What if I said that I found a way to make going to the gym seem like a day at the spa?
Get relatively fit with seemingly little effort, and make going to the gym feel like a vacation?!
Read on my friend.
For many of us adulting is hard, with spouses putting in long hours and even being away if they work out of town or have to travel.
Unless you have a retired relative living in who is dying to spend time with your child, you may find yourself without a mommy support network. It can be hard not having anyone to turn to when you need a break from your child to save your sanity, forget making it to the gym.
Wouldn’t you rather be at the spa?
If you are like me, and you stay at home and travel with your husband while he is away for work it can be hard to get a handle on this whole adult life thing (making sure you have enough time to get a work out in). Most babysitters require some sort of a commitment. And as a result we had a difficult time finding one.
Part-time, drop-in or on-demand child care is very hard to find. If you do find it, it can be quite pricey.
Best Life Hack EVER: find a gym that has child care
It is literally THAT simple.
Your gym’s childcare will either be free/included in your membership or very affordable. The gym I go to offers childcare free to members for two hours a day while you “work out.” Much better than the minimum of $15 an hour you are going to be paying for a reputable babysitter in a big city.
It gets better.
Gyms often have free wifi… if you’re lucky they even have a cafe on premises
Wait, it still gets better.
If you find that this is the best thing that has ever happened to you, you are way more likely to go. But if you want less of a public gym feel and more of a spa-like atmosphere, some gyms have extra-exclusive change rooms that you can access with an additional fee or extra membership. I believe the extra cost to access these facilities at my gym is something reasonable—like an extra $16 on top of your membership fee.
When you calculate the amount of money you are saving on child care, and priceless joy that comes from washing your hair in peace, it might be the best $16 you have ever spent.
So if your husband has worked too many long days and late nights, your toddler is driving you bonkers, and all you want to do is drink a cup of coffee in peace and wash and dry your hair, head on over to your local gym. Chances are that you will meet a group of like-minded mom’s doing the same thing.
Relaxed Mom/Political Wife/Solo Parents Club
Solo parenting is when one parent works away for a period of time. Although the people are still in a relationship and are not considered “single parents” solo parents and single parents do experience many of the same parenting challenges.
My mom friends at the gym have taught me that solo parenting is surprisingly common. It is great for my mental health when I bump into one of my solo mom friends at the gym and she tells me that she isn’t there to work out but just to wash her hair in peace.
My current favourite workout at the gym is to respond to emails, make calls or listen to an audiobook while walking on the treadmill. Moms with limited amounts of child-free time have to multitask.
But to be completely honest, sometimes after I drop my daughter Annie off at the gym childcare, I find a comfortable spot at the gym, curl up, drink coffee and work on my laptop.
Regardless of what I am actually doing there my morning jaunt to the gym has become one of my favourite parts of my day.
Although I am not at my most physically fit time at my life, I have managed to stay in decent shape with seemingly little effort. Because let’s face it; actually getting to the gym is 75% of the work-out battle.
But if going to the gym seems like a morning at the spa than it seems like much less of a chore to go.
I look forward to my time at the gym and I work really hard there. It just might be on my laptop and instead of a treadmill.
P.S. Seeing how we are being honest, here is what I actually look like when I am at the gym. If you want to check out more posts about how to make adulting easier check out Ana’s post on productivity here.
