How do you guys do it?

JennieR

JennieR

Cathlete
For those of you that get up early and work out. How do you do it? How do you get up early, work out, and function for the rest of the day?

I get up every weekday morning at 4 a.m. and don't get home till a little after 2 p.m. I come home, work out, take my shower and then I'm done. I have no energy left to do anything for the rest of the evening. My body aches, it's like I had all the energy just zapped right out of me.

Does anyone else feel like this?
 
I have been getting up at 5am to workout for almost 10yrs. There have been times where i would put it off and do it later in the day but for me my energy is done after i get home from graduate school. when i first started it was not easy. it took about 2 weeks for my body to adjust being physically active at such an ungodly hour! i was exhausted. But somewhere along the line i started to have more energy throughout the day from my early morning sweat session and i started having more energy during my workouts. this is not to say that everyone will eventually adjust. many peoples circardium rhythms just never adjust. since you are already getting up at 4 you just have to put it in at the end of your day. mabe you should workout immediately following work and change into your workout clothes ASAP! just tell yourself that you can push just one more hour. i know its hard but bottom line is if its got to get done its got to get done.
 
I am just naturally a morning person. I know that if I don't get up and get it done, it just won't get done. I have a 3 year old son, so I HAVE to workout while he is sleeping. So my options are either 5 am or 8 pm.

Sure, I am tired when I get home from work and really really tired after I put him to bed. But I am tired whether I wake up at 4:30 am or 6 am, and I have more energy for my workouts in the morning so that just works for me.
 
It's not that I'm not working out, it's that when I'm done working out I'm exhausted. I have no energy left to do anything for the rest of the day.

Most people talk about how working out gives them energy. It certainly doesn't do it for me.
 
Jennie-
We all have natural body flows of higher & lower energy....I too am naturally a morning person so I get up and do my workouts as early as humanly possible...that means I go to bed very early most days.
If I have to workout in the afternoon I make sure that I have eaten 100% clean that day as well as stay super hydrated... is it possible you are working out without having an afternoon lite snack about 45 minutes before?

The people I know who workout in the evenings always feel better after the workout IF they have eaten/hydrated properly throughout the day- the ones that crash can directly relate it to lack of quality nutrients & water.

Just some things to consider.
 
I've noticed that some people don't need as much sleep as others. There are even people who don't have to set an alarm to get up in the morning. I'm so jealous of those people. If I don't get my full 7-9 hours, I'm roadkill. On weekends, I sleep even longer. I couldn't imagine getting up in the morning to exercise, but I don't mind exercising in the evening. Everyone is different that way. It's like when my DH is eating roast beef and I'm eating fish. We look at each other and wonder "how can he/she eat that?". Different strokes for different folks. :)
 
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JennieR said:
It's not that I'm not working out, it's that when I'm done working out I'm exhausted. I have no energy left to do anything for the rest of the day.

Most people talk about how working out gives them energy. It certainly doesn't do it for me.
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Jennie,

I am with you. I am SOOOO not a morning person and I find it very difficult to get up in the morning to work out. I try to do it most mornings because I have found that my body responds better to a.m. exercise. I also do not find that exercising gives me energy. It also doesn't curb my appetite either. I guess I'm just weird:p!!

Carrie
 
I don't. I work out in the evenings. I'm NOT a morning person. I wake up at 7:30 am everyday though and there is no way I could focus or put the energy into working out in the morning. I am ready to go about 7pm and I feel it helps me sleep.
The thought of waking up at 5am sounds like a form of torture! my DH does it everyday though. he gets up at 4:30 most mornings cause he has to for work. I pity him. lol! I don't know how you guys even wake up at that time let alone workout!
 
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I've always worked out in the morning...It's just this year that I had to start getting up at 4:15...I used to get up at 6....but then we moved to the farm and my new schedule became what it is now. It took me about a month to get used to it. By the time I come home from work...I get off at 5 and generally don't get home till 6 or so...there's horses to ride or things to do...If I didn't get it done in the AM...I'd never get it done...

I joke and say...at 4:30, I'm still asleep and really don't know what I'm doing till after the warm up and by then I'm committed. ;)
 
Celeste - I live in Wellington, FL - a huge equestrian area - are you familiar? anyway i have a friend that lives about 30 minutes away and keeps her horses around here. Every morning she leaves her house at 4 am, drives to her horses and rides, drives home, works out, then goes to work. you remind me of her. I'm just in awe at the both of you!
 
I, too feel exhausted post-workout. But, judging from an informal poll of about 30 co-workers, I think I might have issues with my breathing (I can't get hardly any air through my nose) which causes sleep issues, resulting in chronic exhaustion. I used to wonder what was wrong with me, why I never felt great after exercise like everyone else. I have a whole mess of doctors appointments coming up (sleep study, ENT specialist, etc.) to try to find the root-cause of my tiredness. All I know is I make a change (increasing my thyroid medication, cleaning up my diet, Cardio Coach, moving workouts to morning...) and feel great for awhile, then the tiredness slowly sets in again. I would attribute it to my long hours at work but, of all the co-workers I polled (all of whom ALSO work long hours), I'm the only one who HAS to get 8 hours of sleep just to function. 10 would be optimal but there aren't enough hours in the day. Virtually all my co-workers say they feel great on 6 hours, and nearly all can easily get by fine on 4. 4 hours sleep and I'd be a zombie. Only one of those polled sleeps 7 hours. Everybody looked at me like I was nuts when I said I sleep 8 hours. No matter how many hours sleep I get I never feel rested so how could I feel exhilarated after a workout? My doctor believes most people on medication for depression really have a sleep disorder.
 
SirenSongWoman said:
I, too feel exhausted post-workout. But, judging from an informal poll of about 30 co-workers, I think I might have issues with my breathing (I can't get hardly any air through my nose) which causes sleep issues, resulting in chronic exhaustion. ......
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Have you considered Pranayama (Yoga breathing exercises)? You could get it done in a few minutes each day, or even a 4 to 10 minute session just thrice a week. I have seen it work wonders for people with all kinds of respiratory problems from allergies to sinus to asthma to more serious lung disorders. Learning it in person from a teacher in a few classes is best, but you can also learn from videos or books.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvdiMjSgItg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCK1jBfRVsE&feature=user

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEEAAJ5dWLY
 
SirenSongWoman said:
My doctor believes most people on medication for depression really have a sleep disorder.
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It's funny that you should say that. I've delt with depression for years and have been taking medication for it. I've also been taking Ambien CR for almost a year due to insomnia. There's no way I could function on 4 hrs of sleep. I'd love to get 10 but that's not an option. I seem to do o.k. on 8 hrs of sleep, but like I said, after I work out, I'm exhausted and have no energy left.
 
celestialtimes said:
I joke and say...at 4:30, I'm still asleep and really don't know what I'm doing till after the warm up and by then I'm committed. ;)
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That's exactly how I feel!

I think I would be exhausted in the evening whether I worked out in the evening or not. I know that if I tried to work out in the evening, it'd have a pretty good chance of not happening. Who knows, maybe try to switch to mornings for a while (a solid week or so, enough to get over the initial shock) and see if you feel different after a morning workout.

I think I'm physically exhausted after a workout, but mentally I'm pumped for the rest of the day and that takes over. I think I'm sort of emotionally dependent on getting that natural high first thing in the morning.

Of course depression and sleep meds are powerful things- who knows what else they're affecting in your brain. When you said Ambien I admit I thought 'bingo'. Of course I'm not a doctor or an insomniac, and if you turn into a total zombie without it obviously that's no good. Do you think it's a permanent condition, or do you think it'll ever be possible for you to wean yourself off of it?

I worked first shift (5 am) for years, so I understand what it's like when your 5 pm feels like everybody else's 9 pm. I don't blame you for feeling exhausted after working out that "late". ;)
 
I'm one of those people who doesn't need an alarm clock.:) I've always been a morning person and so it's not that much of a burden to get up early. Plus, the reality is, if I don't work out in the morning the day gets away from me and I run out of time. So I usually get up between 4:45-5am, pour coffee, write for an hour, feed the cats and chickens, and then work out at 6:30 or so.

On the flip side, I'm not much of a night owl. :)

Sparrow
 
JennieR said:
It's not that I'm not working out, it's that when I'm done working out I'm exhausted. I have no energy left to do anything for the rest of the day.

Most people talk about how working out gives them energy. It certainly doesn't do it for me.
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Hi Jennie,
Maybe you need to try some less intensive workouts and see if they leave you as exhausted. It sounds like you already have crazy days so an hour of intense Cathe type work may just be too much. I justify my ridiculously large workout collection by saying I need a variety of intensity so I have Turbo Jams, some older Kathy Smiths and Karen Voights, some easier Taebos along with my Cathe and Amys. I also walk when I don't feel like pushing play at all. You might give less intense workouts a shot for a couple of weeks and see how your energy levels are affected. Hopefully, you'll find you're more energized and less exhausted. HTH!
 
Jennie, how long do you workout? If it's an 45min to an hour, why don't you cut it down to 30 minutes for a while? A few years ago, I got in pretty dang good shape by working out for 30 minutes a day, 5-6 times a week.

In fact, now I'm trying to get back into shape, and I'm telling myself that 30 minutes a day is fine. Sure, if I want to do more I will, and I'm sure when my endurance builds up, I'll do 45 minutes, but even mentally, to even get myself out of bed, I have to tell myself 30 minutes is fine or I won't do it. I'll psych myself out if I think I have to do an hour. Half an hour of real exercise is better than an hour I promise myself I'll do tomorrow! :D
 
I agree--try working out for a shorter period of time or at less intensity. I find I'm tired right after I finish working out (most often in the evening, I'm not a morning person either), but about a half hour or hour later I perk up again. On days I do manage to get out of bed and work out in the AM I find I have more energy and I'm in a better mood all day. So, if your work outs are leaving you just exhausted, you may need to make some adjustments. It's all a balancing act, isn't it? Good luck on figuring out what works best for you.

anne
 
I'm in the "If I don't do it now, it won't get done" category. I aim for 5:30 every morning, though some days I push it to 6. On the rare day when I wait to workout, I feel like crap until the workout is done. I'm super energized post-workout. It's like a shot in the arm for me. I should mention that I need to get to bed by a certain time. Plus when 7:30 - 8pm rolls around, I'm yawning. :)

I think the suggestions to lower the intensity are spot on. If you're consistently dragging post-workout, your body might be trying to tell you something.
 
I HATE, HATE, HATE waking up super early in the morning. I don't sleep much, I'm lucky if I get 4 hours a night. Some things that have worked for me are that I set my alarm clock 30 minutes earlier a day so that I can slowly train to wake up early. I wake up at 5:30am 3 days a week to run in the mornings. At first it was REALLY hard but the other thing I would do is sleep in my sports bra and yoga shorts so all I would have to do is roll out of bed, wash my face, grab my ipod, and shoes and go. That cool morning air always wakes me up, but it does take me a little longer to warm up. I have more energy for the day when I workout in the morning but it is hard to train the body to get used to. For the most part I love Cathe's premixes because on my non running days I'll cut up my workouts and do 1 hour during lunch and 1 hour at night when the kiddies are asleep at 9pm. If your waking up that early no wonder your really tired by the time you get home. It just will take time to train your body to get used to it. Maybe you could work out during your lunch time?
 
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