How do you make time to train?

I can get some sort of workout in with an hour to spare. It's not ideal but it's better than nothing. When time is short I'll do a hard, intense circuit on the bike that has me pancaked when I finish. I have my own specific route I adhere to.
At least once a week I'll do a 3 hour ride so I keep a certain level of endurance.

kbone said:

I am trying to figure out ways to train more and was looking feedback on how other people find time to train.

I work M-F from 6:30 AM - 6:30 PM (commute time included) and I have a 3 month old son. It is very hard to find time to train while trying to balance work and time with the family.

How does eveyone else fit it in to their schedules?

I've turned down many good jobs and don't have children ... 😄

But on a more serious note ...

I'll split it up if I need to ... right now I ride for 30 minutes early a.m. (usually indoors on a trainer) and then ride my "weekly mandate" of miles in the afternoon ...

Get an indoor trainer to use until your son is old enough to ride in a child seat or trailer for the bike.

My wife never turned down an offer for me to take the kids out of the house for an hour or so.

My goals are specific to me, but this is my following schedule based on my busy timeline.

M-F
Weight training 5:30-6:30
Interval training (spinning bike) 6:30-7:00

7:30 workday begins
5:00 workday ends under normal workload
7:30 workday ends during project deadlines

Mt. bike 3 to 6 mile loop if possible during the week. Usually just once a week in the evening for recreation.

Sat. and or Sun.
40 to 60 mile road rides

I am married with a very patient wife that allows me to train, but I do feel guilty for being away so much on the weekend on the bike while she is at home.

Go to work early so I can ride in the afternoons. Thank God for DST! I usually put in around 10hrs, 150-200mi per week and weekends are spent with my wife. Sweet!!!

kbone said:

I am trying to figure out ways to train more and was looking feedback on how other people find time to train.

I work M-F from 6:30 AM - 6:30 PM (commute time included) and I have a 3 month old son. It is very hard to find time to train while trying to balance work and time with the family.

How does eveyone else fit it in to their schedules?

The best solution would be to commute to work. That's what I do. Chasing cars is a great workout. Since you've got to go to work anyway, you might as well make good use of your time.

I've got two young kids (2 year 10 month old and a 3 month old) and I'm telling you, this is the good part, three months. You really don't want to miss any of it. Unless you're trying to turn pro and you need to train to support your family, you have a medical condition where you need to exercise, or this is a way to deal with work stress, spend more time with your kid. When he's ten months or so and can sit up, then put him in the bike trailer and go on rides if it's nice outside. Even if you quit riding altogether at this point, you're only going to miss seven months at most. Some kids are sitting up at six months... Also, the last thing you want to do is alienate your mate by running off on a ride. (My wife is a stay at home mom so it's important for her sanity that I'm around and not riding my bike all the time...) If you play your cards right with your spouse, your reduction in training time will only be temporary.

I enjoy seeing families riding together and I am ashamed to admit it, but I have had a couple times when fathers passed me on road bikes with a baby trailer.

I admire them for still riding a decent pace with baby in tow.

I ride M-F 5-7am, group ride on Saturday morning and 5-8am on Sunday.

Your cycling might suffer, but you're in a great stage of building a family. When I had a 3-month old, I found very little time for cycling (it was always dark when I could ride), so I switched to running because I could run at night. But now, with the great trainers, Tivo and the like, I would set up a killer indoor trainer rig and try to spin an hour a day (whenever I could) and then go for a couple of long rides on the weekend. The good thing is that 3-month olds sleep a lot. Right now, I'd give up my 14-20 hours/week on the bike in a heartbeat to go back to having a 3-month old and getting in 6-8 hours/week on the bike if I was lucky.

Hi Everyone,

I just started commuting to work and I have to say I love it! I get in 16 miles round trip and I am trying to get used to biking all 5 days. My body is starting to adapt to the load and I am starting to feel good again. I ride about 30 miles on the week end right now and hope to increase that a little at a time. Its hot in Fl. right now so I'm suffering some. The main hurdle I had to over come was making a decision to just do it. I don't have a shower at work so I have to wash at the sink in the mens room. It's some what of a pain, but worth the cost.
Good luck Kbone, I hope you find your solution.
Bryan

Thanks for the great feedback. Some thoughts...

Having a 3 month old is the best! I am not looking to go pro with my cycling just trying to get in better shape for when the boy goes mobile - I want to be able to keep up. And, I can't wait to drag him around in a trailer. To that end I recently bought another frame so I don't mess up my good bike. That is going to be a great workout.

I would love to be able to ride to work. However, I live in Atlanta and I don't feel very safe riding on the roads I would need to take to work. Not to mention it is 17 mile one way. That would be a great workout everyday but just don't think it is realistic.

I tried to go the trainer route. My frame has an odd joint between the seat stays and the dropouts that sticks out so much that mounting it on a trainer is a problem. So, I bought rollers and haven't been successful with them yet. My balance is way off! I will keep working on that because it seems to be the best route.

How about stationary bikes at the gym? Does training on them directly translate to road cycling? I am pretty sure I could squeeze in gym time every morning but don't want to pick up any bad habits.

Thanks again!

kbone said:

I tried to go the trainer route. My frame has an odd joint between the seat stays and the dropouts that sticks out so much that mounting it on a trainer is a problem. So, I bought rollers and haven't been successful with them yet. My balance is way off! I will keep working on that because it seems to be the best route.

You could either buy a used road bike that will fit on your trainer or just buy a used stationery bike. I have a fancy Tacx trainer with variable resistance and all that stuff and I have a Tectrix BikeMax1000 stationery bike that I actually bought for my kids to use. Believe it or not, I get on the stationery bike most of the time when I just want to spin at 75%. It has a more comfortable seat and the riding position is more comfortable and I've got a place for a water bottle and my TV remote. I've spun away on that thing for up to 4 hours!

kbone said:

How about stationary bikes at the gym? Does training on them directly translate to road cycling? I am pretty sure I could squeeze in gym time every morning but don't want to pick up any bad habits.

You won't pick up any bad habits. The main thing to do is to make sure you can set the seat height correctly. At the bottom of the leg extension with your foot horizontal you want about a 5 degree angle at the knee joint. Take a tape measure or pre-cut piece of string with you to set the seat height. Good luck.

I'd encourage you to make the commute; particularly if you've got a shower at your job. When I lived in Kansas City, MO my ride was 24 miles each way. Because of traffic it was about 45 minutes by car, an hour and 20 by bus, but only around an hour and 15 by bike. Of course the shower at work added on a little time but overall it was a great thing. Now my commute is only four miles and it barely seems worth it. You'll get used to the distance it real quick. Think of it as an excuse to eat a big lunch. 🙂 I keep a pair of dress shoes at work and roll up my clothes in my camel bak back pack so they don't get too wrinkled. Works out great.

Good luck!

Being a teacher allows you to hit the road in the afternoon by about 3:30pm I get 1.5 hours a day this way during winter and much longer if need be in the summer. The weekends I get up super early and am home by 9:00am to spend time with the fiance🙂

Maybe a local cycle club has a track with lights. you could go there twice a week and do a couple of good hard 1 hour sessions (say intervals)

tanggoman said:

Go to work early so I can ride in the afternoons. Thank God for DST! I usually put in around 10hrs, 150-200mi per week and weekends are spent with my wife. Sweet!!!

Same here. But i take Monday and Fridays off to recover for switching between evening training during the week and early morning training on weekends. Depending on the Sat moring ride, i'll do softpeadal on Friday night, but Monday is always an off day.

My wife and i have no kids and she does her workouts at the gym during the week and sleeps in on the weekends while im out riding. Not much conflict, except for eating a little later than i prefer.

[QUOTE= Right now, I'd give up my 14-20 hours/week on the bike in a heartbeat to go back to having a 3-month old and getting in 6-8 hours/week on the bike if I was lucky.[/QUOTE]
DITTO. I have three boys (7,4,9m) and they are my priority. I work 2nd, my wife has banker hours. I run at night when they're sleeping. Between breakfast and lunch I let the older 2 play with their friends, then get the little guy settled in for a nap. then, it's trainer time in the garage for a good hour or so on the bike. You have succumb to the fact, though, that you WILL be taking breaks to chase the kids, or check on the baby, or the dog that they inadvertantly let out... By the way, I used a trailer when it was just 1-2 kids. My oldest now can't WAIT to hit the trails with me. That's a bonus of including them in your routine...Now it's not my selfish bike time alone...it's spending time with my boy(s)...Ahhh...I love it when a plan comes together....
Oh yeah...I ride at work too (bike cop). That's probably the best answer yet for your dilemma.😎
Needless to say, I sleep good at night.

I start my daily ride around 5:30 AM, so as to back and ready to leave for work by 7:45 AM. Fridays I sneak out early so as to ride for 1-2 hours before dark and Sunday is the long ride (starting early so as to be home for the family).

My friends think I'm nuts for gong to sleep early and even crazier for getting up so early, but I find I need less sleep when I ride.

issue will be that daylight is starting later by about 5 minutes each week.

Winters are all indoors, so daylight is not an issue and I spend more evenings in the gym than mornings.

Enjoy your baby. I'm about to pack my first one off to college.

kbone said:

I am trying to figure out ways to train more and was looking feedback on how other people find time to train.

I work M-F from 6:30 AM - 6:30 PM (commute time included) and I have a 3 month old son. It is very hard to find time to train while trying to balance work and time with the family.

How does eveyone else fit it in to their schedules?