Morning Workouts

[SynCity]

Does anyone work out before work?

If so what motivates you to get out of the bed and do it?

I work a 8-5 Mon-Fri weekends off desk job. I find it really hard to get out of the bed and just do it. I'm typically in bed no later than 9:30 and I still have a hard time waking up in the morning to workout 

Any useful tips? Or Suggestions?

[Melissa356]

Thanks Corney , I only walk on the treadmill I used to run but can’t do it now because I am out of shape. The elliptical does give me a really good workout, I can’t do it for more than 20 minutes at a time which probably means I need to do it more often.

[Corney]

Melissa, on my Precor I set the ramp at level 3 and resistance at 6. I average 120 steps per minute.  I started at 20 minutes and worked up to 45 minutes which includes a 5 min cool down. I average 4900 steps during that time but my Fitbit only registers half that because my machine doesn't have movable arms, half the time I hold on to the rails and half the time when I don't my arms swing free.

[SunsetRunner]

This is some practical advice on getting up earlier than you want. When your alarm goes off, take several very deep breaths and let them out. Then drink as much water as you feel like you can, 2 or 3 glasses. I have a large bottle of filtered water right by my alarm clock, which I fill prior to going to bed. 

If your a praying person, ask God for help.

Remember, willpower gets easier the more you utilize it, so the more often you manage to get up on time the easier it becomes. Also if you sleep late on the week end it might make it harder to be consistant during  the week. 

If you work with the time you get up with, moving it a few minutes either way, that may be helpful. The circadian rhythm dips and rises at different times, so getting up 10 minutes earlier, may be better for you.

[Corney]

There is an excellent article on the internet by Dr. George Sheehan, where it talks alot about will power.  You are the master of your body, only you can improve it if you have the will power, this includes eating healthy and exercise.

[Melissa356]

Thank you I'm going to check it out I need to get re-motivated!

Sent from my iPhone

[Melissa356]

Great post thank you

Sent from my iPhone

[savanahrae2269]

I work weird hours.. Mondays and Thursdays = 10:30-6:30

and Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays I work = 2:30 -6:30

Mondays and Thursdays I usually don't work out in the mornings because I dispise getting up. I have a desk job but try to get up as much as possible.. if I haven't hit 9,000 steps or more I will try to work out for 30 minutes when I get home.

I always do morning work outs on the days I go to work late. I like to do 3 mile walk work outs.

[cartele22]

I can't get up either, so I found the stairs and I walk up and down them a couple times a day, then go to the gym after work. It really helps to be active throughout the day.

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[Corney]

Years ago I started running at 4:30 in the morning before work so it wouldn't interfer with time with my 2 Boys.  I've always been a morning person and I still get up early to wotk out.  I found out that after work there were too many obligations that would get in the way of running.  It's good that you have motivation to workout after work.  I just found that my morning runs gave me a chance to plan out my day, plus the morning air was less polluted and it was uaually less windy.

[cartele22]

True that is how I was when I was in California. Living in New York I just
cant get up. Well since I moved farther from the gym. I like wallking the
stairs it has really helped me loose alot

Best,

Lyndia Carter

[robguitar]

I get up at 4 AM to go to the gym. It's the only time of day where I won't have a conflict. However, if I don't sleep well I don't go. It wrecks my day. Then I wind up feeling guilty and it puts me in a bad mood.

[sketchdoll]

I do my cardio workouts in the morning before I go to work. I also work an 8am-5pm office job. I found that if I didn't get my workout in before I went to work, it just wasn't going to happen. When I get home after work I'm usually starving and I have to cook dinner and then I just don't want to do anything after that. 

I'm not a morning person at all, but that is slowly changing! For me, I started slowly getting up earlier and earlier. So for one week, start waking up maybe 15-30 minutes earlier then you normally do. Then gradually make your way to the time that you want to wake up at every morning.  I usually wake up between 5-5:30am now.  It helps that I have an incredibly eager cat who nibbles my eye lids and nose to be fed. His internal clock is crazy accurate and since I feed him at 5:30 am every morning...well, he keeps me accountable, that's for sure! 

My cardio involved running, but I've been doing my early morning runs before work on my treadmill. I would love to run outside, but it's pitch black and that makes me nervous.  If anyone has any suggestions to running outside in the dark, I'm all ears. On Saturdays, I do my run outside, but after the sun is up.

Another thing that motivates me to exercise in the morning is I love afterwards when I get to sip my coffee and watch the sun rise ❤️  And since I'm not a morning person, I find waking up a few hours before going into work, I'm actually in a better mood!  It really makes a difference in my energy levels too!

If you can manage getting up and working out in the mornings, you won't regret it. Just remember, it takes about 30 days for a habit to be made, so you won't enjoy it at first, but it's worth it in the end!

[shipo]

I am definitely NOT a morning person; that said, three years ago my wife and I, now "empty nesters", sold our house and downsized into an apartment.  Not just any "apartment" though, ours is a "caretaker apartment"; the "caretaker" component being taking care of eleven horses.  If I miss my 5:00 alarm I'm awake by 5:10 due to the racket I can hear them make when they haven't had their morning grain yet; motivation enough I guess.  🙂  As for the "Morning Workouts"; I figure between moving those brutes between the barn and the pastures, pitching between six and eight hundred pounds of droppings per day, plus tossing around hay bales and grain bags, that counts as my cross training.

My wife is totally a morning person; she gets up with me, makes some coffee, putters around a bit, and then heads out for a run about 7:00.  I'm a runner as well but I hate running in the mornings, so I usually hit the local trail network on my way home before bringing the horses back in from the pastures and feeding them their evening grain.

[shipo]

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@sketchdoll wrote:

My cardio involved running, but I've been doing my early morning runs before work on my treadmill. I would love to run outside, but it's pitch black and that makes me nervous.  If anyone has any suggestions to running outside in the dark, I'm all ears. On Saturdays, I do my run outside, but after the sun is up.

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Running in the dark:

My wife and I both run in the dark during the winter months; I use a bright LED headlight and a blinking reflectorized vest, she uses hand held LED lights and a vest. 

[BWright1175]

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@sketchdoll wrote:

My cardio involved running, but I've been doing my early morning runs before work on my treadmill. I would love to run outside, but it's pitch black and that makes me nervous.  If anyone has any suggestions to running outside in the dark, I'm all ears.

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If you're nervous because you can't see where you're going as well, and others can't see you as well either (such as those in cars), then as @shipo said, run with lights and wear reflective clothing.

If it's more a matter of being nervous about your personal safety, i.e. someone taking advantage of you being alone in the dark, then I'd point you to my profile picture. 😉

[Mukluk4]

There are far better ways of personal safety than running around with something that jeopardizes the safety of others.

[BWright1175]

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@Mukluk4 wrote:

There are far better ways of personal safety than running around with something that jeopardizes the safety of others.

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Do you drive?  Traveling at high speeds in close proximity to hundreds of other people in a machine that weighs thousands of pounds puts more people in jeopardy than a holstered firearm which is only a danger to anyone in the rare instance that it may need to be unholstered.

Guns are not the devil.  They are tools that can be used if needed to protect one's self.

[Mukluk4]

Car and Gun are two completely different things.

You can see my car coming, you can't necessarily see the gun you are packing.  

Cars are also limited to outdoor areas while your gun can be in a school, church, mall, movie theater, or wherever you may become unhinged.  

[SunsetRunner]

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@SynCity wrote:

Does anyone work out before work?

If so what motivates you to get out of the bed and do it?

I work a 8-5 Mon-Fri weekends off desk job. I find it really hard to get out of the bed and just do it. I'm typically in bed no later than 9:30 and I still have a hard time waking up in the morning to workout 

Any useful tips? Or Suggestions?

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I work out early mornings.  I either run or do hill climbing  on treadmill , or I do elliptical for one hour.  That's in addition to 20 minutes wieght training.     Doing cardio on an empty stomach burns more calories.  That's what keeps me motivated because it's working for me.   

[BWright1175]

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@Mukluk4 wrote:

Car and Gun are two completely different things.

You can see my car coming, you can't necessarily see the gun you are packing.  

Cars are also limited to outdoor areas while your gun can be in a school, church, mall, movie theater, or wherever you may become unhinged.  

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 And there's the obvious anti-gun bias, so continuing the discussion is most likely pointless.. however, I'll go one more round.

There are numerous things on your car which can go wrong.  A blown tire or spring can cause you to suddenly change direction, crashing into someone else's car or driving onto a crowded sidewalk, through a storefront, etc.  Brakes can fail causing you to blow through an intersection, miss a turn, etc.  Or someone else's car may have issues, causing them to crash into you, in turn causing you to crash into someone else, etc.  Maybe you have a seizure or sudden health issue causing you to no longer be in control of the car.

The only thing that would cause my gun to fire is if I purposely unholstered and fired it.  And that would only be in an instance in which I needed to defend myself (or someone else) against a threat of death or imminent bodily harm.

And a final note, not that it likely matters... but those private citizens who are properly trained and licensed to carry concealed firearms are actually more law abiding than even police officers.