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Running in Circles
How to Find Time to Exercise and Still Be a Great Dad
By I.J. Schecter
Often we spend two hours at the gym merely because we can. But there are various ways you can use your time there more economically. In fact, fitness expert Phil Kaplan suggests you never exceed 75 minutes in any one exercise session.
This doesn't mean your workouts have to become cardio clinics, or that you'll lose every bit of muscle you've worked hard to put on. It just means making some adjustments. For example, you can do a great 45-minute circuit-training workout and still hit the same body parts you'd otherwise do in an hour and a half. If you're looking to maintain muscle mass, you can do fewer sets but make them supersets, with more weight and fewer reps. If you're concerned about maintaining your great cardio level, try varying your aerobic work for greater benefits, from staggering your running intervals to increasing and lowering resistance levels.
It's not fair to say that you'll be exhausted, since everyone is different. But it is fair to say that the large majority of parents experience a fatigue those first few months that hits them like a ton of bricks, and that they quickly come to crave sleep more than anything, with exercise way down the list.