Limited time to train

I am a new mother and don't have as much time as I used to to train. Would I do better to run every chance I get, or should I split it up between running and the gym?

First of all, congratulations on motherhood! The challenge of running is nothing compared to the challenge of motherhood! I'm sure you will continue to enjoy both.

I had the same questions and found a book that was VERY good and helped me to make the most of my own limited time.

It's called "Road Racing for Seirous Runners" by Pete Pfitzinger. He is a world-class marathoner and coach as well as an exercise physiologist. With the help of this book, I was able to design a training program that made the most of my time and maximize the speed workouts I do now.

It had a bunch of other stuff in there about training and mental state, as well as strategies for races.

I recommend it highly.

I think it's best to do what feels right for your body -your body will be tired from what it's recently been through so you should listen to it!

I agree, listen to your body, but a mix is probably more beneficial

I agree with Rachel, just do what feels right for you and also what you enjoy - no point spoiling this lovely time getting stressed over training! Congratulations on becoming a mum and good luck with the training!

It's easy to make the mistake of training at every opportunity and then overtrain. Try to stick to a training plan and if you miss a session - don't beat yourself up about it. Happy running... 

The time when you are resting is when your body progresses anyway, so even when you're not training you can still feel good!

That's true, i always fall into the trap of not resting because i feel i'm being lazy, but it is good to rest

I am hopeless for letting my body have a rest. I too feel like I am being lazy when I sit down, when really, I just need to take time to let my body relax

If I've pushed myself then usually I have to take a break - I don't think my legs would keep going.

I'm good at the breaks, just not as good at getting going again...!

If I get into a good routine of exercising regularly, then I'm fine to keep going,but if I stop for some reason and don't work out properly for 1/2 weeks then I seem to lose the motivation.

Me too, it's so hard to get back into exercise after a break, but once you do it's a lot better than you originally thought. I find a good way to keep exercising regularly is to build a routine into your lifestyle, by joining sports clubs and a social life around being active 

Me too! If taking extended breaks was an olympic event I'd like to think I'd be nailed on for the gold

Haha I think I would definitely rival you for gold!

I agree that once you get started you're more motivated to continue, but it's so hard to get going in the first place!

Gold medals all round I think! Maybe the trick is to find something you really love doing? Then you'll never want to take a break

Definitely - I'm not quite sure what I love doing though... I tried running and it wasn't really for me and I hate the gym!

Maybe some kind of exercise where you don't really realising your working out would be good for you then, like a dance class or hiking.

I think that's the best kind of exercise, I really want to start a dance class as it seems it would be a really fun way to workout

I'm struggling to find an exercise I really enjoy and find motivating too! Maybe something like dance would be fun