early morning workouts

kariev

Cathlete
Do you all feel like after a while, early morning workouts start to wear you down? I've been finding lately that getting up at 4:45 is just killing me. Even though i like getting my workout done, i feel that it just exhausts me for the day and its just been harder and harder to get going. Plus i feel so rushed to hurry up and workout so i can leave the house on time. I'm thinking of switching to after work but i'm afraid that other stuff will come up and i will skip it.
 
Hi Kariev,
I love the feeling of getting my workout over first thing in the day - but with a full time job and three little ones - life does wear you down. I find I can keep up the morning workouts for about four days in a row and then I need to grab some extra sleep for a few days and switch the time. Sometimes I miss my workout and then it becomes a rest day - but I am more determined to get back at in again for a morning workout. A break is definately a good thing (change of time) to help you get some energy. Hope this helps.
 
I so agree

I have been getting up between 4:30 - 5:30 am to workout for the past 7 years. I decided 7 years ago that if I was going to lose the 25lbs I needed to get up before the kids and "life", so I didn't have any excuses. Well it worked and I still do it. But I have to say that there are times when I don't even feel like I'm getting a good workout becasue im tired. I feel like I am always playing a scheduling game with myself. I try to get up really early, only 3x a week and then I try to do my weekend workouts at about 7 or 8. I love to workout and I never want to get heavy again, so I think thats what makes me keep at the early times. I know for sure that if I were to say I'd do it everyday or even most days any time after 3, something would inevitably come up and I'd end up not working out. It's a struggle, but one thats worth it...I'd say just try to do a few days early and then play with the rest...good luck
 
I´ve been doing the early morning thing for years...since my 3 were babies (and now they are 22,21,17 :)) There are days that I miss, but like you said usually something comes up in the pm and it is hard to get the workout in, unless I purposely schedule it. I do take rest weeks and find that those ams when it is hard to get up it´s usually my body telling me that it is time to rest. I also make sure that I am getting 7-8 hours a sleep.
 
I try to get my workout in at midnight. Waking up at 7am and having wo done for the day makes me feel great. Only 6 hours sleep but I sometimes get nap when grandaughter takes her nap. Even when I get it done earlier I say it is for the next day. Some how it seems to work better than when I would try to work out in the morning and keep putting it off. I was always too tired to wo in evening. Makes no sense but it works for me.
Joan
 
wow! all of these posts make me want to keep pushing forward with my a.m. workouts. so many of you ladies do it and have way more busy lives than i do. i think i'm just trying to talk myself out of it and so what if i have to go to bed by 9. this makes sure that i get enough sleep for the night. how many of you ladies get up before 5?
 
I get up at 5:00 or slightly before. I try to be asleep by 10pm, and I try to catch up a little on weekends (but still try to get up early and get my workout done before the kids get up). And of course, every so often if I'm completely wiped out like it sounds like you are, I sleep in and skip it. Probably once a month or so I do that -- not very often, but it helps. Keep trying!

-Beth
 
This may sound crazy but when I started doing early morning workouts (a while ago now!) I soon realized that I needed to eat more throughout the day to stave off that weariness. Of course regular fatigue is going to happen: if you get up at 5 by 9 pm you've been up 16 hours! But I manage to keep the drained feeling mostly at bay by chowin' down throughout the day.

HTH!

Sparrow
 
I get up at 3:30 and am working out by 4:30 for about an hour and half, maybe a bit more.
I enjoy the quiet time of the morning. There are no interruptions and it just helps me with my day. I do go to bed early, around eight - eight thirty. I have been doing this for seventeen years. It just works for me.

Karen
 
I also get up early (3:30) and workout for about an hour + or - 15 min. I've been doing this for about 2.5 years and I admit that toward the end of the week, I feel run down (not enough sleep - 6hours on average per day) and sometimes I hit the wall on Thursdays. If it were possible for me to go to sleep at 8pm I'd probably be fine. I don't think it is the getting up early as much as the sleep deprivation. Something has to go and right now it is sleep... Water helps, eating right definitely helps, and extra sleep makes a ton of difference. Sometimes I take a day off (normally during the week) just to get 1 more hour of sleep. ;)

Still, over all, I think getting up is the key to doing well (for me).
 
I get up at 5 to workout for 5:30 - funny what Sparrow said about eating more during the day - the days I am tired that really seems to be true. Lately work has been stressful and I come home zonked - my DH says - "I thought exercise was supposed to give you more energy" It does - just some months and certain times of the month I am out of my "groove". Anyway - nothing beats the feeling of an accomplished am workout. It's always the first 15 minutes I fight myself to go back to bed. Whenever I try to go back to sleep I lay there thinking how else I will fit in the workout and all the planning and re-shuffling wakes me up and drags my butt outta bed! Once the clothes are on... though I am ready to go!
 
I get up at 5 to workout for 5:30 - funny what Sparrow said about eating more during the day - the days I am tired that really seems to be true. Lately work has been stressful and I come home zonked - my DH says - "I thought exercise was supposed to give you more energy" It does - just some months and certain times of the month I am out of my "groove". Anyway - nothing beats the feeling of an accomplished am workout. It's always the first 15 minutes I fight myself to go back to bed.


Whenever I try to go back to sleep I lay there thinking how else I will fit in the workout and all the planning and re-shuffling wakes me up and drags my butt outta bed! [/B]Once the clothes are on... though I am ready to go!

The above statment is soooo me on the days i don't feel like getting up.
 
If it doesn't happen first thing in the morning, it doesn't happen. I get up at about 445 am, workout from 530-630 or so, in bed by 9 or 915 at night. On the weekends, I still get up early but usually take a nap when DS does to catch up a bit on sleep.

Early am workouts are not going to work if you are sacrificing sleep, IMHO.
 
I get up at 4am for my workout, and I love it. My workout is logged in for the day and nothing or no one can take it away from me. It gets my day started off right and If I squeeze in a mile or two on the treadmill in the evening it just a bonus. I am definitely in the bed by 9 and off to wonderland by 9:15-9:30. I know exactly which tape I'm going to use, my workout clothes, sneakers, water, post workout protein shake.....everything is ready for me to just grab and go...and I definitely make sure my work clothes and lunch are set out the night before. The last thing you want to do is waste time in the morning with stuff like that.

My question to you ladies is this ...... are you working out on an empty stomach or do you take time for a protein shake or something else light? Also, are you taking any supplements? I usually take NO.Explode, I definitely feel like a need a little something to help me get the best workout I can.
 
I get up at 4am for my workout, and I love it. My workout is logged in for the day and nothing or no one can take it away from me....I know exactly which tape I'm going to use, my workout clothes, sneakers, water, post workout protein shake.....everything is ready for me to just grab and go...and I definitely make sure my work clothes and lunch are set out the night before. The last thing you want to do is waste time in the morning with stuff like that.

My question to you ladies is this ...... are you working out on an empty stomach or do you take time for a protein shake or something else light? Also, are you taking any supplements? I usually take NO.Explode, I definitely feel like a need a little something to help me get the best workout I can.

This is exactly what I do. I'm up at 04:00 workout out at 04:30 and leaving the house at 05:10 to train clients at 05:30. Thus, I choose to have my bags and files packed in the car so all I have to do is turn off the DVD/TV and hop in the car--and grab my meals! I usually train for about 30 minutes after my clients in the morning as well and possibly later in the day. On the weekends, depending on what time I have clients, I sleep in for about two hours and get in a full workout all at once. I know myself--the longer in the day I wait, the less likely I am to do the workout.

I work out on an empty stomach except for coffee and my vitamins. However, when I sleep in on the weekends (like today), I have something small like a bowl of pumpkin that I cooked last night. Now I'm off to do Cardio Kicks and PS Chest.
 
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I used to feel worn out by my workout, regardless of when I did it. That's when I decided CONSTANT change to my workouts would probably be the best medicine - and it was. However, if I had to drag my butt out of bed at 4:45am to work out I wouldn't. I am not a morning person and the very thought makes me want to burrow under the covers RIGHT NOW. I don't know how anybody does that.
 
I love this thread! Thanks so much for posting. This thread is sooooo motivating! I wanted to know how long you ladies workout for in the morning and what does a typical week of workouts look like for you?
 
KarieV-

Is there anyway you can split your workout up where you do cardio in the AM and then maybe weight training later in the day?

Fortunately, I'm lucky enough where I don't HAVE to get up early to workout every day, only a few times/week. However, I find that if I can get part of it done early, I gain that much time in sleep and then do the rest later in the day.

I usually do my cardio early ( my rule of thumb is to get what you like least done the first) and then weights later.

Lynn M.
 
Do you all feel like after a while, early morning workouts start to wear you down? I've been finding lately that getting up at 4:45 is just killing me. Even though i like getting my workout done, i feel that it just exhausts me for the day and its just been harder and harder to get going. Plus i feel so rushed to hurry up and workout so i can leave the house on time. I'm thinking of switching to after work but i'm afraid that other stuff will come up and i will skip it.

I get up at 2am 6 days a week and its really starting to take a toll on me, but I know if I don't get it done I wont have time, I have five children and run a daycare out of my home. I use to try to get up a bit later on the weekends but ever since my kids have been playing club soccer and regularly play in tournaments I get up even earlier about 1:30am to get my workout done, clothes ready, clean house, and make sure they have breakfast because we have to leave our home by 6am. For example Friday and Saturday my kids played on a Thanksgiving tournament and bothe Friday and SAturday they had early morning game we where at the soccer fields from about 7am till 7:30pm Saturday bit later my youngest son had a game at 7:30pm. No games today Yeah!!!!
 

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