Balancing Life, Work, and Swimming

That's awesome and I wish more employers got on the band wagon with this! My husband's employer actually pays for his gym membership. He has a gym in his building. It's not much but has a treadmill, elliptical and weights (and tv) and they pay the $600 or so a year for him to be a member. My husband works out there a minimum of 3 times a week during lunch hour and then drinks a protein shake and eats almonds for his lunch while back at his desk. I'm actually a bit jealous of it since he can escape during the day.

I recently started getting up and swimming at 5 a.m. It gets me home after school and I have time to cook, organize, and maybe even read a book if I like. Getting to bed early is a struggle though. Do you have little kids? That makes working out tough. Good luck Katie!

I'm just like Joshua - it takes time to find a balance but it's worth persevering. I also have four kids and find the strains of that, running my business, being there for my wife and 'me time' a challenge. The answer for me is swimming at times when the family don't need me and what this means is as follows; Early mornings Late evenings When the kids are also swimming!

I'm pretty lucky at the moment as the pool I train at is really close to my office. I practice 0600-0730, give or take 15 minutes, 5 days a week and then usually do "something" on the weekend, usually dryland, but once in awhile I'll swim. Generally the early morning is the best time I find as you get it done and then don't have to think about it the rest of the day or trying to fit it in your schedule. I think you are much more likely to not train in the evening after a rough day. I like starting my day off right and in the water. Plus I have NO issues going to bed at a decent time at night! I think EVERYONE pretty much struggles with this balancing act, even people that have all the time in the world will have issues that come up in some part of their life. If we didn't have these stuggles we wouldn't be "living", we'd just be existing. Just remember that its how you come out the other side and when you reach a goal it makes it that much sweeter!

Wow what a massive subject… This is VERY close to my heart right now as I am in “negotiations” with my wife as to what is reasonable or healthy in terms of training/exercise! Over the last few years the volume, intensity and seriousness of my training has increased and I am now dedicated to turning myself from a reasonable to a competitive swimmer in my 50’s. So what does this mean to me? Well it means focus, dedication and sometimes sacrifice… Like others here I have a growing family (2 x boys 14 & 16) and of course a wife! I have a demanding job in the corporate telecoms sales sector looking after a high value sales team. It is a triangle – family, work, self. For me the “self” is pretty much defined by exercise and swimming. I have been criticised in the past as being obsessive and I guess this is true but I would say in a good way :) So the question is - is it valid for people like me (and maybe you) to strive for excellence through sport when we have other commitments (family/job). Now I know it won’t be the same for all of you, but I want to do the best that I can do – and to do that I need to train a lot of hours. So how do I do that? My alarm goes off at between 4:40-5:10 each working day :bed: and I train for up to 90mins before work. This means I don’t see my family in the morning but this is a relatively small price to pay. I then work permitting I try to get out to the gym or the pool at lunchtime as often as is possible and sometime train on the way home which can make me late – but this is only once or twice a week. Then at weekends I get up early both days as I try to minimise the impact on the family. If it fits in with everybody else, I might try to swim on one or both days! Writing this down does make me realise how tenuous this all is – it is very hard and of course there are other consequences too! As any full time athlete will tell you, training very hard makes you very tired and when you are tired you can be more stressed. So the hidden consequences of excessive exercise (yes I have admitted it) is in relationships, quality of interaction and of course energy and stamina for other things… So I guess if you are like me and want to train as hard as is necessary to reach your goal, then you need to find a very kind and understanding person who “buys into” your dream and will support through the good and the bad times. Maybe it’s not quite as dramatic as I paint it, but as I said at the top this is a massive issue for older athletes with multiple levels of responsibility!

Katie, you might browse the WSJ's The Juggle. http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/ In today's issue there was a column on people who attempt to do it all on very little sleep. I'm trying to bank as much sleep now so that when I have kids I won't miss it so much. :) Seriously though, my sister (a runner) has been known to wake up at 4:00 am to go to the gym while my brother in law sleeps/stays with the kids. Then when my sister got home, he would head to the gym. That was when they were both training for marathons. I am afraid that is what we are going to have to do when the time comes for us to have kids.

Seriously though, my sister (a runner) has been known to wake up at 4:00 am to go to the gym while my brother in law sleeps/stays with the kids. Then when my sister got home, he would head to the gym. That was when they were both training for marathons. I am afraid that is what we are going to have to do when the time comes for us to have kids.Yes, indeedy. Balance becomes even trickier if your spouse is an athlete. My wife and I not only negotiate/juggle kid responsibilities, but workout times. We both prefer/need to exercise in the morning given our jobs, so we generally alternate days during the week. However, that changes seasonally. For example, in the wintertime, if I drive the kids to school, she can run after I swim. In the summertime, she HAS to run early or else it's too darn hot (part of the reason I almost never seriously compete in LCM), which means I swim on different days. We literally talk schedules of my swimming. her running, kids carpools, kids swimming, etc. on a daily basis. It takes a lot of compromise and creativity (e.g., I've learned how to swim solo workouts over lunch when I can't make the masters workout in the AM), but the end result is worth it. More importantly, I think it's a great example for our kids to see both parents committed to exercise.

Home equipment is wonderful! When my kids were young I had a treadmill (I hate running on them but it's better than nothing if you can't get out of the house),weights, and dvd's to exercise by. I remember one day I couldn't leave the kids and it was beautiful outside so I ran laps around my yard/cul-de-sac for 75 minutes! My neighbors were sitting on their deck having cocktails; needless to say they made fun of me the whole time! Just get creative and anything can be yours!

So tricky to achieve that balance. I'm currently operating under the "Chef's Choice" method... which means I never know exactly when I'll work out. I work very part-time, and have two small kids (ages 4 1/2 and 15 months). My husband coaches/swims at 5:30 am M-Th and Sat so most mornings are out. I had a TERRIBLE time getting back into the workout routine after child #2 was born. Since Jan, I've been doing a much better job of it. I try to balance swimming, weights, and PT exercises (for knee, mostly). I usually swim Sat-Sun since the hubby can watch the kids, then if I can squeeze in a night swim after the kids go to bed once a week and maybe a daytime swim another day if my mom can watch the kids. That gets me to a goal of 4 swim workouts a week. There is NO way I can do weights at the gym (my gym time is dedicated to the pool) so I try to do a dryland/weight routine at home a couple times a week while the baby naps. Knee PT is also squeezed in during naps or after the kids go to bed. It helps to be flexible, always try to have your gear together, and lower your expectations when things get crazy with work or family. My swimming can go into survival mode at 2x/week... but over Nov/Dec it dropped to 0x/week and that sucked. Good luck.

There is zero balance in my family's life and it's a concept I have no interest in trying to achieve. I believe you do what you want and do it as hard as you want. Like pwbrundage and Fort, our lives revolve around fitness. Many non fit people would say it's totally out of balance but, to us, it seems normal and we all dig it.