How to Exercise When Your Partner Works Away

Your partner leaves on Sunday night and is back the following Friday. Maybe it is offshore work, maybe a project in another city, maybe a tour of duty or a long run of night shifts. Either way, for that stretch you are doing everything: every wake-up, every meal, every school run, every bedtime. Training usually vanishes the moment the suitcase comes out. This post is about how to exercise when your partner works away, with home and buggy options that need no childcare and no heroic willpower.

Think in two modes: “away weeks” and “home weeks”

The most useful change you can make is to stop expecting the same routine every week. When your partner is home, you have more options: a class, a longer run, a gym session. When they are away, you switch to a smaller, simpler plan that you can do with the kids in the house. I call it having two gears.

Write both plans down. On the Sunday your partner leaves, you already know what the week looks like. No decisions, no guilt about the class you cannot get to.

The “away week” plan

This is built for solo parenting days. Three short sessions plus daily walking. It assumes zero childcare.

Session A: after-bedtime strength (20 minutes)

Quiet enough for a flat with sleeping children. Do 40 seconds of work, 20 seconds rest, 3 rounds:

• Slow squats (3 seconds down, 1 second up)
• Push-ups on the floor, knees or against the sofa
• Glute bridges, single-leg if two legs are easy
• Split squats, holding a chair for balance, swapping legs each round
• Bear hold (hands and toes on the floor, knees hovering just off it)

Session B: the buggy or school-run session (25 to 30 minutes)

If you have a baby or toddler in a buggy, push it briskly for 5 minutes to warm up, then do 6 rounds of 1 minute fast walking and 1 minute easy. At a bench, add 2 rounds of 10 incline push-ups and 10 sit-to-stands with the brake on and the buggy right in front of you. If your children are at school, do the same intervals on the walk home after drop-off. If you had a baby recently, get your GP postnatal check first, usually around 6 to 8 weeks after the birth, before adding anything harder than walking. The NHS explains this in its guide to keeping fit and healthy with a baby. There are more ideas in my posts on workouts with a baby and buggy workouts.

Session C: the “with the kids” session (15 minutes)

Weekend morning, living room or garden. Put on music and play “copy me”: 30 seconds each of star jumps, squats, bear crawls, frog jumps and a plank, repeated 3 times. Children aged about 3 and up love it, and it gets everyone’s energy out before a long day with one adult.

Every day: a walking floor

Aim for at least 20 minutes of brisk walking a day. On solo weeks the school run, nursery drop-off and trips to the shops usually cover it if you walk rather than drive.

The “home week” plan

When your partner is back, use the extra pair of hands. That is when you go to a class, do your longer workout or get a run in at the weekend. Agree it in advance, like you would agree who does bath time. Many couples I talk to find it easiest to swap: one of you trains on Tuesday evening, the other on Saturday morning.

Just as important: do not use the home week to cram in everything you missed. Two or three good sessions is plenty. Then the away-week plan picks up again.

How to keep your energy up to exercise when your partner works away

The mental side of solo parenting is often more draining than the physical side. A few things make the training easier:

• Lower the bar on purpose. On a rough day, one round of Session A counts. Ten minutes still keeps the habit alive.
• Batch cook before they leave. One less decision every evening means more energy for a 20-minute workout.
• Get your kit ready at teatime. If your trainers and a mat are out before the bedtime routine starts, you are far more likely to train afterwards.
• Use exercise for stress, not just fitness. When the kids have been at each other all day, ten minutes of hard work after bedtime is a reset.

If longer stretches of solo parenting are your normal life rather than an occasional week, my single parent fitness guide goes into more depth.

Where a bootcamp class fits

For most families with a partner who works away, the class is a “home week” thing. It gives you something to look forward to when they are back, and a fixed booking makes it more likely the two of you will protect that time. Many parents find the stress of a solo week needs somewhere to go. SYP Release uses pads and slam balls for exactly that, and it is very satisfying after five days of negotiating with a four-year-old. If you have a friend, grandparent or neighbour who can cover 45 minutes on an away week, it works then too.

FAQs

How do I find time to exercise when I am solo parenting?

Use the slots that already exist: after bedtime, the walk home from school, weekend mornings with the kids joining in. Short sessions of 15 to 20 minutes are realistic and still worthwhile.

Is it OK to exercise with the kids at home?

Yes, as long as they are safe and supervised. Keep floor space clear, avoid heavy weights when toddlers are crawling around, and save anything needing full concentration for after bedtime.

What if I am too tired after a day on my own?

Then do a 10-minute walk or some gentle stretching, and go to bed earlier. Some weeks the win is simply not stopping completely.

Should I train harder when my partner is home to make up for it?

No. Training too hard to catch up usually leads to soreness or injury. Keep the home-week plan sensible and consistent instead.

Book your first class

When your partner is back, or someone can mind the kids for an hour, SYP Bootcamp is waiting. Classes are 45 minutes, small-group (never more than 10 people), indoors in a church hall in Archway N19, and £15 a class, with easier and harder options for every move. The timetable is sent when you book. Book your £15 class here or call or WhatsApp me on 07301 512215. If your schedule changes every month and you need sessions that move with it, private personal training in Archway with SYP Fitness can work around your rota.

About the author

Artem Olekhnovych is a personal trainer in Archway and the founder of SYP Fitness and SYP Bootcamp. He has coached clients in Archway, Highgate and across North London for over 10 years, and runs small-group bootcamp classes for busy mums and dads. Read reviews from his 1-1 clients.