expensive but also hard to commute to to be honest. As I previously mentioned I don't commute by bus because it just adds an extra hour to my commute and its not reliable. It is also the only bus that stops where I work so my best option is the luas and dart, I decided on this after spending a month trying each out. Moving anywhere close to my job would increase my rent by about 300, if not more.
The best option would be to move out of Dublin really, but I was unemployed or in low skilled employment at home and dont have enough saved up yet to emigrate(which I am trying to do)

How long would it take you to cycle?

pauliebdub

Do you have changing and showering facilities at the place you work? Is it possible to go for a jog maybe for 40 mins or so and then hop on a bus and wash and change at work? You might need to consider changing jobs if you have such an awful commute.

cinnamony

Conservatory wrote: »

How long would it take you to cycle?

Same time as luas and dart I think, I tried to learn for a month anyway as it would at least cut that cost but the moment I lift a foot off the ground I fall :pac:. I even tried having people teach me but was told by my doctor it would be safer to just get public transport

cinnamony

pauliebdub wrote: »

Do you have changing and showering facilities at the place you work? Is it possible to go for a jog maybe for 40 mins or so and then hop on a bus and wash and change at work? You might need to consider changing jobs if you have such an awful commute.

Unfortunately no, our office is pretty small we dont even have a canteen. I could ask my workplace for remote work I guess but I've only been here since March or April so dont know if its too soon..

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

Unfortunately no, our office is pretty small we dont even have a canteen. I could ask my workplace for remote work I guess but I've only been here since March or April so dont know if its too soon..

You have a qualification in computer science. Stick it out for a year then ask for a pay rise.

cinnamony

Conservatory wrote: »

You have a qualification in computer science. Stick it out for a year then ask for a pay rise.

Honestly I think moving out of Dublin will benefit me much more. My current position goes as far up as 35k, that after tax is only 2,405. I understand there are people on lower incomes but I dont have anyone to fall back on if anything goes wrong as my parents are stupid poor so I have to be careful and make sure I always have an emergency fund. Simply moving to a new place for example due to cost of renting could set me back thousands depending on the cost of the rental and how much deposit is required

Overall, increases in salary are more likely to benefit revenue than me really.

Also from my experience employers in Ireland seem to treat Data Science as a non IT field, when I was looking for work most companies were offering me 21-26k. The company that Im currently working for were the only ones who offered me above this.

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

Honestly I think moving out of Dublin will benefit me much more. My current position goes as far up as 35k, that after tax is only 2,405. I understand there are people on lower incomes but I dont have anyone to fall back on if anything goes wrong as my parents are stupid poor so I have to be careful and make sure I always have an emergency fund. Simply moving to a new place for example due to cost of renting could set me back thousands depending on the cost of the rental and how much deposit is required

Overall, increases in salary are more likely to benefit revenue than me really.

Also from my experience employers in Ireland seem to treat Data Science as a non IT field, when I was looking for work most companies were offering me 21-26k. The company that Im currently working for were the only ones who offered me above this.

You arnt out of college long. Give it 6 months then start looking around again. When you get an offer tell your boss about it and tell him you will have to leave unless the put you in a closer apartment or match the pay.

work

you seem to be full of excuses....parents poor, Dr says no to cycle, local gym too far etc etc. perhaps I am wrong but you knock back most advice.
The Doctor telling you not to cycle is a new one. many docs I know cycle. how far is the commute.
also get rid of such an insane amount of travel. where in Dublin is the job? If you must be in Dublin find less expensive areas.

cinnamony

Conservatory wrote: »

You arnt out of college long. Give it 6 months then start looking around again. When you get an offer tell your boss about it and tell him you will have to leave unless the put you in a closer apartment or match the pay.

Thanks for the advice my company is expanding quite quickly atm and despite being a Data Sci grad I do a lot of software development as well which may prove to be quite useful in that situation... Do companies actually house people nowadays? I know FB and Google do but outside of the big ones?

Also to get back to fitness do you guys know if drinking coffee before a workout in the evenings for energy be a bad idea?

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

Thanks for the advice my company is expanding quite quickly atm and despite being a Data Sci grad I do a lot of software development as well which may prove to be quite useful in that situation... Do companies actually house people nowadays? I know FB and Google do but outside of the big ones?

Also to get back to fitness do you guys know if drinking coffee before a workout in the evenings for energy be a bad idea?

If going for a personal best by all means do but a good nights sleep is better than coffee on a normal days training.

cinnamony

work wrote: »

you seem to be full of excuses....parents poor, Dr says no to cycle, local gym too far etc etc. perhaps I am wrong but you knock back most advice.
The Doctor telling you not to cycle is a new one. many docs I know cycle. how far is the commute.
also get rid of such an insane amount of travel. where in Dublin is the job? If you must be in Dublin find less expensive areas.

I have a movement disorder which is why he told me not to cycle hence the loss of balance, also how is it my fault that my parents are poor? You think everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth? Im already living in a less expensive area of dublin which is why im commuting so much. Btw i never said the local gym is too far, i said its too expensive.

cinnamony

Conservatory wrote: »

If going for a personal best by all means do but a good nights sleep is better than coffee on a normal days training.

Ah thank you thats what I was thinking that it might interfere with a good nights sleep!

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

Ah thank you thats what I was thinking that it might interfere with a good nights sleep!

No you got it wrong. If you need coffee for every day training or Red Bull for that matter you probably arnt getting enough sleep.
If you need a one off boost to break a pr or plateau then that’s fair enough but if you use it all the time you need it all the time.

cinnamony

Conservatory wrote: »

No you got it wrong. If you need coffee for every day training or Red Bull for that matter you probably arnt getting enough sleep.
If you need a one off boost to break a pr or plateau then that’s fair enough but if you use it all the time you need it all the time.

My apologies! I get about 6-7 hours of sleep per night but just never feel rested, I dont drink coffee everyday however. I was thinking of doing it only on the days I work out say 30m-1hr before?

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

My apologies! I get about 6-7 hours of sleep per night but just never feel rested, I dont drink coffee everyday however. I was thinking of doing it only on the days I work out say 30m-1hr before?

Sleep on the luas and dart. It takes practice but after awhile you just sit down and nod off.

cinnamony

Conservatory wrote: »

Sleep on the luas and dart. It takes practice but after awhile you just sit down and nod off.

Arent you afraid of missing your stop? I usually dont get a seat, but even when I do I cant sleep, so just wondering how you people do it :pac:

Conservatory

cinnamony wrote: »

Arent you afraid of missing your stop? I usually dont get a seat, but even when I do I cant sleep, so just wondering how you people do it :pac:

Takes a few days of trying. Putting a hood up or rolling a jumper up and putting it against the window for your head helps.Set your alarm for a minute or two before you should get to your stop.

work

cinnamony wrote: »

I have a movement disorder which is why he told me not to cycle hence the loss of balance, also how is it my fault that my parents are poor? You think everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth? Im already living in a less expensive area of dublin which is why im commuting so much. Btw i never said the local gym is too far, i said its too expensive.

Why not give all the information to help us advise you, apologies if I missed it though.
1)How long is the commute and from to where?
2) can you get a disability sticker?
3) is there a 3 wheel tricycle for people with disabilities, are there grants and special parking allowances?
4) Local Gym....I thought you also said by the time you got there you would look at it and have to turn around.

My main piece of advice is change the commute and I guarantee you it is possible

CastielJ

stay motivated and eat healthy

.......

This post has been deleted.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

cloneslad

You don't need to live beside the office you just need to live on a transport route close to your office.

I've no idea where you work so can't comment on areas to live but. If you worked in ballsbridge for example you wouldn't need to live in D4, you could live in raheny / Killester / kilbarrack on the northside or even as far Shankill on the southside. You'd still have a much easier commute.

Nobody is going to be able to advise you how to train better with such a commute if you don't have time to do it. All they can do is advise how to improve your situation to give you more time back in the evening or morning.

troyzer

I didn't know it was possible to take two hours to get from one side of Dublin to another regardless of traffic. If you get the Luas first and then the DART the absolute furthest out you could live is Tallaght/Sandyford/Broombridge. And then the DART goes from Shankill to Howth (within Dublin anyway).

I'm going to assume that you're living in or near Tallaght and working in and around Howth based on your living in a cheap place and working in an expensive place. There are definitely places closer to that part of Dublin that are cheaper.

I have to agree with the other posters, you're making a lot of excuses. You can't window dress with other solutions, that commute NEEDS to change. Four hours a day is ludicrous.

I still don't understand how it could possibly take that long to get from one part of Dublin to another. You should be more specific on at least the general commute you have. It'll help us give you better advice.

kob29

Fight your tiredness to get a Wednesday gym session in alongside the weekend ones.

Thereafter buy a spinning bike for home and a few weights, kettlebell and resistance bands (keep an eye on lidl and aldi). Tonnes of stuff to follow on youtube for home workouts. Surely your movement issues are ok on a stationary bike?