sleeping in vs. Getting up to workout

IZackV13

"Early to rise and early to bed, makes a man healthy, but socially dead."

I'll take Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise for $1000, Alex!

Plus, couldn't disagree more. You can still have "splurge" nights and then the requisite sleep-in-hungover-as-heck mornings from time to time. Anything more than occasionally makes you well...pitiful?

ksy1969

Ok,In the past I have gotten up once or twice and loved the way i felt all day when waking up to exercise.... But I do love my sleep!!!!! How do I win this battle?

Go to sleep earlier. ) Not only do you feel better for getting it in first thing, you will live a healthier life in the long-run.

"Early to bed, early to rise leaves a man healthy, wealthy & wise."

^^ This

^^^ I 100% agree with the above posters. I was once like you. I would only work out in the afternoon and missed a lot of workouts. Then my wife convinced me to start trying mornings. I am in bed by 8:30 or 9:00 and up by 5:00 or earlier depending on what I am doing for a workout that morning. Depending on how quick I fall asleep I get my 8 hours in, which is what most experts recommend when you are exercising. I am now to the point I am waking up some days before my alarm goes off. I never did that before I started working out in the AM.

bwogilvie

Adequate Quality Sleep is the Number 1 priority here.
If I got enough sleep, then I wake up, roll outta bed, and begin exercise
:-)
If I didn't have enough or quality sleep, I sleep in, definitiely.

This is important. Inadequate sleep has been linked to a number of health problems--including gaining weight. If you want to get up early, you need to go to bed early.

The trick is arranging your life so that you're ready for bed 7-8 hours before you intend to get up. A study at the University of Colorado Boulder found that a group who went camping for a week spontaneously started getting up earlier; they were not allowed to use artificial lights or light-emitting devices. That caused their pineal glands to start emitting melatonin earlier in the evening, making them sleepier.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-camping-circadian-clock-20130801,0,3850412.story

I'd like to try something similar, if I can get my wife on board: eating dinner a little earlier, turning off the TV/reading light earlier, and getting up earlier.

elainecroft

I try to go to bed early and get up early, and feel like my days are more productive because of it. But if I don't make it to bed on time, its usually a 50/50 shot whether I will get up and workout. These days I'm trying to decide consciously "I am going to sleep in" vs. just hitting the snooze though.

peachfigs

Get more sleep at night instead! Gradually move your sleeping time back by 30 mins until you're going to bed at a reasonable time. Then you'll feel more well rested in the morning and won't need to sleep in.

just_me_mindy

I get up at 3:30 a.m. to be at the gym for 4 a.m. I feel so much better and happier after I have done a killer workout. If I start getting tired in the afternoon, I hit the gym again to make myself up. It takes a bit of getting use to, the trick is on the weekends, try to keep the same schedule by a couple of hours. I am usually up on Saturdays by 5 or 6 am. I also go to bed super early though but it still equals out to 8 hours of sleep. You just need to be consistent to make it stick. There are days where I can barely drag my butt out of bed, but once I am up I feel 100% better..

Lili0817

I'm Sooo NOT a morning person. I hate getting up earlier than 8am, unfortantely I have to for work. I WISH i had the strength to get up early and workout. I'm much more of anight person and currently workout in the evenings. The ONE day I got up at 5am to attend a Spin class I was sooo sleepy all day. I was sooo hungry too. Let me know if you find something that works!! I don't think going to sleep earlier is an option for me. That's usually when I get stuff done.

xandra

IMHO --- Why force yourself to wake up early if you are not a morning person. I tried it didn't work. I exercise in the evening after work. And I don't beat myself up all day because I failed again to get out of bed early. That's just a better fit for me.

Codefox

I hate sleeping...I love getting up to go work out and get my day started 8)

mmm_drop

It will take your body time to adjust to any changes in your schedule, but you will eventually make a habit out of going to bed early and getting up early. You may be really tired for a few days or a week, and then eventually you will be tired enough to go to sleep early, get up early and feel well rested. Over time, you will just naturally go to bed early and wake up early.

rowrunyoga

1. Set your alarm to 'ring" to your voice, saying, "This sleep feels good, but getting that workout done will feel even better."
2. find an early morning workout pal.

Good luck!

lindsayk324

Weirdly enough, I was just reading up on the effects of a solid night's sleep on metabolism, and it's not surprising that getting a good night's sleep is very important to how your body processes the food it's fueled with. (source: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/98/2/367.abstract )

The take-home message is to keep your sleep routine regular. Changing your sleep routine (getting up an hour early a few days a week, for example) can negatively impact your TDEE (which, since we all count calories, is an Important Thing for our weight loss!)

That said, do what works for you! Whether you walk a mile in the morning or walk a mile in the evening, it's going to be the same calorie burn, so do whatever feels better. For me personally, I hit my peak physical fitness in the afternoons/evenings, so I plan my lifting and running for after work.

Unknown

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seilidhe

I've always been a night owl... unfortunately, now I'm a night owl in a robin's world. I've been dealing with insomnia and have gone through an online program designed to, hopefully, alleviate that issue some. One of the things I had to do was set a constant wake up time each day. I chose 6 a.m. During the week, I get up, get ready for work and catch my bus at 6:50. On Tues, Weds, and Thurs, I take my gym stuff to work with me and I take the bus to the gym after work and do my thing. On the weekends, my alarm still goes off at 6:00 a.m. and I force myself out of bed, take the dogs for a walk, and *then* I go to the gym. If, for some reason, the dogs don't get their walk (like I had insomnia issues the night before), I still get up and go to the gym. Mind you, the Saturday class is easier to get myself to, since it doesn't start until 10:15. But the Sunday morning class starts at 8:15. That's a little harder.

So far, this is working for me. At least I'm getting to the gym.

1brokegal44

I'd much rather sleep....but, I know that if I don't get my workout done in the morning, I won't do it at all. But I also don't workout every day so I do get to sleep in a couple of days a week.

Salt_Sand_Sun

I love my sleep too, but unless I'm sorely hungover I NEVER feel better sleeping longer than if I've gotten up to workout. Starts the day off right, and you've already accomplished something.

^^ THIS!!!

Go to bed an hour or so earlier. Drink some chamomille tea or sleepy tea to help you get a good night sleep. Get up and get it done!!!

After about 2 weeks it'll be habit and you'll feel bad NOT getting up.

Eleonora91

Ok,In the past I have gotten up once or twice and loved the way i felt all day when waking up to exercise.... But I do love my sleep!!!!! How do I win this battle?

I really love sleeping and anyway I'm not that active in the morning, I prefer to workout throughout the afternoon or before dinner to release the stress and go to bed tired and have some good rest! You don't really have to workout so early in the morning if you're not a morning person.

tunedvwgti

I've got to agree with the folks who have said to go to bed earlier... Enjoy your sleep and feel great waking early!

georgieb23

If the snooze button is a problem there's always this option...

IronPhyllida

no one ever regrets getting up to workout

but i have regretted not getting up to workout

Too true.... Will try that tomorrow morning.....

knittnponder

I'm not a morning person but I do have four kids that I homeschool so getting up is important if we're going to get anything done. Even though I consistently get up by at least 6:30 I still HATE working out that early! When I have worked out that early I just don't have it in me to work out at the intensity I want. I do like how I feel after but during I just feel like I'm dying even though the same workout in the afternoon isn't a problem. I finally hit on what works for me; I do a short, mild workout in the morning (20-30 minutes of something like Walk Away the Pounds) and do my "real" workout later in the day. It gets me moving, my blood flowing and body aches worked out but doesn't make me feel like I want to die. Maybe not helpful to you at all but I'm happy I finally found something that will help me feel good all day and get a good workout in.

IronPhyllida

I get up at 3:30 a.m. to be at the gym for 4 a.m. I feel so much better and happier after I have done a killer workout. If I start getting tired in the afternoon, I hit the gym again to make myself up. It takes a bit of getting use to, the trick is on the weekends, try to keep the same schedule by a couple of hours. I am usually up on Saturdays by 5 or 6 am. I also go to bed super early though but it still equals out to 8 hours of sleep. You just need to be consistent to make it stick. There are days where I can barely drag my butt out of bed, but once I am up I feel 100% better..

Holy cricket.... I thought I was nuts by getting up at 4:15 (sorry, alarm goes off at that time, I get up at 4:45). Still need to get those 30 mins back and avoid the snooze button. Love the alarm clock with pins. That MUST work surely.