sleeping in vs. Getting up to workout

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  • erinm2629
    erinm2629 Posts: 69 Member
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    i used to always workout in the evenings but for the last few months i have been running with a buddy and we try to meet at least twice a week in the morning. Now when I don't run in the mornings I am tired and will not get the workout in at all. I think it has helped to have a buddy that i know is getting up even if we are not meeting and that is all i need to get my butt up.
  • Liz_Mfp
    Liz_Mfp Posts: 172 Member
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    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.
  • kmccormick42
    kmccormick42 Posts: 78 Member
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    Thanks for posting this thread. I needed this reminder as I've really had a hard time getting up the past few days but you guys are on the money when you say it feels better if you just get up and do it. If I sleep in, I feel like kicking myself in the butt all day for being lazy.
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
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    Personally, I'd get up. I think that if you stick to a sleep schedule (weekends or days off included) it's easier to stick to. Every now and again it's not a big deal, but for me those are special occasions and usually involve staying up later than sleeping in longer (especially for beer pong tournaments). If I want some extra sleep on my days off, I like to nap! That way I get to sleep a little more on my days when I have more time, but it isn't interfering too much with my daily routines or workouts for that matter. The best thing that I did in the mornings was get a coffee maker with a timer on it. That way I can just stumble out of bed, down some coffee, and feel awake sooner rather than later. The world in the morning doesn't make sense without coffee.
  • jdaley90
    jdaley90 Posts: 259 Member
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    I make a plan to do a morning workout a day in advance and then plan to go to bed an hour earlier than usual (length of my workout) so that im still getting the same amount of sleep.
  • nessa2BFit
    nessa2BFit Posts: 155 Member
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    I get up at 5 am every morning to do my workout... for me i found i had to put the alarm clock far enough from the bed i had to get up to turn it off. it helped that i also had to turn on the light to get to it... once i did that i found i didn't have a problem not getting up. i had already gotten out of bed and turned on the light. I also set my workout clothes next to the alarm!!! you can do it, it is so worth it.
  • chubby_checkers
    chubby_checkers Posts: 2,353 Member
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    "Early to bed, early to rise leaves a man healthy, wealthy & wise."

    "Early to rise and early to bed, makes a man healthy, but socially dead." :wink:
  • MommaHoff
    MommaHoff Posts: 54 Member
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    I have found having a commitment to meet someone at the gym or park to run/workout makes it that much easier to get up and go and harder to not go. It helps too if the person you have the commitment to is important enough to you so you don't want to let them down. I over slept once and my friend was sitting in my driveway for a good 30 min texting me and I never woke up. She went home and back to bed. I woke up an hour after we were supposed to meet to my husband's alarm and I was so upset I was in tears. I haven't missed a day since. I get up at 4 so we can run at 5. I feel so much better on the days that I get up early for a run or workout. The days I sleep in I'm sluggish all day and that makes it hard to keep up with a 2 year old.
  • graceire
    graceire Posts: 323 Member
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    Mornings are the work of the devil and should be outlawed....

    Given a choice between sleep and working out, sleep will win every time for me. I workout in the afternoons/evenings, unless its a day off and then I might workout mid-morning. I simply cannot physically exercise in the morning, and yes, I've tried many, many times, and they were not productive work outs.

    Find the time that works best for you and try to work your schedule so that it happens.
  • reggie2run
    reggie2run Posts: 477 Member
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    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
  • IZackV13
    IZackV13 Posts: 157 Member
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    "Early to rise and early to bed, makes a man healthy, but socially dead." :wink:

    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
    ksy1969 Posts: 700 Member
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    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
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    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
    elainecroft Posts: 595 Member
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    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
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member
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    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. :smile:
  • just_me_mindy
    just_me_mindy Posts: 210 Member
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    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
    Lili0817 Posts: 109 Member
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    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
    xandra Posts: 101 Member
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    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
    Codefox Posts: 308 Member
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    I hate sleeping...I love getting up to go work out and get my day started 8)
  • mmm_drop
    mmm_drop Posts: 1,126 Member
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    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.

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