Early morning exercisers please stand up

[Kimenem]

I get up around 5am each week day and am working out by 5:15. Does anyone else do this? I just read in Prevention magazine that your risk of heart attack goes up 40% in the AM because of blood pressure and your blood being thicker AND because of partial dehydration...so if you exercise shortly after waking, you need to warm up thoroughly. I'm wondering if Cathe's warm ups would be sufficient.

 

[celestialtimes]

Wow! Really! I've been an early exerciser for 12 years. It's always been the first thing I've done to start my day.

I used to get up as early at 4 AM to get my workout done and out of the way.

I don't have to get as early now, but I still love to get it done first thing because it's so easy to put it off later in the day.

 

[Kimenem]

I know what you mean about things getting in the way. I do seem to have more energy in the afternoon but it's so easy to talk myself out of it. I like to know that at the end of the day, I can just come home and relax because I already worked out.

 

[PhyllisG]

Wake up, have tea, workout, walk the dogs then breakfast. I am usually up by 5:30 and working out by 6:00 a.m. If I leave it to later in the day chances are nothing will happen. I have been doing this for a very long time. My DH on the other hand is heading out to the gym at around 7 p.m and will be back at 9 p.m. Truthfully I don't know how he does this.

 

[Afreet]

Wake up, have tea, workout, walk the dogs then breakfast. I am usually up by 5:30 and working out by 6:00 a.m. If I leave it to later in the day chances are nothing will happen. I have been doing this for a very long time.

Pretty much the same routine for me! Out of bed a little before 4am, have some water and coffee, start workout by 4:30 or so, walk the dogs as my "cooldown," then shower, breakfast, and on the road before 6:30. My afternoons are too unpredictable - the only way I can be sure to get it done is to get up EARLY and make the time. I actually kind of like it.

 

[lauramangano]

Up at 4:50, coffee, water, working out by 5:15. I'm with everyone else that says that if I wait till later in the day, my workout doesn't get done. I do it in the am an it just sets my day off right.

 

[wgilchrist]

I'm up at 4:30a and working out by 5:00a..gotta get it in before the kids get up. I am 37yrs old and have been battling high blood pressure for the last 8yrs. I will certainly be mentioning this article to my dr. Thanks for the info.

 

[banslug]

Add me to the list....alarm goes off at 4:45 and I'm in the basement working out by 5:15. It's tough leaving the new electric blanket, lol, but I LOVE working out in the early AM!

Gayle

 

[kariev]

(standing up tall) i get up at 5 and have been doing this for the past 12 years. i have heard about the whole heart attack thing but took it with a grain of salt. its either workout at 5 or not at all which really could give me a heart attack.

 

[Denise R]

Yowsa! I've been getting up at 4AM (or a little earlier) for years to work out! I never feel bad or anything and I drink 3 cups of water during my workout to hydrate myself......

Hmm, which issue of Prevention was this in?


Denise

 

[dorothyrd]

Your chances of heart attack are greater in the morning....period. So I say exercise when it fits your schedule and because you are an exerciser, you are decreasing your chances of having a heart attack.

Now drinking my morning glass of water, and heading down to exercise at 5 am as I have for 20 years.

 

[morningstar]

I run at 4:00am with a 10 minute warm up. I wouldn't trust Prevention magazine to tell me how to tie my shoes right.

 

[Peaceful Rainbow]

I wouldn't trust Prevention magazine to tell me how to tie my shoes right.

I have to say that's my first thought, too. The magazine is half ads for drugs these days. I've been exercising in the a.m. going back at least 20 years now. Does is say who funded the study(ies), who participated, how they were conducted? Pre-existing conditions certainly warrant discussion with your caregiver regarding the safest way to exercise and which exercises are best, but, if your risk factors are low than exercising when it fits into your schedule seems the logical thing to do.

 

[Ly10up]

Add me to the early crew. 5:15 am coffee, 5:30 workout. Disc 13 today!! When I do sleep through I try to sneak to the gym at work, but it's just not the same as the early am sweatfest.

Echoing that later in the day just isn't that easy.

 

[MAYNARDSMOM]

I am also an early a.m. exerciser. Feet hit the floor at 4:45 am & hitting the "PLAY" button at 5am. This is what wakes me up & gets me going for my day. I LOVE doing my early am workouts, it's MY time for me. For me they woudn't get done if I left them till later in the day

 

[lvnascar]

You can add me to the morning exercisers. My morning starts a little different than all of you though. I get myself dressed and ready by 4:45, drink water and then walk the dog. While walking the dog I will eat a banana, and when I get home I'm ready to workout anywhere between 5:00-5:15 am.

 

[dr.mel_PT]

Another AM-er here!! I wake up at 5:15, have water & brush my teeth, then am hitting play by 5:30. Being able to check a workout off my to-do list for the day keeps me motivated to go strong during the workday. I also feel way more relaxed and productive. When I come home, I like to unwind and think about nothing, and hang out with the family. I usually take all these studies with a grain of salt. Next issue they'll probably be saying working out after work causes heart disease too.

 

[DeborahG]

I'm thinking that my risk of heart attack would be greater if I DIDN'T exercise at 4:00 a.m., because if I didn't do it then, I wouldn't exercise at all, and that certainly wouldn't be good for my heart!

Deborah

 

[Kimenem]

It was the December issue. The article was written by an MD who also wrote one of the South Beach books. I actually like the magazinbe overall. I think it has some good information. Anyway, thanks for all the responses. Just wanted to check and see who else was like me.

 

[michefit]

I know what you mean about things getting in the way. I do seem to have more energy in the afternoon but it's so easy to talk myself out of it. I like to know that at the end of the day, I can just come home and relax because I already worked out.

So true - I love sleeping in (6:30) but I always appreciate the "done" feeling of a workout first thing. Being overwhelmed at work lately - I have had a harder time talking myself into keeping my afternoon workout.
Ohhh - 5 am comes so soon! Anyway - I think that a 7-10 minute warm-up should be enough. I usually feel awake by the end of Cathe's warm-ups. What I don't like is a dragged out warm-up - I just want to get to the workout and get going.

Sometimes feel my body is just as sluggish in the afternoon (cold feet and stiff muscles) at times.