Help, I need advice from afternoon/evening exercisers

G

geojill

Cathlete
I have been a morning exerciser for years. For a long time I would do my workout around 5:30-ish and had no problems. This last semester (I'm a student and commute 35 minutes one way) I would get up at 6, have breakfast, and then work out just after 8am after taking DD to school because I didn't have a class until 1pm. This next semester I will have a morning class 3x a week and 2x a week I will be out of the house even earlier to get to my internship. I have been trying to get up at 5am to work out at 5:30, before DH & DD wake up, but it has been a very painful process. I have been dealing with sleep issues for the last 6 months and so getting up that much earlier is just wiping me out during the day.

I've been thinking of switching my workouts to late afternoon/early evening but I'm afraid I'll be too tired to work out, or that things will come up and get in the way. For those of you that work out later in the day and have families, how do you balance out your time? Do you work out before or after dinner?

If anyone can give me a little advice, I'd be much appreciative :)
 
Jill,

With the exception of the times I go to Cathes' club, I am an afternoon exerciser, I do this for a couple of reasons..

First, I feel alot more limber later in the day, I sometimes have a hard time getting all the joints in harmony in the morning.

Secondly, I try to get all of the things I need to do around the house out of the way first, so I can give 110% to my workouts. I notice that when I have to workout in the morning, sometimes my mind wanders to other things I have going on, and I sometimes lose focus.

I try to have an apple and cheese stick, some nuts, maybe a slice of pizza about 1 1/2 hours before my workout for fuel, and I always work out before dinner, because that's when Di and I usually have our protein for the day, so the timing is right.

The most important thing I can tell you is, to make the time your own, I look forward to my workout escape on a daily basis, don't know where I'd be without it..sometimes Diane isn't thrilled with my choice of times, but that's just too bad, this is the most impotant thing I do for myself daily, and it takes priority.

Hope that helped some,
 
RE: Help, I need advice from afternoon/evening exercise...

Hi Jill. I have been working out in the late afternoon for years. I have to get up at 4:30 to get to work, so getting up early to work out really isn't an option. I get home between 3:30 and 5, depending on how many errands I have to run, and workout before making dinner. Sometimes I'm dragging by that time of the day, but once I get started, I don't have a problem getting through a workout. A snack before I leave work helps too. I don't wait until after dinner. I know I'd be too tired by then. Good luck with juggling it all.
 
RE: Help, I need advice from afternoon/evening exercise...

Hi Jill.

Changing your work out schedule around like that can be tough and will take some getting used to but I'm sure you can do it. A dedicated Catheite can ANYTHING she puts her mind to, right? :)

Anyway...I was an evening exerciser for years prior to having my son and making the decision to stay home with him. I would do my work outs after dinner. I hate eating dinner late so I would get home from work at 5 and immediately start cooking. We'd usually be done with dinner between 6 and 6:30. I'd clean up and let my food digest a bit and would normally start my work out between 7 and 8pm. I worked out for about an hour. It was pretty easy for me to do this because I wasn't a mom yet and DH knew better then to mess with my work out time!}(

Now that I'm a SAHM I work out at the gym during the day and leave DS in the daycare room or work out at home at nap time and occassionally in the morning before he gets up. Once in a while I will still find myself needing to work out in the evenings for one reason or another and DH is more then happy to mind DS while I do it. There was a time that I was taking an evening class at the gym once a week. I would leave DS home with DH every time.

I know this can be easier said then done but you really need to make exercise a priority and your family needs to know how important it is to you. If your DH and DD will be around in the afternoons or evenings when you plan to work out then DH will have to mind your DD while you are working out. Even moms deserve "me" time and you have to make a point of TAKING it. It's normally not going to be handed to you. :)

I know I will be going back to work in the next few years and when I do, I will make sure DH knows that I will need his assistance and understanding as my work out schedule is going to change. I will not give up my work outs. I shouldn't have to and neither should you. :)

Be flexible with timing if need be but don't let yourself be bullied into not doing it at all!

JMO!:)
 
RE: Help, I need advice from afternoon/evening exercise...

I have always been an afternoon exerciser, mostly because of college. When I was taking classes, early morning was a great time to get work done and still is! I research until 5 pm, then work out after that. I'm a morning person, and my brain is dead by late afternoon, so I have to make the most of my mornings!

:)
 
RE: Help, I need advice from afternoon/evening exercise...

I don't have a family, so I can't address that point. But I've always exercised in the evenings, after work. I get home around 4:30, take care of my horses and then start right in on my workout. Lots of times I'm pretty tired from the day at work, but I've found out that a lot of this tiredness is more of a daze from sitting at a computer all day. My workout really helps to wake me up and makes me feel better. I always do it before I eat dinner. Once I sit down to eat, I'm done for the night! And like Robin, I find it helps to eat a little snack before I leave work. I usually enjoy some yogurt. Good luck!
 
Jill,

I have always worked out after work and before dinner. I get up at 4 am and have about 45 minutes to get ready for work and no time to workout. It has worked splendid for me!
 
The trick for me is to exercise the very minute I get home from work. I'm like SRP, once I sit down, I'm done! I truly admire fit mom, but I would never get up off the couch after dinner to exercise! There are plenty of times I walk in the door thinking ''no way'' but I tell myself to just do the warm-up. 99.9% of the time, I keep going.

I enjoy working out mid-morning or early afternoon the most, but that's not an option for me on workdays, as I already get up at 5:30 a.m.
 
Thank you all so much, it was extremely helpful. I figure if I can get dinner prepared early, then I can have DD put it in the oven for me so it will be ready shortly after I'm done working out. I'm also hoping that getting in a good late afternoon workout will help me sleep better at night. Again, thank you all for your insight, it was great :)
 
Jill,

When I first read your post I had to do a double take cause I thought I read that you were going to put your DD in the oven!:7 :7 :7
 
I, too, am an evening exerciser. I just cannot get it together in the a.m. to workout. I usually get home from work, let the dear doggie out, and immediately begin my workout. I am usually done by 7 p.m. We then cook dinner etc. I find this works out exceptionally well for me. Sometimes I don't feel like it, but I am like others in that I think it is the daze from being at work and on the computer all day. Once I start my workout I feel much better. I have to say that DH isn't always thrilled that I workout, but this isn't about him. It is about me, and I also know that he supports me 150 million percent. He just sometimes would rather spend the time with me than have me workout.

Good luck. You can do it!
 
This is a big issue for me. I have to be at work by 7:00, so I can't workout in the morning. I get home around 5:00 and workout right away. But we have things scheduled at night. Tae Kwon Do 3 nights a week, and my DD takes swim class 1 night a week. Dinner is usually something very easy and very fast. I haven't made a real meal since who knows when.
 
I'm not a morning person. During the week, I work out in the evenings after work. Sometimes I get home too late and I'm hungry - I want to eat right away... and then I have to wait and digest and then it gets even later. So I try to have a snack before I leave work so I am not ravenous when I get home.
- The key is not to come home hungry and workout immediately before you relax. And when you are really tired, remind yourself that working out gives you energy...
 
i am not a morning person, and anyway i am usually busy helping my son get ready for school as well as getting myself ready for work etc.........so during the week, i exercise after he goes to bed around 9. weekends are variable.

Sample:

heavy upper sat- (pyramids gym style etc)
heavy lower sun (same)
cardio mon
cardio tues
total body weights on wed- (power hour, muscle endurance)
cardio thurs
cardio fri

if i rest, it is usually monday

then i change it up after a few weeks, and do circuts 3x week

and then revert back to the first example
 
You've gotten a lot of repsonses but here is one more:

I am an evening/nighttime exerciser. I'm up at 5 to start my day (DH & I are self-employed and I'm also a SAHM.) Every once in a while I get a chanc eto workout in the day but generally I do it after DDs (ages 3 and 5) go to bed. We eat dinner around 5:30 or 6. They go to bed by 7:30. I do my workouts then, usually for about an hour. After that it's back to the laptop I go to work for a few hours. I try really hard to not work too much in the day while DDs are home. This schedule is hard (some days it seems impossible) but its the hand I'm dealt right now. Love it or leave it! I'll choose to love it. I get to be with my girls all day (when they're not at preschool and k'garten), run a business, work w/ DH, AND do kick-butt Cathes in the comfort of my own home! Good luck w/ figuring things out!
 
i haven't read above, but wanted to reply to your post. i have been dealing with sleep issues for a while and the one thing my doc told me was NOT to do any kind of strenuous exercise (stretching, yoga, etc. are fine) before bed. she said it will only make sleep problems worse. a couple of times, i have gone for a run two to three hours before i try to go to sleep and i have a terrible time.

i wake up between 0430 and 0500 to get my workout in. sometimes, i do workout in the afternoon as well but it's usually weights and stretch.
 
Hey everyone! I wanted to thank you all again for the great insight and to let you know that I finally got in an afternoon workout! I really enjoyed it and now I'm really hoping that it helps with my sleep tonight, too. I worked out at 4pm so it should not be late enough to negatively affect my sleep. I'll be sure to let you all know how it went! But I think I may be an afternoon convert :-D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top