Getting office-ready at the gym

KaydeForce

Hi everybody...
I have been trying to keep an evening gym routine but there are just so many excuses after a 15-hr-work-day not to go there... So I am thinking about switching to morning and working out at 6 or 7 am before I even start my work day.

My "problem" is: I am a PhD student and teacher at a private university. I make less money a month than most of my students' allowance and their purses cost as much as my car. BUT: I still need to keep up an appearance, especially on the days that I'm teaching. It usually takes me from 30-45 minutes in the morning to get ready: shower, hair, makeup, getting dressed etc. (Not because it takes me that long to decide what to wear, but because I have quite a few steps in my routine).

So how do you other women (and men) do this when you work out in the mornings?
Do you wear your gym clothes to the gym? If so, how do you transport your "nice" clothes to be able to change once you're done working out?
Do you bring your own hairdryer? Any tricks on how to do your hair at the gym?
Do you bring all your makeup? There's no way I can work out with makeup on my face, so I guess I have to bring all of it (including facewash, moisturizer, primer, foundation and everything else I put on my face...).
Do you leave that stuff at the gym in a locker? So do you have two sets of everything?
Or do you bring it back home? How do you do in the summer when your car gets REALLY hot? Do you leave your stuff in the car?

If you have any tips or tricks regarding the whole getting-ready-after-working-out thing, please share them with me!

Thank you!

KaydeForce

Anybody?

hesn92

I bring a backpack with me with my work clothes in it, a towel, a bag of makeup, and my hair straightener and my heat protectant spray that I use. When I'm done working out, I take a quick shower, get dressed, put makeup on and straighten my hair a little bit and I'm done. I wash my hair in the evening before I go to bed every other day so I don't have to in the morning. It makes it a lot quicker to get ready in the mornings.

athenasurrenders

I used to swim in the mornings before work. Honestly a lot of it depends what your gym is like. If they have nice big lockers you can hang your work clothes up inside them and keep them straight. SHowering and dressing are quick, so you need to streamline hair and makeup.

I found it helpful to have a couple of quick 'up' styles which worked with semi-wet hair. So I would shower, part dry my hair and pin it back into a bun which looked very smart and took about five minutes, even with butt length hair. I don't know about make up since my routine was much simpler than yours.

Also, I don't know about your gym but there were always hairdryers free at mine, I just had mini versions of my shampoo, deodorant etc in my gym bag. I also found it important to be there first thing and be ready to go (I used to wear my swimsuit under my clothes, you could just turn up in your workout stuff) so that you can get your workout done and still have time to get ready.

It's mostly just practice though. I used to swim 6.30-7.30, be in the car for 7.45.

82ale

When I was actually going at 6:30am I would wash my face to wake up, brush my teeth and go to the gym. Then I would drive back home (8 minutes) sweaty to do my shower routine at home. No way would I take all my makeup etc to the gym, it would take twice as long.

How far are you from the gym?

dellalyn

I have a gym bag that is fully loaded and ready to go. Blow dryer, straightener, lotion, make up, small sizes of shampoo and conditioner and hair spray that I refill at home - basically I could grab that bag and go on vacation with it! LOL
I keep a towel in it and change it out at night when I get home - and I just get my work clothes organized the night before and grab them on the way to the gym. The gym I go to has lockers so if I am wearing clothes that need to be hung (not folded in the gym bag) I just carry them in on the hanger and hang them in the locker along with my bag while I work out.
I shower at the gym (oh yes, I have cheap flip flops in my bag too).
I time my workout so that I can finish, shower, and get ready at the gym. I keep a small bag in my larger bag for dirty and wet clothes and bring them in when I get home.
It takes some effort and thought to get your bag ready but once it is you are pretty much set.
I actually find it nice to get ready at the gym as I just pretend I'm at the spa!! (takes some imagination of course!)

KaydeForce

There are some great tips you gave me. Thanks ladies )

My gym is only about 4-10minutes (depending on traffic) from my home, so theoretically I could even go home and shower/get ready there as usual... But I feel this would give me another set of excuses not to work out (gas, traffic, etc...).