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?

[Tommie2Hottie]

I perfer to workout in the morning. Get it done and out of the way.

I do Crossfit at 7am and weight lifting during lunch.

Results keeps me motivated.

Good luck

[Jcamp]

I get up at 5am, drink coffee, wake up and get on the elliptical by 5:30. It's in my living room so I have no travel time to worry about. I do about 45 -50 min in cardio and peak heart rate zones. I like working out in the morning, I do so much better than in the afternoon when I'm tired from work! I know I'll feel better all day, that is motovation for me! I'm more relaxed and focused as well. I'm a substitute teacher... I REALLY need to be relaxed.

[shipo]

---

@Jcamp wrote:

I do about 45 -50 min in cardio and peak heart rate zones.

---

I'm in the same boat as you; most of my workouts are done in the so-called "Peak Zone", however, almost by definition, if you are working out for 45-50 minutes in your peak zone, much less an hour or two like some of us, your "Peak Zone" is much-MUCH higher than what the Fitbit software assumes.

[Nomad92]

Yes I do.

At the moment I am going for a 8 mile sometimes 12 miles walk every morning. I carry a very heavy infantry-rucksack and a camelbag.

It doesn't sound much, but it's quite hard wearing all this heavy stuff and keeping the same speed.

I personally don't motivate myself at all, I hate standing up this early and going out in to the wet and cold for a walk, but I just go for it. And when I am finally out, I start to enjoy it.

It just has to be done. In the evening I usually go for runs and my martial arts training.

I just keep myself busy. Working a desk job the entire way needs to be balanced out.

[Jcamp]

---

shipo wrote:I'm in the same boat as you; most of my workouts are done in the so-called "Peak Zone", however, almost by definition, if you are working out for 45-50 minutes in your peak zone, much less an hour or two like some of us, your "Peak Zone" is much-MUCH higher than what the Fitbit software assumes.

---

I like to keep my heart rate between 145 and 155, any higher and I find it hard to breathe. Btw,  I'm a almost 46 year old woman. I've lost 60 pound in 7 months and have 25 more to go! 

[shipo]

---

@Jcamp wrote:

---

shipo wrote:I'm in the same boat as you; most of my workouts are done in the so-called "Peak Zone", however, almost by definition, if you are working out for 45-50 minutes in your peak zone, much less an hour or two like some of us, your "Peak Zone" is much-MUCH higher than what the Fitbit software assumes.

---

I like to keep my heart rate between 145 and 155, any higher and I find it hard to breathe. Btw,  I'm a almost 46 year old woman. I've lost 60 pound in 7 months and have 25 more to go! 

---

Perfect, you know exactly what works for you and that's all that's important; stay in that zone, keep working out, and you might find you can push your exertion/BPM even higher and still be able to breathe.

In my case I can push my pace on a long run hard enough so that my "average" BPM is higher than my calculated peak (220-59=161), and by a long run, I mean like over an hour, sometimes over two.  Will I be breathing hard during such runs?  Yup.  Will I find it hard to breathe?  Nope.

[Jcamp]

---

shipo wrote:

---

Perfect, you know exactly what works for you and that's all that's important; stay in that zone, keep working out, and you might find you can push your exertion/BPM even higher and still be able to breathe.

In my case I can push my pace on a long run hard enough so that my "average" BPM is higher than my calculated peak (220-59=161), and by a long run, I mean like over an hour, sometimes over two.  Will I be breathing hard during such runs?  Yup.  Will I find it hard to breathe?  Nope.

---

Exactly! You are the first person not to scold me for losing so fast. Thanks! 😃

 I have been increasing speed and resistance (which I've almost maxed out). "Real" running is my goal, but joint/foot healing and strengthening have to come first.  Tell ya what, I feel great. I have my life back.

[resq387]

My wife is in a similar situation. She works 8-5 M-F and sits at a desk all day. What we do is crawl outta bed at 0630 and fumble through some breakfast and coffee and tea. Once she is ready for work we do a 15 minute stretch session. At work she does 1/2 km laps through the office utilizing 2 flights of stairs. At lunch we squeeze in an ab-doer workout for her. I know this won't be for everybody... but its some ideas. Good Luck.

[Jenna_smiles]

I sleep in my workout clothes!

[shipo]

---

@Jcamp wrote:

---

@shipo wrote:

---

Perfect, you know exactly what works for you and that's all that's important; stay in that zone, keep working out, and you might find you can push your exertion/BPM even higher and still be able to breathe.

In my case I can push my pace on a long run hard enough so that my "average" BPM is higher than my calculated peak (220-59=161), and by a long run, I mean like over an hour, sometimes over two.  Will I be breathing hard during such runs?  Yup.  Will I find it hard to breathe?  Nope.

---

Exactly! You are the first person not to scold me for losing so fast. Thanks! 😃

 I have been increasing speed and resistance (which I've almost maxed out). "Real" running is my goal, but joint/foot healing and strengthening have to come first.  Tell ya what, I feel great. I have my life back.

---

It sounds like you're doing all of the right things; that said, I'm feeling the need to offer you a little advice (it's free, so feel free to adopt it or not 🙂 ).  I am the co-captain of my company running team and am active in a local community running club and coach a lot of folks either new to running or returning to running after years of not running.  The following is one of my standard speeches to those I coach:

There is a syndrome which I call TFFFS, Too Fast, too Frequently, too Far, too Soon; folks who engage in this methodology of "building Rome in a day" run a MUCH higher risk of getting injured and being sidelined.  With TFFFS in mind, I am a staunch advocate of LSD training, Long Slow Distance, both for beginning runners as well as the vast population of intermediate runners.

The way I apply the LSD methodology for a beginning runner is as follows; if you are to the point where you can say, run two miles at a 12:00 minute per mile pace, instead of trying to run those same two miles faster, I advocate you slow to say a 12:30 pace and shoot for three or even four miles.  Once you get up to six miles per run, then start mixing in some faster paced miles toward the end of a run.  As an example, run the first four miles at a 12:30 pace, and then gradually dial up the pace to say ten minutes per mile for the last two miles.

This approach to training, pioneered over 60 years ago, has been well proven to yield superior results for runners in the early stages of training; speed, endurance, and injury prevention are all documented benefits.  I also practice what I preach; I routinely train at a 10:00 to 11:00 minute pace, but yet I race at a pace a little on either of seven minutes per mile for a 5K, and even sustained a 7:50 average pace for a half marathon I recently ran on a hot day.

Said another way, you don't have to train fast to be fast.

[BritMGR]

I have a commute that generallly takes 30-45 minutes and need to be at work by 7:00 AM.  I get up at 4:00 and workout for 60-100 minutes depending on how I'm feeling that morning.  

I can assure you if anyone had told me three years ago that I would get up at 4:00 AM to workout, I would have called them a liar.  

#1 - Start slowly.  I certainly didn't begin by setting an alarm for 4:00 AM.   I started by doing a week or two at 5:30 AM.  I worked out for 30 minutes and then hit the shower.  After my body got used to that, I kicked it back to 5:15 for a few weeks.  Then 5:00.  You get the gist.

#2 - No matter what - Get up and get moving.   Even if you tell yourself "I'm exhausted.  I'm just going to get up and walk a mile on the treadmill then go back to bed for a bit before I have to get ready."   Once you're moving, you start feeling it . . . I've promised myself a million times "Just do 20 minutes and you can go lay back down for an hour."  But once the 20 minutes were up, I felt like running faster/harder instead of crawling back in bed.

#3 - Lay out all of your stuff the night before.  I've even heard of people sleeping in their workout clothes and and just putting their shoes on when they get up.  Having everything laying there, ready to go, is far easier than waking up, pulling out some clothes to wear, getting dressed . . . . 

#4 - Don't jump in ALL at once.  Don't feel like you have to work out EVERY day.  Start getting up at 5:30 twice a week for 30 minutes.  Then maybe the next week doing it 3x a week.   Then try 3x a week at 5:15.   Slow and steady wins the race.

Good luck!!

[Jcamp]

---

shipo wrote:

It sounds like you're doing all of the right things; that said, I'm feeling the need to offer you a little advice (it's free, so feel free to adopt it or not 🙂 )....

Thanks! I agree totally. My dad, who's 75 yo, still jogs for miles in the sun/snow/rain 3 times a week.  It works for him!   I'm still jogging just a minute or so at a time. Kind of a walk/jog/walk..etc. My knee hasn't been bothering me, but my heel spur doesn't like it. A little at a time.