It's not impossible but by the time you finish all of this it's almost 10

@guest_ this is assuming that you don't have two hours of commute in, and two hours if commute out, meaning that you have to get up at 05:00 or 05:15 to leave at 05:30, to be at work at 07:30, start work at 08:00 (because if you leave at 06:00 the traffic peaks and you only arrive at 09:00), then you leave work at 16:00, get home at 18:00, drink tea, make dinner and eat, wash dishes, shower, have an hour of chores or relaxing, and get to bed at 21:00.
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There's very little time to do anything, and exercising just doesn't fit in there without starting to hate your life real quick. Your exercise is walking between your commute and work.
Take into account that you get so little money that you go over your budget even if you don't eat breakfast or lunch, only cook or have toast for dinners (spaghetti/rice & chicken, veg, or bacon; toast & peanut butter/mince, cheese/white sauce; soup; or noodles) so you can't hire someone to clean, and you don't have energy to exercise anyway.

@guest_ and if you did have energy, you'd probably be mugged at gun- or knife-point if you tried going to walk or jog outside, especially since it's getting dark already.

@kevman- you don’t HAVE to. Depends on training programs and goals. Most people can do about 30 minutes a day for “health.” If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, or performance- a little more is better... to a point. Running makes your body catabolic. It depletes glycogen and puts your body in a state to break down muscle. Resistance training is anabolic and also takes energy and glycogen- but your body is in state to build muscle. Splitting work outs so they are done early morning and then evening gives your body time to recover. You can eat, regain energy, replenish glycogen, etc. a bit before you next work out. You also aren’t working out 2 hours straight- which some people don’t care for. But there are many ways to train for many goals so no one way. Just an example.

@catfluff- It was an example. It doesn’t apply for everyone. Commute times were based on “US average.” I work with people who have 3 hour commutes one way, some with 10 minutes or less. I’ve had all over the board. Currently my commute is about 1hr one way and 45 minutes the other.

If a person doesn’t have money or access to ideal nutrition then- the best they can do is the best they can do. They won’t get optimum results but “optimum results” aren’t an option and “best case” is best case. People do what they can.

Anything is fitness equipment if you want it to be. People work out all over the world, people find ways in the darkest prisons in the world to stay fit. Push ups and dips and pull ups and many other exercises require little or no equipment and can be done at home. A bucket, some rice or sand, an old broom stick or pipe, some jugs, water, a backpack, books, blah blah blah. Anything can be used for fitness.

Isometric exercises can be done while sitting on a commute or standing. Balance work, etc etc.

It’s not “optimal” but if a person only has 5 minutes here and there then they do what they can do in those 5 minutes here and there.

But.... not everyone can do everything. Life is about priorities. Whatever you make a priority will get what resources you have. If you have chores or school or work or kids or whatever else- where you spend your actual time is your priority and what you make your priority is where you should see results. A person has to be honest and realistic.

You will not likely make a pro sports league or look like a magazine star from 10-30 minutes of exercise a day. If you are unable or unwilling to stick to a diet that can supply your needs then you aren’t going to get the same results as if you could. That doesn’t mean you can’t do ANYTHING. It doesn’t mean you can’t do the best that you can or do more than nothing. It doesn’t mean you can’t see some results. It just means you have to be realistic.

If a person lives in poverty and can’t afford food and is in danger of being attacked outside and has no free time etc. etc. etc. what are you gonna do? You can only do what you can do. Obviously it would be ideal to find some way out of that situation and then have the ability to focus on other things a little more- but if one is barely surviving then personally I’d have “better” things to focus on than abs or what not.

If you can’t find the time or energy etc. to dedicate to anything then... what else is there to say? People find a way or they don’t. That’s a major part of what defines us as individuals. The goals we set and whether or not we achieve or try to achieve them. If there’s something you REALLY want to do- you have to look at the obstacles that YOU face as an individual, and then figure out how to overcome the ones stopping you from doing what you want- or you have to modify your expectations on results to align to what is possible based on what you can do and not what you can’t do.

Everyone’s life is a little different. Some people have more advantages than others. If you work 6 jobs and have 4 kids it’s unrealistic that you’d have a lot of time for school or working out or whatever else. But if you don’t do anything things aren’t likely to change on their own. So.... what advantages do you have? What do you have access to or who do you have to help you at a goal? There’s a long list of things we can’t do. That list is generally not very helpful. What CAN you do? What can you give up? What are your priorities?

If you’re struggling to survive than I’d say survival probably needs to be a priority. Next up I’d say figuring out a way to be able to do more than just survive. People amaze me. Immigrants get so much flack in America- especially lately. But.... wow. Imagine not speaking a language, having little or no connections, being limited by both the legal constraints and dangers of your situation as well as all the other issues- and still being able to make it work. That’s very impressive.

People like to tear down and mock things like having 10 adults in the same small home or doing many “menial” jobs etc. but... these are people who have made a priority. For many- that priority is that their children will grow up with things better than they were for them, or that their families back home will be more comfortable. And to reach that goal many risked their very lives and live every day a life that is likely not what most people would want their life to be like. Any goal comes down to how bad you want it. What you’ll do to get it.

And there’s no shame in saying: “you know... this just isn’t important enough to me to do what I’d have to do to make this work.” Or to say there is something you’d have to give up that is more important to you. If you want to run bad enough you’ll risk getting mugged- or you’ll learn to fight or you’ll figure something out.

Our circumstances are what they are. We can change some of them. Some... maybe we “can” change but not realistically. It’s not really reasonable to expect a person to risk their life over things that SHOULD be simple. Ideally no one would face these choices. Realistically- some people do. People have to choose if they want to be there to see their kids grow up, or work to feed and shelter them or maybe send them to school.

People have to choose if they want to sleep in their car or be homeless while they try to get a degree because they don’t want to spend their life in the situation they are in but have no one to help and no way to support themselves. What can you say to that? I don’t blame a person for not taking that risk and not going through that.

I can’t blame a person who says “I’d rather be barely getting by the rest of my life and unhappy than risk what little I have and possibly my life trying to make things better- which isn’t even guaranteed.” Or “I just don’t think I can mentally deal with that.” That doesn’t mean they can’t complain- but all there is to say to that is: “man. That sucks.”

There’s no magic bullet. If you cake here expecting me to have the universal solution to fitness and health- a master plan of diet and exercise that anyone on earth can do and is easily done and will work for everyone, or the 4 week program to be in a safe neighborhood and have financial security and a great career meet miles from home- I don’t have it. It doesn’t exist. If it did- everyone would do it wouldn’t they?

Wether it’s fitness or life or whatever- no one answer works for everyone on most anything. People have different body types, likes, dietary restrictions, budgets, goals, etc. If everyone could be in the olympics or be a fitness model those things wouldn’t really be considered very impressive would they? In the world- not everyone gets to “make it.” Some people can get rich on YouTube or selling real estate or through some hustle- but not everyone.

So sink or swim- being able to figure out how to get what we want with what we have is a life skill. It’s not even that I wouldn’t be willing to help someone get where they want- but without knowing their life- how would you tell them? You can tell people what works for you. What doesn’t. Your experience. But results vary. Telling me it’s easy to get rich by singing doesn’t help since I can’t sing. Maybe I could learn... but that’s not a priority. It doesn’t interest me, and I e never felt I had the money to get a voice coach. “Just sing in the shower and with the radio” my friends who sing beautifully say. I’ve been doing that since young. I can’t sing.

That’s the reality I have accepted and it is a lie. Anyone can sing. Through work and money and technology- anyone can sing. You don’t even need to be able to talk. If Steven Hawking wanted he didn’t have to sound the way he did. He wanted to sound that way. But I know it would be extraordinary effort for me to learn to sing- and I just don’t want it bad enough to live my life for that goal.

In the end- you can live your life for a goal and still not make it. You can make everything you do about achieving one thing and still fail. For every successful actor or sports star are hundreds or thousands of more of people who lost everything and ended up literally homeless or next to it pouring all they had into making that dream. Most people who fail at those dreams never gave ALL they had and didn’t end up as bad off. Some might have made t if they gave ALL. most still would have failed and been worse off.

The ones who would have made it will never know- but they cheated themselves and got a bad deal. The ones who wouldn’t have made it will never know but did the right thing and ended up better off for it. No one knows what could be or could have been. You take your shot with all you’re willing to risk and quit when you quit or decide to see it trough all the way no matter what.

Priorities.

If I’m on a train for hours a day I’m going to do squats and pull ups and the like on that train. People can give me crazy looks all they want. Then not thinking I’m crazy doesn’t get me in shape. I’ll show up to work sweaty. I’ll take a shower in the sink. Keep my clothes in a back pack- whatever it is. Make my work out part of my chores. Squat when I get cleaned from under the sink. Scrub the floors in a push up- whatever.

But... it’s on the individual. What can they do? What are they willing to do? Can they incorporate a bike ride into their commute? What can they give up? Can they side hustle? Can they find a way to get a work out and make money like doing a job with manual labor? Can they turn their physical skills into a way to make money like modeling or adult entertainment? Dancing of any sort including stripping? Stripping is a great work out. Why pay- or if you ant pay- for strip aerobics... why not.. work as a stripper and get paid to work out?

You don’t want to take off your clothes? That’s your business. But it’s an option for most people. That’s priorities. It’s a bigger priority to not be a stripper than to get paid to work out. That’s ok. It’s your life. It is what you make of it. I’ve done bad or seedy things for money because I grew up without any money and without any options I saw available to me.

I did things that made me feel ashamed. No regrets- but knowing what I do now I may have done some things different- but my goal was to get out of where I was. So... if you offer me a way to do that... what am I going to say? My morals were not as high a priority as getting that money. Of course- I’ve been asked to do things I wouldn’t. My morals were a higher priority. I a look myself in the mirror for some minor breach of ethics and say I had to do it. Mom needed food. Little brother needed food. That trumps my morals. But I can’t do some major bad thing so I can afford cool shoes or to go out with friends and look at myself.

We all have our lines in the sand. You do the thing that you can’t afford not to do. That will always tell you what your actual priorities are.

So in conclusion and Tl:dr @catfulff- I’m aware that example doesn’t work for everyone. That’s what works for many of the people who hire me. Your life is you life. If there is a way- you have to figure it out. If there isn’t a way: why are you asking? There isn’t a way. Cold fusion may be possible but no one can see a way to do it right now- so if you ask me how you can make a cold fusion reactor I’m going to tell you... you can’t. Maybe you can make a fission reactor, or a wind farm or something? I don’t know. Depends on your specifics. If you feel like discussing the intimate details of your life- I’d certainly be willing to try and suggest some things that MIGHT work for you. But by the same token if you look at the moon and say humans can’t reach it then... you’ll probably not be one of the humans who have.

I actually take any job that pays, including physical labour, and if not I flex my legs and arms under the desk while doing admin etc.
I've learnt how to subtly exercise from having an eating disorder when I was younger and burning every possible calorie I could, but right now just walking to my car makes me want to puke.
The other day a jogger scared me and I flipped around, ready to spray and stab the poor guy, but afterwards I was coughing and dry heaving purely from the intensity from that. I have some prior bad experiences, and there was a guy following and watching me to and from work, so I'm super jumpy, so that didn't help the situation either.

If I had food I'm normally fine, but I only eat dinner, partly due to being poor and partly due to being picky with some old behaviours poking through, and getting hyperfocused on my work and not realising I'm hungry, or dismissing it.
So yeah, I'll get back into exercise, but for now I'm so exhausted all the time....

... that my priority is survival. I run three jobs, with two others part-time between it all.
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I'm always running from the one to the other, and I'd love to get my life back together and start exercising again. I want to, I just cannot justify it to myself when I've got so many other fires to kill.
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Hopefully I'll be able to start some body weight exercises from next week, since a friend is borrowing me a pole.

I’m sorry to hear about your struggles and past problems. I’m glad to hear that you’re getting them under control and learning to live past them. It can be real hard. What I tell people I work with it that health and fitness is a lifestyle. There aren’t easy or short solutions and you have to be patient. It’s a long term investment in yourself. The more you invest- the more you want to protect that investment. It sounds like you have a full load. I think your Head is in the right place. You can’t build a house on sand. Do what you can to get things as in order as you can and focus on your mental well being.

Fitness and exercise can be powerful tools on that front once you’ve gotten a good baseline on your health otherwise. People can get a sense of control, something they can see results for their effort- and I’ve worked with people who had eating disorders and for them- weight training is often a big help. Resisting the urge to backslide as the scale goes up and muscle comes on can be tough. But most people start to see before long that they thing their bodies look better- that they are closer to what they wanted this way than the unhealthy way- and they feel better.

Thanks @guest_

Not having money for food is tough. I don’t know your situation, health, where you live etc. here- milk is very cheap. A gallon of that a day or half a gallon with just a few other foods will provide the nutrition and fuel for weight lifting. Rice and beans are usually cheap and together form a complex protein. Potato and butter is another one. On a budget- I generally recommend looking for any nutrient dense food one can. Without money for “fillers” like leafy greens etc- one might be constantly hungry but at least will have the calories and nutrients to get by.

I’ve gone over a year without eating before when I had an issue, and growing up we often didn’t have food, sometimes I’d go days without being able to eat. Hunger hurts- but most people can “get used to it.” My wish would be no one would have to. But if you have to choose between feeling full and getting your nutrients I’d personally go for the second.

If you don’t have choice or have very little choice in food- you’ve gotta go with what you have. When I was younger and didn’t have money for food- I figured out all the stores that offered free samples, I found any offices or businesses I could get into that put things out like cookies or candies or pastries etc. and I’d do “my rounds” and eat there. When desperate- I’d go to local restaurants or food courts and eat the food people left on their plates and didn’t throw away.

Friends and coworkers can be another source of food. If they don’t finish theirs, if they get takeout and don’t want the left overs- you can take that stuff and save it or eat it. Sometimes people will have fruit trees in their yards or there might be wild ones or berries etc. (knowing what is or isn’t poisonous is good- and it’s hopefully best to ask a home owner before taking their fruit.)

My last, last, house had a HUGE outdoor area with lots of fruit trees near a down town of a local major city. People would take the fruits of my roses and people would ask why I didn’t get mad. Because once long ago but not so long ago for me - I needed fruits and couldn’t buy them. I didn’t have money to give flowers to a special someone in my life. So just do your best- and hopefully someday soon things will be better, and hopefully then you can give a little something to someone going through some things too. I truly wish you the best. Be safe, and best of luck.