4 all u early AM exercisers

C

claridge

Cathlete
How do you guys and gals cope getting up sooooo early for some of you, and exercising?

I understand, for some, its AM for not at all, but what about the recommended 8 hours sleep - especially if your "working outside the home as well as being a parent"

Do any of you find that "lack" of sleep interfers with your eating habits, or your bodies ability to loose or maintain your weight - and what about concentration towards the end of the day?

My concentration always ebbs around 4.00pm and IM NOT GETTING UP EARLY (unless you count 7.00AM as early)

Did anyone read an interesting articule (cant remember where unfortunatly) but it mentioned that constant "lack of sleep" over even a short period of time caused a whole variety of problems, chemically and hormonal.

I may have to change my PM exercise routine to a AM exercise routine due to work changes, so Im very interested in any advice you can give, on becoming a "early riser"

Thanks
Marion
:)
 
Hi Marion,

It does take some getting use to. I get up no later than 4:15am and get the workout in. I started doing this because I was taking night classes 3 nights a week and found that I didn't feel I was getting enough exercise in so I switched to mornings. For me I go to bed no later than 9pm during the week so I am getting around 6-7 hours of sleep. I don't have any kids so it may be easier for me to go to bed and get up.

I also do yoga/stretching and walking in the evenings (yoga/stretch one day, walking the next).

Hubby and I leave the house by 6am to go to work. Believe me there are some evenings I don't do anything but hit the couch and there are some mornings (they are rare) where I get up and just cannot do anything so I don't. Listen to your body and start slowly.

Rhonda
 
I use to love working out in the morning.I don't do it now b/c I have to be at work some mornings at 6,so I am not getting up at 3 when I have the evening to workout. When my job started at 9 I would get up early in the mornings.I felt so alive after a A.M workout.Sometimes it would catch up with me at the end of the day but I think my eating habits may have even been better b/c you start your day off right and you want to continue that way.
But it does take some getting use to.Its not easy getting up when its dark outside and the rest of the house is asleep.
Lori:)
 
Hi Marion!
I get up at 5:45 a.m. to workout from 6:00-7:00 each morning. I do not have any kids. I think that would present a great challenge to exercising in the morning.

When I first started doing this, I felt uncoordinated in the morning. However, it just becomes a habit and you do it. I think about it this way..."I would rather get up a little earlier and exercise than be overweight and unhealthy again!"

You do need to listen to your body though. Some mornings I get up and just don't feel like doing exercise, so I'll take it as a rest day and use the time to fold laundry, or catch up on some chores. Or, at this time of year, write out Christmas cards (I just gave myself an idea)!

Got to get to work now!
 
Hi Marion, I get up at 4am three days a week, other days around 5am. I've been doing this for a couple of years now, and still have difficulty getting up so early. For some reason my body does not get used to the early morning. I have tried to get to bed around 9pm, but that too doesn't give me enough time to get home, make dinner, clean it up, make my lunch/coffee for the next day, go through mail, return phone calls and get my son to bed and some light house keeping. Most nights I get to bed around 10:30-11. On an average I get 5 hours of sleep a night.
I'm interested in the article you mentioned about chemical imbalances due to lack of sleep. I notice sometimes I feel really crabby around 9pm (because I'm tired and there is still more to do before bed). Susan C.M.:D
 
Hi,

I get up at 5:15 and exercising at 5:45 (after coffee of course!)
It's a way of life for me. We usually are in bed by 9:30, so I get my sleep.

It is much more difficult when you have children to work around though.

I don't even touch the phone after work. Our dinners are extremely simple and I'm cleaning up while I'm cooking. Then I'm free for myself, DH and my dogs. If you are only getting 5 hours of sleep, I don't know how you function. Maybe you could enlist some help!!!
 
Actually, I used to workout in the morning (at 5:00 a.m.), but I have to leave for work by 6:30 a.m. now and am not willing to get up at 4:00. On the rare mornings where I don't have to go in so early, I'll still get up at 5:00 and do my workout. I find it easier doing it then than in the evening, because my daughter is still in bed until 6:30 a.m. and not under my feet or breaking my concentration with her constant chatter or requests for me to accompany her to the bathroom.
 
Hi Marion,

I get up every morning between 5:30-6:00 to start my workout-before the kids are up. For me, this is the only time. Having 3 kids, my evenings are spent checking homework, doing laundry, attending Booster Club or pto meetings. I try to go to bed by 10pm which gives me 7 1/2 hours of sleep. I also try to work out at lunch at a nearby rec center when my schedule allows, or simply go for a brisk walk. Good Luck

Diana
 
I love getting up early to workout. I'm usually up by 5:45 and working out by 6:30. I give myself 45 minutes to get fully awake and then I start my one hour workout. I'm in bed and asleep no later than 11:30 p.m. and usually have no problems getting up. I am quite tired by 9 at night, though.
Debbie in OH
 
i get up at 4:30 to workout before work. i even get up at 5:00 on weekends! since i'm already used to getting up early! lol!

i go to bed between 9:30 and 10:00.

i love working out in the morning (except that my garage is mighty cold since california has had unseasonable cool temps the last few weeks!)

i truly believe if i didn't exercise first thing in the a.m.... i wouldn't do it... i'd find excuses later in the day!

i feel energized (and accomplished) the rest of the day!
 
I've been an early riser since H.S. (many moons ago) and I have no problem working out at 5 or a little earlier. My dh teases me and says, I get the angels up. Before I ever started working out I would still get up early, 4:45 every weekend just to do laundry, shopping, etc. weekdays I would watch an old movie before getting ready for work. If I stay in bed any time later than that, esp. if I'm wide awake, I will get a headache.

Whatever you put your mind to do you will do it.

Haydee
 
I haven't had 8 hours of sleep a night consistently in years. Literally. Working nights for 18 years as an RN, being a mom, and just life, you know? I'm 47, I get up at 4:30 AM so I can workout and have it done with for the day (plus the research that says you MAY rev up your metabolism for the day that way - not set in stone and I know that!), and I feel fine, to tell you the truth. I think over time if this is what you do, your body adapts. Now that I work during the day, even though I only get about 6 hours of sleep a night, I'm working "NORMAL" hours and I actually feel more rested than I did working nights. You're chronically tired working the night shift. That's no longer the case with me. I like working out in the mornings because then I know it's done. I'm way too busy most evenings with school things for Nik to find time for a decent workout. This might not work for everyone, but I find it works for me. I think that's the bottom line. You have to find what works for YOU and YOUR lifestyle.

Carol
:)
 
At first it was difficult to get up at 5:00 every morning, but now it's just my routine. Actually, I never got up that early until my daughter was born and then I had such a lack of sleep anyway that getting up at 5:00 seemed like no big deal (since I was up at 11:00 and 1:00 and 3:00). I enjoy it now because it's kind of MY time. The house is quiet (except for me huffing and puffing and an occasional trip over the step because I didn't get my feet high enough to clear it) and I can get my workout done with no interruptions. Many years ago I used to workout after work and now I wonder how the heck I did it. Now by the time I get home from work I'm exhausted. As far as sleep goes, I usually get around 6 1/2 hours. But that seems to be enough for me. I used to always need 8, but like I said, after the baby you just kind of learn to function on what you can get. Thankfully, she's been sleeping through the night since she was a couple months old.

Katie
 
I get up by 5:45 and start working out by 6 in order to get an hour-long Cathe in. If I didn't do it then, I'd never get my workouts in as I have a 12 and 13 year old. I can't workout with people milling about. Bedtime is usually 10 pm - any later and I'm asleep on the couch.

It helps that I'm naturally a morning person anyway.

- Shopgirl :)
 
I am a single parent of two school agers...Working out in the morning works for me ...I get up @ 4:30 am, I change and do a little house cleaning ie laundry, lunch making, even sometimes cook dinner meal, that lets me wake up and I start working out no later than 5:30 and I wake my kids at 7, school and work @ 8:30. After work it is the usual homework, house stuff, but I sign off with my kids around 8:00 pm. They know if they need help or stuff from me...8:00 is pretty much the deadline. Then I have the last hour to myself to get my stuff done. It works for us. It is very chaotic if we get off schedule, as there is only one of me...If I dont work out in the am, I get to side tracked by everything and everyone else.

Hope this helps
 
Sam I Am you win my Hero Mom of the Year Award. If nobody has said You're Amazing lately, let me be the one to say you are.

All the best.
 
Thank you that is very nice of you to say. I guess I dont feel very supermom ish...cuz I am not a domestic goddess thing, but my 14 yr old son did say that when all his friends bag on their moms about being uncool , he pumps me up... Both my kids really pitch in and understand the "whole team" effort...they seem to really appreciate the extras ..so I couldnt ask for much more than that!!

thank you again!!
 
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