a non-morning person working out in the early am?

S

smartyjonesc2s

Cathlete
first let me say i am NOT a morning person....very grouchy and have a hard time getting out of bed.

so with that being said up front, i am wondering if it is possible to become a morning exerciser even though you do your best work in the pm around 6 pm. have any of you changed your workout habits completely like that? i just dont know if i am capable. i have a hard enough time with cathe in the pm, i just dont know if i can handle her in the AM....she kinda scares me a little....

if anyone has any advice on this i would appreciate it.
 
I HAD to change when I finished college. Everything gets split up now & I usually do cardio before work & some kind of weight training after.

I still have a lot of trouble getting up that extra hour, but once I do I'm so glad I did it for a lot of reasons. First of all, it really does get the blood flowing to the brain & I feel like I work better when I get to the office (or post on fitness forums better? }( ). Second, I think it helps burn fat more efficiently b/c rather than working out, speeding up your metabolism, & then letting it drop shortly after when you go to bed, you jumpstart your metabolism first thing & keep it going throughout the day.

That's my input re. cardio in the early morning. Can't speak to weight training--if I tried it I'm pretty sure I'd end up w/the imprint of a dumbell on my forehead. :eek:
 
you are funny laura....i guess it is that saying that is takes 21 days to form a habit...i definitely need to start getting my lazy butt out of bed early to at least do part of my workout before work. it sounds like it really works for you, and maybe i wouldn't be so grouchy in the morning if i got up and got myself going...that is also a good point about how working out in the morning gets the metabolism going for the whole day rather than having it fall off after you go to bed at night....i am going to do this....i HAVE to do this for myself....

thanks laura for your input...
 
yep, it is possible to become a morning exerciser. I did it and I am truely the most impossible person in the world. I am my own worst nightmare when it comes to good habits...but...since August I have been getting up at 6am, Monday to Saturday and haven't missed a beat. I could never fit exercise into my routine (and when I could, I was totally zapped for energy), so, three months ago I decided that the first hour of my day will be my exercise routine. I have never been a morning person...everything irritates me in the morning; I'm not pleasant company. But this is working out. It is so funny because now getting up at 6am to work out seems so easy...it's the other habits that I hate that suddenly seem the impossible tasks to overcome in comparison!
Now some tips from my own experience...
You have to have a really, really solid reason for doing this...or when you wake up in the morning and are feeling tired and crabby, you will easily talk yourself out of it. A couple of years ago I tried getting up early and did for a short time (to work out), but I don't think I was desparate enough, and solid enough in my will. Sit down for a few minutes and let a furious determination rise up in you!! and don't let go of it. You will have to go to bed at a decent hour if you are planning to get up earlier than you usually would to survive this! Get a nasty alarm clock and put it in your room, out of arms length, so when it goes off you have to get out of bed to shut it up!!
As for feeling out of sorts in the morning...the workout will sort out any bad mood, believe me. I did a quickie workout when I was in a bad mood the other day; I did more stomping than stepping to start with, but by the time it was over, I felt good:+
Your body will adjust too, as long as you a keeping to a reasonably consistent routine.
 
thanks suzinnz for your advice too. it sounds like you did it for the same type of reasons i am looking at. i live 45 miles from work so by the time i get home i just am over it all. i stay mad at myself quite a bit for not doing what i know i need to. i am at that level of desparation as i really want a healthy, fit body, and i think a good habit like getting up at 6 is only going to make my mind/body and spirit better. thanks for your advice. i WILL do this!! thanks again to you both!
 
Honestly, I lose steam even after lunchtime, so the thought of waiting until late afternoon or evening is exhausting to me - though I will have to go back to this once I work again. Yikes. For me, I love getting it done and having the whole day to feel the good after effects. I guess I am more of a morning person than night, but a kid will do that to ya ;)




Debbie


Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'
Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.
--Family Guy
 
I have made the transition from evenings to mornings. I am going to be honest - it wasn't easy. I occasionally skip the morning still and do it in the evening, but I always regret it when I do. I LOVE coming home from work in the evening and already having my work out done. When I started working out in the morning I no longer had to get sweaty at night. Whereas before, if I had a dinner or event to attend in the evening after my workout it would mean showering and re-doing hair and make-up.

Some mornings when I really don't want to wake up I force myself to hold my eyes open. I just hit snooze and lay there with my eyes open. Eventually the rest of my body will catch up with my eyes. I also lay in bed and think about how nice it would be to have my evening free if I would just get up.

Also, one thing to mention -- once my alarm goes off, my doggies tend to go nuts and jump up on the bed. Sometimes they won't let me go back to sleep. Give it a try Debbie -- you can do it!

Monica
 
I think you need to make yourself do it for a least 3 weeks. Then at that point, decide which is less painful or if you prefer, more rewarding for you. I personally look forward to coming home and working out. It gives me my stress outlet and I can enjoy the rest of my evening. It has been my routine for years and I can't imagine changing it as I am not a morning person either;)

As long as your workout is solidly integrated into your schedule, it doesn't really matter when you do it, just as long as you consistently DO it.

Good luck figuring it out:)

Angie
 
Smartyjones your post motivated me to get up this morning at 5:30 and exercise. I knew I would not have time later in the day. It feels GREAT!! I'm a little tired but waking up was actually easier today for some reason. I plan to do this tomorrow also.......and the next day and the next...........we'll see...

Thanks for the push...good luck

Kathy
 
congratulations Kathy!! you are a step ahead of me. i am going to start when i get back from ohio next week visiting family future in laws for christmas. knowing you are doing it, i will just tell myself "well, i know kathy is up, so i better get up too". i think there will be days in the next week where it will maybe get harder for you, but if you push through those days, it will get better. i agree that it takes 3 weeks to form the habit, and then we will be loving cathe that early in the morning. although, i think i will be talking back a little more in the mornings....at least for a while...
 
I've been considering changing to mornings too - or at least dividing my workouts. I often blow off the weights because I like to do cardio first. If I could get cardio out of the way in the morning, I think I'd have a lot more focus and endurance for weights in the evening.

I have a hard time getting up, but I have a harder time going to be at a reasonable hour to get up that early (it would be 5:30 am for me.)

Maybe we should start an new-to-early-morning-exercising check in}( ... I'm almost hesitant to post this because I'm just not sure I can do it - but I'm willing to try!



Joni
 
Great, another Check in............Just kidding. I'm in.

Kathy

" They say hard work does not hurt anybody, but why take the chance."
 
I just had to switch to mornings to since my job changed. I use to be an afternoon exerciser, that got old and I started get lazy, then I tried evenings but it was way to easy to make excuses for myself. Now recently I have been getting up between 5am and 5:30am and getting in at least 40mins to 1 hour. It feels great and was actually easier than expected. My new routine is get up, workout, shower, eat, watch tv, but daughter on bus, go to work. Even today on my day off I got up at 7am and did Cardio & Weights from Body Max 2. It makes me feel accomplished for the day getting it done and out of the way.

:) ;-)
Jenn
 
Hi,
I became a morning exerciser this school year. I had a baby in March of 2005, and before that, I would exercise at night. Well, last year, I tried that and it didn't work. So, I had most of the summer to get back in shape (I am a teacher), and in the middle of August I realized that if I want to continue working out, I need to wake up one hour earlier (4:30a.m.). At first, I thought there was no way I would be able to do it. But, I had to, so that was the motivation. I have been waking up 5 times a week to exercise, and it is still a little difficult to get up that early, but once I am in the middle of my workout, I am SO thankful I did wake up. Nothing is better than going through your day knowing that you already have your workout done!
Good Luck!
-Jen
 
I simply don't have it all early mornings.

I am a die hard evening exerciser. I am stronger and more "alive" evenings.

I say stay with the pm workouts if possible.
 
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