I've started getting up at 5:30am a few times a week to get to the gym - otherwise, the day runs away from me. This is exhausting, but I think I should stick to it. What time is everyone else finding for exercise?

It varies based on the season. In the summer it seems easier to get up at 5am to exercise. In the winter, I'm more likely to exercise at night once the kids are tucked in. Of course I have exercise equipment at home so I have some flexibility in regards to when I work out.

Sometimes I have actually split my work out in two. I do a bit in the morning and a bit in the evening. The key for me is to be flexible with myself. If I forced myself out of bed EVERY! SINGLE! DAY! at 5am I would be one crabby camper. I never guilt myself for changing the routine or skipping it altogether.

In my ideal "everything is in it's place" world I try to split my workout in two. I prefer to get up early and do my cardio first thing, and then in the evening after work & before dinner I like to do either yoga or pilates.
I hate cardio so getting it over with is important and I find that 30-60 minutes in the evening 3 times a week is just what I need to decompress from the work day & transition into my role as mom.

I have been doing yoga in classes, so it varies: Monday, it was at 5:30pm, and yesterday it was at 8am, and tonight it is at 6:30 pm.

This morning I was up so early that I did some core exercises on the carpet though.

I do my stretching-and-weights workout first thing in the morning - literally within 5-10 minutes of getting up (4:30 AM on weekdays), I head to the living room for that, then I hit the shower. It really helps me wake up and start the day. The rest of my "workout" is with my four-legged walking partner - we head out after my shower for our morning walk, and take a longer one in the evening (somewhere between 6 and 7 PM, usually).

4:30 a.m.!!! I am gasping to myself about 6:00 a.m.! How do you do it????

Jen, that's how most most people react when they hear I get up at 4:30. It's a necessary evil if I want to have time to work out, shower and put clothes on, take the dog out, eat breakfast (I require breakfast), dress again for work, and be out the door before 7. If I leave later than that, my commute - which is close to an hour on a good day - gets ridiculous. The flip side is that it's tough for me to stay awake past 9:30 most nights.

Whenever I can.

I would like to do it in the morning, but usually I do it when the youngest 2 kids are napping. Last night, however, I started a workout after work at 6, had to stop to deal with dinner, and then finished the second half of the tape around 10.

My workout schedule really got messed up about a year ago (coincidentally when I started gaining weight) - I used to be at the gym by 5 a.m. so I could start work at 7. Now, I have to be at work no later than 5 a.m. so I try to squeeze a workout in before picking up Amara from school. If not, I wait until she's tucked into bed.

Amaras_mom - what do you do that you have to be at work so early?

I was doing it immediately after work, but the last month or so I've been trying it before work, which means I leave home at 6:40 and get back no later than 7:45. (Which means no cool-down stretching, BAD, but I figure if I walk home briskly and swing my arms a lot, that'll do. Right?) Morning suits my temperament and internal clock better, but I know it's going to be VERY difficult to force myself out of the house that early when it's freezing cold and dark. (Course, it'll be freezing cold and dark after work, too. Ugh. I do hate the darkness of winter...)

8 am right after I drop kids off - Tuesday & thursday - weight training
6am - Wednesday - extreme work out
9am - Monday - i climb at the gym
Friday I try do an aerobic tape at home 8am

Definitely in the mornings for me... i just have more energy and it really motivates and energizes me for the day! I also started doing yoga - i usually do that after work once or twice a week.

Holy crap, I feel totally lazy in comparison to some of you ladies! I do my workouts in the evening after the munchkin goes to sleep.

I wish I were disciplined and had a set work out and time that I did said workout. For me working out is carrying the baby....up and down and up and down the hall...

I wish I could work out in the morning. I used to "pre-kids". Now I usually work out after the kids go to bed at 8:00 PM or so. I've been doing it since early July. I feel stronger and more energetic... and I've lost 15 lbs so far (No dieting!). Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Sumenal - wow, that's awesome!