As school quickly approaches and everyone begins heading back to the kids, some are thinking “how do I manage a fitness regimen with other responsibilities.” First, just remember you have to take time for yourself. This will only allow you to become a “happier” teacher/administrator. This is something I have struggled with each year; however, I have found some things that have worked for me.
1. When changing your lifestyle or changing your routine tell people what you are doing. I would say nine times out of 10 people are very supportive to what you are doing. This will only give you more support and encouragement. In addition, you may find someone who will join you.
2. Schedule time for your workout. My team at school knows that I cannot meet on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings because that is when I go to the gym. If I have to meet I need to know in advance so I can rework my schedule. The first week is hard, but try to get into a routine quickly because once you stop sometimes it hard to get back onto the “train,” however, if you fall off we are all there to pick you up and get you back on. That’s what a team is for!
3. When school begins you may only squeeze in 20 minutes, but just think 20 minutes is better than zero J
4. I prefer to workout in the morning. I will not lie it is hard sometimes to get out of bed, but I enjoy coming home after work and relaxing. Some of my friends are opposite, they like to workout in the afternoon as a stress reliever. When you workout may be due to when you have to report to work.
5. I usually park further away from my building because then I can get a little exercise as I walk to my building.
6. One of my colleagues exercises with her kids. She also uses the time they are at little league practice for a time to walk.
7. Another colleague walks the building right after school and uses the field to help with her exercise routine.
8. Side-note: Don’t forget to bring snacks to have mid-morning and mid-afternoon. The help refuel your body for a workout!
9. If you are a runner or walker look for a local 5k run/walk...they are a lot of fun and you meet some great people who have the same enthusiasm!
10. You have already come this far...keep going...you are inspiring people around the world!
I know there are many other ideas and ways to schedule workouts during our busy schedule! Jerry (@cybraryman) set up a wallwisher to allow us to post ways to workout at the beginning of school http://msgajda.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/ordinary-b4-extraordinary/ . I look forward to reading what other are doing to get into a routine and stay motivated. Just remember…you have to take of yourself first!
Joe (@jrsteach)
Joe,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post! As you may have noticed from my tweets, I am very anxious about school starting and losing my time to work out.
I like the idea of squeezing in 20 minutes when we can. I may not be able to do 45-60 minutes as I have been doing, but I shouldn't have an all or nothing mentality. I plan on keeping my 12 lb weights in my classroom to do some curls, etc as well as a few dvd's for yoga and tae bo for days when I get off work in rush hour and may as well workout before getting on the road.
Although each of us have unique challenges and responsibilities, like mine of working 2 jobs and commuting 1 hour each way to work, we can help each other be flexible to find ways of squeezing in exercise time during the week.
Great post!
Great list! It has helped me to get my mind in gear for the school year. I'm using these last few weeks to get myself into a habit so that when the first day comes, I ready to CONTINUE what I've started!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Joe. Right now school hasn't started yet, and I'm doing OK, with my promises but I'm worried what will happen as from September 1st. Knowing other people are struggling too is comforting somehow...
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Joe. As a teacher, coach, father, and husband, my time is pretty booked. I made a conscience effort last spring to make time for myself. One of the best pieces of advice I got was from our high school cross country coach. I was complaining about how hard it was to find time to run. He asked, "how much time do you need to run?" I replied,"about 30-45 minutes". He just looked me square in the eyes and said, "there are 24 hours in a day. You can find 30 minutes out of those 24 hours." Kind of took away my excuses and made me realize that even if I ran at 4 am or 10 pm, I needed to make time for myself.
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