Win Some Sweet Schwagg from RoadID, Ryders and Gu

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• My brother and I decided to follow the same training plan for an upcoming race and that has helped my motivation quite a bit. It's no fun having your little brother calling you out the next morning if you hadn't done the workout the previous evening. We also live near each other and are similar fitness capabilities, so as much as our schedules allow, we train together following a very detailed training plan he put together from a book. Having the built in competition between each other makes keeping my training consistent relatively easy, to be honest.

  Neither my brother nor I have kids, so that probably makes balancing everything easier for us, but when things do get a bit hectic, I don't beat myself up over a missed workout here or there. As long as I feel like over the course of a week, I increased my fitness, I usually feel good about it.

• Balancing school, work, boyfriend time and training has been really difficult. Can't say I've mastered it myself. I am trying to get up earlier, schedule doctors appointments as early as I can so they don't interfere with schoolwork and planning workouts days ahead. Been giving myself weekly goals as well.

• I've taken to splitting my workouts into two parts: one before work and one after work. I talk myself into getting out of bed at 4:30 A.M. four days per week (and I sleep in a little on weekends) to get in 1-1.5 hours before work. My alarm clock is way across the room so that I have to physically get up and turn it off. By that point, I'm awake and moving anyway. I have my gear ready to go and my workout clothes laid out, so really I have no excuse not to get dressed and get going. Twice a week, I swim with a group of people, which keeps me accountable to waking up early.

  I head straight from work to the gym / lake to get in the last part of my workout before bedtime. My gear bag is always packed and in my vehicle so that I cannot talk myself out of getting everything done. I'm tempted to start squeezing in short naps during my lunch break so that my body gets enough rest time.

  Once I'm home for the evening, I enjoy a recovery drink and an hour to myself. Nice and quiet :) Then I make sure to pack up my gear for the following day & leave it near the door so that I don't leave it behind. I also pack up all my meals for the day on the night before that way I'm not tempted to dive into fast food or unhealthy meals during the week.

  Hope this helps some! Good luck :)

• I work full time and my daughters are 1 & 3 years old. As has been mentioned mornings are my best times with Masters Swim Tuesdy, Thursday and Saturday. I accept missing one workout/week if I have an early meeting. Lunchtime runs work great for me, but I usually limit them to 30 minutes. Bicycling is the toughest and is usually a longer ride on the weekends and a quick spin after work one day per week so that I am home for family responsibilities. The sacrifice for me is giving up the last 20% of effort that would help become a competitive age grouper, upwardly mobile employee and father of the year. If I can make 80% of family stuff like going to the park, meals, baths and cleaning up around the house I am satisfied. I accept missing dinner occasionally and missing lower priority workouts like strength training.

• Wow, I'm loving all the ideas, THANKS! Keep 'em coming! Dang, that's not 40 words, so I guess I can't win. lol, I can't win anyway!

• I like the first posters comment about "priorities and consistency," because that is absolutely what it is for me. I had to learn to make myself and my training a priority, as well, otherwise all my other priorities took precedence.

  The most important thing for me is just making sure I'm always prepared. If I think I can fit in a workout over lunch, I'll pack my gear up and load it in my car first thing in the morning. That way if I find some spare time I can't use the excuse of "I don't have everything." This includes making sure I have an emergency set of headphones and socks in my car at all times, because I tend to forget those most often.

  I try to go to the gym or for an outdoors workout immediately after coming home from work whenever possible, because if I don't I'll get tired or find an excuse to skip the workout. I try to incorporate workouts with my family when I can (going to the park with husband and dog and running laps around them) so that I can spend time with family and also get my training in.

  It's not always easy, and I've been slacking lately because I haven't been following the "priorities and consistency" rule, but that's life :)

• Sweet contest! And so useful! My strategies to fit training around a full-time job do involve the early morning, sorry to say. I am not the best waker-upper so I use group workouts to motivate me - a Monday masters swim and a Thursday triclub run. Those people expect me to show up and that helps enormously. Also, for the bike, I am lucky enough to be able to commute to work. That helps me tuck in mileage throughout the week, plus I have a few "alternate" routes home to add some hills and/or time if my schedule allows. Any errands I need to run I usually try to do on the bike as well. I also really like the "no tech after ten" suggestion, I am totally going to use that!

• Organization and pre-planning is key for me. Every week I look at my calendar and plan all of my workouts for the coming week. I write in the time, location, and specific workout. Then every night I take a few minutes to pre-pack what I will need before, during and after the planned workout. I have found that having a different bag for each type of workout is helpful. One for all my bike stuff, one for all my swim stuff, and one for all my running gear. I also pre-pack all my nutrition for the day since I almost always eat 2-3 meals a day at work or on the way to or from a workout. I recently bought myself a set of glass Tupperware that came in every size and shape imaginable, so I always have exactly what I need. They even have measurement markings on them so I can easily see how much of each thing I am packing. Finally, I sneak in mini-workouts everywhere I can. Anytime I am waiting around for something (which is often in my line of work) I will get in a few minutes of something physical. Do dips on a window sill, walk a flight of stairs, or fit in a two minute stretch. I even occasionally fit in a 5 minute run around a parking lot.

• I have three kids and am a part time grad student. I've always started a workout program but then fizzled out a few months later. I'm not an expert at this yet but the most helpful things this time around are the treadmill and bike trainer. I don't really like being inside but I can bike and run in the morning while my at home child is entertained by cartoons! I have found mornings are best but I cannot do my workouts first thing. I have the luxury of staying home so I fit it in when I'm fully awake. That may all change when all the kids are in school! I also meet my friend for a weekly lap swim at our community pool and lately I've been swimming and then going for a run right after so I can check off two things. I also wrote down every week of my training plan in my food journal and I check it off as I complete the workouts. Training for an event is one of the only things that motivates me to continue!

• It's all about priorities and consistency for me.
  1) Make sure your family knows that they come first, but that your training is very important to you and makes you feel and act better. When I'm in a bad mood now, my wife says, "Why don't you go for a run?".
  2) Make it a habit. If you work out everyday you plan to work out. When I leave work I look at my schedule for the next day so when I get home I can pack up any gear I will need for the next day. Load the bike on the car, make sure I have clean clothes.
  3) Find out when you like to workout the most. For me, it is in the morning or lunch time. If I wait for after work, it might not get done and I know that as a fact so I do my workouts early. I am lucky to have a job that lets me take a 2 hour lunch.
  4) Own your workout. I enjoy working out with other people, but they have lives too, so if I plan to workout with someone and they cancel, I still do it. My mindset going in is, I am going to do this workout whether or not I am alone. This happened this morning in fact. I could have skipped my mtn bike ride and slept in, but it was in my head that I was going to ride and even though my partner canceled I went.

  I think the bottom line is, if you want to do it, you will, if you don't want to or are dreading it, you won't. Good luck