9 'till 5 = lack of motivation

NewMeSM75

We leave at 6 am and return around 5:30 pm. I basically make myself. It's just not an option. It's a priority... I get up at 5 am. My goal is to get up at 4:30 to get 30 minutes on treadmill. And keep bowflex in the evening.

natewilson

Angelfire365 wrote: »

I completely feel you. Who the heck wants to work out after you **finally** make it home from eight hours of work. I'm at a desk job and I go home exhausted! Have you ever tried morning workouts? You have to get up a little earlier, but they're completely worth it. By the time my brain has woken up and joined the game, I'm already halfway done a workout. And you get to go home and get straight into Jammies!

I agree but when it's cold outside it kills me having to get up!!

hawks2488

I go in the morning. It's worth waking up at 4:30-5:00am. I have about a 40 minute commute in the morning to work and an hour after work. After work I don't want to do anything but go home, have a light dinner and plop down on the chair. Surprisingly my gym (I go to LA Fitness) is not very crowded in the morning. But at night after work FORGET IT... plus if you exercise in the morning it boosts your metabolism.

butterfli7o

Oh, I totally hear you. I'm finally home from work by 6pm, it's dark out, and I have my daughter and a household to take care of. But I just make myself do it. I tried before work, and that just ain't happening. I can barely get myself up on time to get to work, so there's no way getting up at 5 or 5:30 is happening.

butterfli7o

Plus my hubby was NOT happy having to hear that alarm go off at 5:30 and then listening to me running around the room to get dressed...no matter how quiet I tried to be.

ThatMouse

I'm in the "workout before work" club. I'll list my reasons below, and maybe you can find a few that might jog the idea for you that working out pre-work might not be as bad as you think (if it's possible, for some it's not feasible). I get out of bed at around 5:30AM, putz around at home until around 6AM, spend time at the gym from 6:30AM to 7:45AM including showering and such, and start work at 8:00AM. My gym is also right next door to my workplace, so I don't have a lot of travel between.

• At 6:30AM, the gym is sparsely populated. I don't wait for a squat rack or a treadmill.
• I avoid morning rush-hour, which would make my usual 15 min commute a 45 min commute for the same distance.
• I work out any upcoming or residual frustrations/stresses/anger/anxiety about the day or yesterday.
• I get more done before I get to work than most of my coworkers do before they're out of bed - it's a neat feeling.
• I'm more aware and awake at work.
• After work, I head home and, like hawks2488, I don't have to do anything other than sit down and relax.

As for working out after work, I have karate on Tuesday nights that I have to get to straight after work. I don't count it as a chore because I enjoy the sport, but here's a few reasons why I find it easy to get to after work:

• Stress-relief. Bad client? Annoying phone call? I can work it out with a punching bag or a sparring opponent.
• It's me time. I don't have to worry about anyone or anything else. It's me, my body, my technique and my teachers. Nothing else.
• I sleep like a log after a good work out and it helps me to feel refreshed in the morning - and ready for my 6:30AM workout.

allie_00p

Jackie0Marie wrote: »

I hate mornings. I'm not a morning person. I love sleep, love my bed, love staying up late because falling asleep isn't easy for me, but I WANT to be fit and I need to work out to do so.
I work 8-5pm. I wake up at 5:20am to stretch/jog, eventually that will turn into 5am. It's dark in the morning and I hate it. My alarm goes off and I just want to snooze, but I don't and I love that I get my a55 up and move. I love how I have more energy at work. I love that I can actually fall asleep now at night instead of laying in bed awake. I love the progress I am making with my running.

I still struggle in the morning when my alarm goes off, but I know I won't run in the evening, so I get up. I talk myself out of the excuses and get my head off the pillow.

This chick - she does the work (*)

knittnponder

I have the privilege of being able to stay home but my husband could relate to this. He's up at 4:30 am and works long hours. His motivation tends to me me. We go to the gym together to workout and sometimes I almost have to drag him but he goes. He isn't being forced against his will, he appreciates having a workout partner that keeps him going. Maybe find a motivating (and persistent) workout partner? And by that I mean we go to the gym together, start our workout together and then we split up to do our own thing so it's not like you have to hold hands all evening or anything.

AliceDark

I work out before work now, but when I used to go after work, I would change into my gym clothes and shoes at work and go straight to the gym. I feel really silly wearing my gym clothes just to sit in traffic, so it would make me more likely to go. I can't go home and then go to the gym later, because once I'm home I'm staying there.

segacs

Yeah but to wake up at 5:30am what time are you going to bed every night? I usually go to sleep around 1am. If I had to move my bedtime back to 9 or 10, I wouldn't get all the things done that I usually do between 10 and 1.

Also, if I work out on the way home, I can go home, shower and change. If I were to work in the mornings, I'd have to go back home and shower and get dressed and do my hair and makeup for the day, or else I'd have to carry all my stuff with me to the gym, which is a royal pain in the butt. Just wash n' go might be an option for men, but for most women -- especially those of us who have to put real effort into looking business-appropriate -- it's just too rushed to try to do all that in the morning. I usually shower the night before to cut back on morning readiness time.

I'm just saying, it's a choice. It has to work with your schedule and biological rhythms. I personally have no problem going to the gym on the way home or doing a workout in the evening.

It's like calories: You can eat them at whatever time of day works for you. There's no magic about breakfast, just as there's no magic about the morning workout. Find something you're likely to be able to stick with, and do that.

avskk

Yep. This is why I work out before work and/or at lunch in winter but save it for the evenings in summer.

azulvioleta6

I bet you would feel better about everything if you got more exercise.

My strategy is to go DIRECTLY to the gym after work. Do not stop, do not eat, do not go shopping--get the exercise done so that you can do other things with the rest of your evening.

FitWarrior7

Workout before work...win.

SteelersFan7

adge1475 wrote: »

I work 8am-5pm. I go to bed at 8pm. I get up at 4am to go to the gym. I get a lot more done in the morning with fewer distractions. I can't work out after work either; just can't get focused and the gym is too packed. It's definitely not for everybody, but that's just my priority. I also have the luxury of not having kids? I'm assuming kids make it harder for some people to work out after work?

This is how I make sure I get my workouts in. I'm far more motivated early in the morning than I am in the evening. Plus, I have school that I'm dedicated to in the evening.

brightresolve

If I go home, it's all over. Hence gym. At least two days a week I have a date to meet my workout buddy at the gym after work. The rest of the time I have prearranged with significant other to work out and be home at a specific time, and if I'm early he may not be back from HIS run yet!

Building in accountability and going to a special place where everyone is working out = consistency for me.

radiosilents

I am totally NOT a morning person and find that working out after work and a small meal works really well for me. During the week I do that once or twice and then on weekends the issue is moot and so I try to get good workouts in both Saturday and Sunday.

But anyway, I just set my mind (and my partner's) that I am going to the gym later. After I eat, I put on my exercise clothes so that I am ready to go once I've digested a bit. This routine works really well and it doesn't cut too much into time at home and other stuff I have to do (I have a 9 to 5 job AND and online teaching job that requires an average of two hours a day most days – I am BIZEE!)

You make time and effort for the things that are important to you.

radmack

natewilson wrote: »

Is it just me, or does working 9 while 5 dampen all motivation to come home and work out?? Going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark gives me zilch inspiration to come home and get my work out clothes on all I want is my pjs!! Does anyone feel the same and how do you get you *kitten* in to gear??

I workout before work. It is a drag at first getting up but I feel better throughout the day. After work, I never seem to feel like working out.

Athos282

It certainly can, which is why I workout in the mornings when I"m on that schedule. I've switched to a 7-3 gig and find it much easier to stop at the gym on the way home. It's all about finding something that works. If doing it after work doesn't work, do it before. If that doesn't work, go for a walk during your lunch break.

If you're going after work, just always take your gym bag and have it in the front passenger's seat. Seeing it reminds you that you committed that morning to do your workout, so just do it. You'll never regret the workout you finished doing (usually).

If you decide to switch to mornings, have your workout gear ready when you go to bed. Don't leave any room for excuses. Sleep in your workout clothes if you have to.

I also like the workout buddy idea. Motivating each other can be a great help, I'm sure.