Exercise in the MORNING - How do you do it?

K

Kat25

Cathlete
Hi All,

I'm pretty new to Cathe, I have had her "All step video" and just recently bought the "IMAX 2" which includes the "Cardio and Weights" and I LOVE IT. I'm getting married this August and I have so little time to exercise in the evening - but at the same time I want to lose those extra 20lb I've been carrying for the past 2 years.

Ok, I'll get to the poit...........How do you people out there manage to get up in the morning and exercise? I have been setting my alarm clock for 5:30 since this Monday, and all I do is get up go to the bathroom and I decide that this is not going to work so I hit the snooze button. I honestly tried to get up, but once I do I feel so weak and sick ...........Does anyone else feel this way or is there something wrong with me?

Thanks

Kathy:+
 
Hi Kathy,

There is nothing wrong with you, so don't get down on yourself. Everyone has to find what works for them.

I personally have to work out on an empty stomach, so it has always been first thing in the morning for me. I have tried working out at the end of the day, but it didn't work for me. Believe me, i would much rather hit the snooze button!

Find the time of day that works best for you and soon it will just become part of your routine.

Good luck!

Tammy
 
Hi Kathy ~

I've been an early AM exerciser for years (I'll fallen off that schedule the past few weeks for various reasons but plan on resuming exercising in the AM this weekend).

One way I do it is by not asking myself if I'm going to. It's too easy to choose the bed! Start slowly by getting up and staying up. Turn some lights on, splash some water on your face, force your eyes to stay open and take in the light. The light tells your mind and body that it's time to be awake. Have a little something to drink and eat to combat the weak sick feeling. Don't over do it unless you have an extra 30 minutes between eating/drinking and exercise.

Start S-L-O-W-L-Y with a just a warm up, light routine, a cool down and some stretching! Keep it simple! You've already accomplished a lot just rising earlier than usual! Don't go all out with your routine until you're ready for it!

I would also suggest getting up at the same time in AM on days you're not exercising.

If all else fails, and AMs just don't work...perhaps you can squeeze in a couple of 20 - 30 minute sessions during the day. Anything is better than nothing. And there's no scientific evidence that an early AM session is more effective than a PM session.

Consistency is the key to success. Best wishes on the upcoming nuptials. Visualizing yourself in the best physical condition you can attain before the big day may serve as incentive for not crawling back into bed! Good Luck!

Let us know how things are going... YOU CAN DO IT!

~ Kim

"Welcome the challenge...Embrace it...Don't fear it." -Cathe Friedrich
 
I will tell you how I do it...if I didn't I wouldn't do it at all. I guess it helps that I actually like to work out. You really feel weak and sick in the morning? Maybe you need to go to bed earlier. Once I get my rear outta bed and brush my teeth, it's really not a problem. It is the best time of the day to exercise...but I am married with 3 young kids so that's the only time I have. Good luck!
 
HI there. I like Aregeson don't have much of a choice. With two lil' ones, a 40 min drive to work and a demanding job 5:00 am is the ONLY time I can commit. Trust me...I use to HATE getting up early. Before I had kids I could sleep until 10:00 every day if ya' let me.

Here's some pointers....
1. Get enough sleep!!!
2. Set two alarm clocks. I set one by my bed and one on the bathroom counter. (drives my hubby crazy but oh well!)
3. Setup your step/weights equipment before you go to bed (nothing is worse than to have to put it away, plus it makes one less thing you have to do in the morning)
4. Set out your workout clothes by the toilet. I usually change on the potty while I am still 1/2 asleep. Plust that way you don't have to look for anything.
5. Get your DVD all setup in the player!
6. Logon to Cathe while you are waking up. I do this often. Sometimes I'll come downstairs in the office and get dressed and logon to Cathe. Motivating as there are usually other Cathe fans doing the same thing! :+
6. Start SLOW like others said! Don't be so hard on yourself. Maybe set a goal to do it 1-2 mornings a week. Before you know it your body will be use to it!
7. Have FUN and enjoy the alone time! It is my favorite time of day!

Good luck!
 
Hey!

I can totally relate! I teach a step class every Wednesday morning at 5:30 AM and it's brutal, because a) I am not a morning person b) I'm in grad. school and usually study until midnight or later. c)It's dark at 5:00 AM, which makes me think these AM workouts are more for insomniacs, and isn't it more like a night workout? but I digress.

Here is what I do, I pop out of bed, splash my face with water and poke the contacts (feels like it anyway) into my eyes. I also turn on every light--the nightstand lamp, the overhead lighting--you name it. As for the weak feeling...I sometimes feel really hungry, like stomach growling hungry, but I hate eating that early in the morning so I usually drink some water and that helps.

In all honesty though, I think you have to pump yourself up for the workout, almost like you have to tell yourself I can't wait to get up so I can prove to myself that I can do this. If all else fails, make some sort of contract with yourself in writing, I got that from Oprah--she has one for her bootcamp. I put it on my refrigerator to keep my food company. kidding!

Good luck with your morning workouts! You are going to feel great when it's over!
 
I'm reading this as I sit here in a fog. It's just after 4 am. I'm soo tired. For me, it doesn't get any easier, and I've been doing this for a coulpe of years! Like what was mentioned above, there is no way I'd be able to spend an hour after work.

I have a little boy in daycare and I'd feel real bad if I picked him up made him wait an hour or so for dinner then have to go to bed shorthly thereafter.

I tell myself, "it's all in your mind, get up!" So, I come downstairs with a mug of coffee and log onto this site. I usually dont post this early though.

Lots of luck to you! Once days start getting lighter earlier, it may become easier.

Susan C.M. :D
 
I sometimes won't get out of bed in the morning to make my DH breakfast which can be as early as 4:30am. For me, I have never liked to get out of bed before 6:30am no matter what time I go to bed at night. So I don't know how everyone else is doing it in the am. Maybe you can try and push yourself and see if you can do it. Then from there just make it a habit.

Charlotte~~
 
Hi Kathy,

I don't know how these ladies do it! My idea of MORNING exercise is starting at 11am! lol Doesn't matter what time I get up! I am not a late sleeper as a rule. I get up at 6-6:30am for work during the week and hardly ever sleep past 8am on weekends but even so...to get up and exercise shortly thereafter? NO WAY!:p

In order to do this during the week, I'd have to get up like 90 mins earlier...that would be 5am at minimum! Should I laugh now? Depsite the fact that I don't sleep in late, I am not a morning person. I have tried exercising in the AM and it simply doesn't cut it for me. To make matters more difficult...I have to eat before I work out so that wastes even more time allowing food to digest before I start.

Needless to say, I work out at night...7-8 even 9pm at times. I do it after dinner and it works for me. On the weekends, depending on my day, I will get a work out in as early as say 11am but that's as good as my "morning work out" gets.:+

Best of Luck with everything!:)

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

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EDD: 05/19/05
 
I think it just takes a lot of motivation to get up at the crack of dawn (I get up at 3:30 - FREAK) and workout. My husband still can't get over the fact that I've done this for the whole 8 years he's known me. It also helps if you're a morning person, which I am. If you're not then you can keep trying, but might want to stick with afternoon/evening workouts!!:)
 
Hi, Kathy! Another point to consider is this: this week was probably NOT the best week to try a first-thing-in-the-morning exercise program, given that we vaulted into Daylight Savings Time this past Sunday and your body is probably having a time of it simply adjusting to the "loss" of an hour of sleep on the tail end. In essence, what you've been doing is getting up at what your body feels is 4:30 a.m. rather than 5:30 a.m.!

That said, it could very well be that you are simply not a morning person for working out. If that's the case, trying to exercise when your body simply isn't up for it may be counterproductive. Consider re-evaluating your afternoon and evening schedule to see if you can't restructure those.

I'll make a couple of suggestions for Cathe workout packages that might serve you well if you're time-challenged: the Cross-Train Express (CTX) series and the Timesaver DVD from the Body Blast Series. CTX is a six-workout system in which each workout is about an hour, and five out of the six include a cardio component, an upper body strength component (focusing on one muscle group each workout), and four out of the six include a core / ab component. The sixth workout, "Leaner Legs", is exclusively dedicated to leg and ab strengthening. The Timesaver DVD is a 5-workout melange of footage from cardio and muscle conditioning from her Body Blast workouts, and also include cardio, muscle and ab conditioning structured so that by time you've done all 5 workouts you've hit everything. That may be a great thing for you if you're time-challenged.

Never underestimate a Cathe-Fool's ability to offer advice - including ways to spend your money for you.

Congrats on the impending nuptials!

A-Jock
 
Hi everyone,
FitNut's advice would be similar to mine. She does a lot of the same things I do....set up the night before, log onto Cathe.com when I first get up. I get up 2:30 am every morning and am working out by 2:45 or 3:00 am. I usually like to workout on an empty stomach, except today...I was starving when I woke up, so I grapped a handful of Cheerios and a mini yogurt. It becomes so much of a habit, that I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my morning workouts. No interruptions.....plus I can't exercise at night,as I have insomnia and need to refrain from exercise several hours before bed.

Good luck with your morning routine.
 
I "second" a lot of the advice given above (ie setting up weights, workout and clothes the night before, going to bed earlier, etc.). Once you get over what I call the "two week hump," you will be fine. It takes your body that long to adapt to it and then "want" to get up and work out. Secondly, don't go back to bed, period. Get up, shut the bedroom door and don't go back. If you give yourself the option of a comfortable bed and an extra hour's sleep, you are setting yourself up for failure ;) Last, start off with workouts that you know and maybe take them down a notch. Don't expect to go full force like you usually do in the morning. At least, not at first.

As for weakness, I definitely have that issue, esp. with morning cardio workouts. I sometimes use either a full or half packet of energy gel, esp. when I have slacked off on AM workouts and am trying to get back into them. It is basically carbs and adds fuel to your workout, but the best part about it is that it is quick to digest and just enough to get you going without making you sick. Anything more than this will make me sick at my stomach. I know that others use raisins, other fruits, peanut butter, etc., but those options do not work for me. Also, try drinking a big ol' glass of water while you are dressing and see if that helps.

Good Luck :)
Christine
 
Everyone else has given you some great tips already, so I won't reiterate what's been said. I just want to give you a little encouragement - it can be done. You can make a habit of getting up early to exercise, and you can come to enjoy it and look forward to it! I get up at 4:45 every morning to work out and it's not always easy (sometimes I really really want to hit that snooze button and go back to sleep), but like somone else said, you have to pump yourself up for it, get excited about it. Lately, I've been previewing the workout I'm going to do the night before I do it, which helps me get psyched up for it. Maybe you could try doing this, if you have time. Watching a workout without actually doing it gives me the ability to focus on the form of each move and I can mentally picture myself doing everything just like Cathe (I don't actually do everything just like Cathe... yet!). So when that alarm goes off the next morning, and it's still dark, and DH is still snoring away - I remember my mental images and I jump out of bed (or crawl out of bed) telling myself "I'm gonna do it just like Cathe!". LOL!

Getting up early is a habit that has to be developed like any other habit. So just try to do it gradually and before you know it, you'll wonder why you ever thought it was so difficult. :D
 
I would love to be an early exerciser also. I know I could, but I have the bad habit of staying up too late. I usually go to bed around 11 or 12. I have 2 young kids, so at night, I feel free to watch TV, read, surf the net. I stay up too late in the process. My kids are my alarm clock.

I definitely think getting enough sleep the night before will help with the sick and weak feeling. My stomach actually feels upset, not hungry if I am sleep deprived. I think it takes discipline, and routine to make it a habit.

Good luck,
Lori
 
A-Jock is right on target about this NOT being the week to start your regime of getting up early to work out! I've been getting up at 4:30 am for the past few years and I have been horrible this week! I haven't worked out once in the morning because of the time change!!!x( If you can ever get yourself on that schedule, though, I think you'll be pleased. As a mom, I know that I work out much harder in the wee am simply because I don't hear the "Mama, can I have some juice" and "Mama, she stuck her tongue out at me!" I can't begin to guess how many times I have to pause evening workouts!!


Edited to add one more thing ~ my husband could live in an igloo in Alaska. He LOVES the house to be cold at night when he sleeps. In the winter, it's ssssoooooo tempting to stay under the warm covers rather than to get up on the cold hardwood floors! During the cold months, I make sure I dress in layers so I won't waste time while the furnace kicks on and the house warms up!
 
i'm really not sure "how" i do it.. except that i do it! lol! i've always been a morning person anyways... so now i'm just an earlier morning person! i KNOW i won't exercise in the evening.. oh.. i did a few times... but darned few! it's hard enough to get time on the bike after work.. much less exercise!

i get up at 4:30, turn on the computer, let out the dogs, weigh myself, check email, get dressed, start working out!

someone mentioned getting up at the same time on non-workout days.. i sorta do that.. i get up at 5:00 a.m. on weekends vice 4:30! even though i'm not working out (i ride my bike on weekends)

my personal opinion... just like with dieting or working out at all: you have to want to do it! noone else can make you do it but YOU.. if you have the motivation.. you'll find a way to do it!

-------------
cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
I'm with Wendymin on this one. Mornings are not good for me. My body is stiff, my joints hurt, my attitude is bad, and I need food. These are facts of life for me. I have been a morning exerciser a few times in my life, but generally I have a much better workout in the evening. I workout after the house has gone to sleep at night. If I feel good and want to go longer I can. I don't have any appointments or reasons why I can't at that point.

So, I do know how they do it, since even I have done it before. All the advise here is great for the logistics of getting your laces tied and started. I usually tell bargain with myself, by saying let's do it for 2 weeks or one month and see how it goes, then decise if I want to continue. But I think we all need to decide what works best for us.
 
Kathy-
I feel the same way. I also don't think that it's acceptable to give up sleep for exercise. I think that getting enough sleep is key to my fitness routine. (Also, the body manufactures some kind of chemical that helps keep you slim while you sleep. I can't remember the details, but can look them up for you). Also, to exercise right after waking up is asking your body to go from 0-60, which my body does not like to do. I like to wake up slowly. I also feel dizzy for a while after I first get up. I don't think there's anything wrong with you at all!

If you have enough time in the morning, can you eat breakfast and then workout? That's what I do on weekends, wake up slowly, eat breakfast, drink my coffee, then go to the gym. By then I feel great.

If not, here's what I do: Do most of my working out on Saturday and Sunday, about 2 hours or more each day. My DH and I make dinner for the whole week on Sunday by buying, washing and processing salad stuff. My DH makes bite-sized pieces of grilled chicken to go into the salads. When I get home in the evening at about 8 p.m., I spend a half hour working out, we throw our salads together in about 2 mins., then have dinner by about 8:30.

It's not perfect, but it's not bad either.

Hope this helps!
-Nancy
 
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