4am Risers?

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rungirl1973
rungirl1973 Posts: 2,559 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
How many of you wake up at or before 4am to work out? How long did it take you to get used to it, and are you functional in the afternoon? I work 8am-5pm and need to be "on" for that entire time.

To wake up at 4am and work out with the husband or to make him work out at 4am and do my workout at 6am, that is the question. Hopefully, he'll get a job with more reasonable hours.
In the meantime, we need to get more consistent. After work has been OK, but we're inconsistent.
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Replies

  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
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    I work from 9:30-5:30 at a highly charged office, I wake up at 4:45, get to the gym by 5:30 workout until 6:40, return home and cook lunch and prep for work. I try and walk to work or at least 2 miles 3 days a week (it's a 3.10 mile walk to work). At lunch I usually do a 3 mile 45/50 min walk. With all that said it is a process of building up to that and still being 'on' all day! I would start with getting up at 6:00 and give that a few weeks, then if you feel up to it you might be able to get up earlier with your husband. Of course you have to balance this by going to bed a little earlier - not really a problem :)

    I love working out in the morning, it gets my day started on a much better note! Once you get in the habit it becomes addictive - mornings are so much better since there are very few distractions.
  • TheCrawlingChaos
    TheCrawlingChaos Posts: 462 Member
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    Right now I work 7 am to 4-ish. I wake up at 5am so I have time to make breakfast. If I'm tired I'll push that back to 5:30 and just pick something up on the way to work.

    I just ordered a new elliptical that should be here next Thursday. My plans are to push my alarm up to 4 am so I can work out in the morning. We'll see how well that goes, though. I hate mornings so it's going to be a struggle.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I'm usually up around 4 or 5am, but only like class workouts, so I usually go to the earliest I can find - around 7 or 8am.
  • irejuvenateme
    irejuvenateme Posts: 96 Member
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    I have 3 days a week where I work 6am-3pm and sometimes yes I go to the gym at 4/4:30 - but I have found it hard to sustain at that time.

    As long as you can get rest (go to bed early, etc) I think it's fine. Otherwise I like to work out early much more than later because come the evening I am usually pretty pooped... particularly with kids..etc
  • rungirl1973
    rungirl1973 Posts: 2,559 Member
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    I don't like mornings, either. I used to get up at 5am to run, but I got out of the habit. 6am is ok. 5am is doable. I'm worried that I'll be a zombie by 2pm if I make the switch to 4am. LOL
  • RunTimer
    RunTimer Posts: 9,137 Member
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    @irejuvenateme and I have similar regimes. 3 morns a week:
    • Up between 4-5am,
    • 90m running/crossfit
    • Home to help with morning drill (pack lunches, make coffee, unload DW, etc)

    On the night before a workout AM I hit the sheets 10:30 P, at the latest
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
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    I used to get up at four when I actually WORKED at the gym, and I was the one to open it in the mornings. I was not a zombie in the afternoons, but I am also a caffeine addict and I'm totally down with going to bed early. I really do try to get in eight hours a night.

    These days, I'm at the gym when the doors open (mostly) so, I'm up at five thirty. I still have a bedtime like a child or elderly person. But I'm okay with that.
  • rungirl1973
    rungirl1973 Posts: 2,559 Member
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    LOL! I never thought I would be ok with it, but I'm ok with going to bed at 8pm if I need to.

    Thanks for the responses. It helps to know there are others who do it even if they don't wanna. I've always been more consistent when I've been able to get it done in the morning.

    Caffeine. I try to stop by noon, but maybe when we start the 4am wake-up I can add a cup of coffee in the afternoon for the short term...
  • AniLandSmiles
    AniLandSmiles Posts: 89 Member
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    I get up at 4AM every single day, even weekends. I work out for a half hour, then get myself ready. My kids start waking up between 5:30-6:00 and we have breakfast, I get them ready, and we are out the door by 7:30. I take them to the sitter, I teach from 8-4 (give or take a half hour, depending on parent meetings), and I'm usually in bed before 8:30. It's a jam-packed day, but if I don't get out of bed at 4:00, I don't have 2 minutes to myself the rest of the day.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I get up at 5AM, not 4AM, to go to the gym. It was difficult at first, but it became easier the more I did it. I've found that I'm actually more alert in the afternoon now than I was before. I'm not sure if that's just because I'm in better shape, or exactly what, but that's how it is for me.
  • brightsideofpink
    brightsideofpink Posts: 1,018 Member
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    I started a new gym routine last week with a 4:15 wakeup. Its not wonderful, and my body is still adjusting, but I think I'll stick with it. It makes the most sense for me. I have two kids to get up and prep the day for in order for us all to get out of the house by 7:15. I then work 8-5, add in daycare pickup, after school pickup, dinner, other chores, and 1-2x week nightly meetings, 4 am is the only time that works for me. It does have positives though. I can sit at 6 am with a coffee and know my workout is done for the day, and I can eat breakfast without even touching my daily calorie allowance.

    The toughest part for now is getting to sleep at a reasonable hour. I'm hoping that will come.
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
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    I've been getting up at 4am for two and a half years, now. I'm still not used to it. ;) but I do like that I go on automatic, and get my workout in before I can fully wake up enough to talk myself out of it. the more active I've become, the less sleep I need. I used to go to bed at 8, now I go to bed at 9:30.
  • TravelinChiGal
    TravelinChiGal Posts: 216 Member
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    I'm up at 4:22 every morning (was setting alarm one night and it was close enough so left it) to workout. Was out function and running down the street at 5 this morning. It took me a week or two to get used to it, but it is habit now!
  • joanthemom8
    joanthemom8 Posts: 375 Member
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    I am an early riser by nature. I started getting up to exercise at 4 or 4:30 because I was waking up at that time anyway (I have sleep issues), so I decided to use that time for the gym. I work and and after work it's all about the kids, homework, dinner, etc. So I can't exercise in the evening. I would say that if you are a morning person, try it! If you don't have too many demands on you after work, maybe keep that schedule. I love working out in the morning - it makes me feel like I started out the day on the right foot!
  • SconnieCat
    SconnieCat Posts: 770 Member
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    I've just started getting up at 4:30 to make it to the gym to workout when the gym opens at 5:00.

    I find that I have zero motivation after work (I work an 8-5 job) and just want to go home, hang out with my boyfriend and our dog, and make dinner.

    Getting up that early is absolutely taking some adjusting, but I love how empty the gym is at that time of the morning, and I find that I actually have a lot more energy at work when I get up and work out. PLUS, as some of the other posters had mentioned, it's great knowing that my workout is done for the day!
  • bogo_baby
    bogo_baby Posts: 82 Member
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    I work (with commute) 6:30-4:30. I get up at 4 am and do a workout at home. Then I do something active with the little one in the evening (it's winter, so either indoor dance party or monster chase... something like 15-20 mins). I put him to bed at 8-ish and go to bed myself anytime after... 95% of the time I'm in bed at 8:15... haha. But it works for us. It takes a while to get used to it... There will always be struggles in waking up, but if I miss a workout in the morning (I did yesterday due to a migraine upon waking), I made up for it after work. It's nice because my 3 year old can join in.
  • DanaHerro
    DanaHerro Posts: 186 Member
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    I wake up at 4:30 to work out.
    It took a few weeks before it just became second nature.... But it's nice having it DONE and out of the way now!
  • LeanButNotMean44
    LeanButNotMean44 Posts: 852 Member
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    I've been getting up at 4am-ish to workout for the past 4.5 years. I actually really like it because it is a great way to start the day, and the gym is pretty dead at 5am. I do go to bed REALLY early so my evenings are short, but I wouldn't change it. Counting my commute, I am gone from 6:45am-6pm and just don't have the motivation to go after work.
  • cliffodom1
    cliffodom1 Posts: 57 Member
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    lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-morning-habits-highly-successful-people-that-make-them-extraordinary.html

    I get up about 4 am every day and work out. You can't control your life between say 7 am and bed time. You have to be at work at 8 so from about 7 am you are getting ready and commuting to work. At work you have to work. After work you have to get dinner ready, deal with friends and family and of course you have to watch American voice idol, then you have to go to bed. You control absolutely from bed time to 5 or 6 am. You can chose to fill that time with that little slice of death we call sleep or you can get up and do something with it. Otherwise you are controlled by the tides of life which is chock full of excuses why you can't get things done.
  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,404 Member
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    I've been getting up around 4-4:15am for workouts for over a year now. I have a 6 month old and a 3 year old at home so to be the least bit selfish I chose to go to the gym while my wife and two children are sleeping. I also love that I pretty much have free reign over the whole gym. :)

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