AM workouts...how do you people do them!!!??

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deanadimples
deanadimples Posts: 419 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I admit it. I'm the worlds worst morning person.

I love to stay up late. Night is when I have the most energy. I have struggled getting up in the am my whole life. Even with a good nights rest I just don't want to get up! If I go to bed early, I sleep TERRIBLE!

A few years ago I was in a contest at my local gym. I was in the 5:30am class. I HATED it. Not the workout...the hour and how my body just wouldn't get going. I just felt like my body wasn't fully functioning. Some days I had time before work to fit in my cardio and would try to run. I couldn't go as hard or as far. On the days I went at night....I got a great workout. (We did strength in am and had to do 1 hr cardio on our own). Then I had to go to bed at 10, just to be able to get up at 5am. I felt like I had no life. When I did the 5:30 am thing, we did a protein shake before our class, it didn't seem to help.

Even now, I just work out better at night. I can push myself more and go harder. The problem is, I'm a busy single mom and it can get tough finding time after work/at night to work out. I'd love to be able to get up in the am...and do 30DS and then do 30 mins cardio at night....but even 6:30am might as well be 4am. I'm SO STIFF in the am and my muscles just feel weak. Even with a good night's rest, I can still take a few hours before I feel really "awake".

Any suggestions on how to train my body to get up easier? Is there anything I can do? Or is my body just built for night? If I could just get up 30 mins earlier, I could fit in my 30DS. It seems like so little, but on the days I try, I wake up so dang tired and stiff I can barely move. It feels like 4am. Without working out in the am I'm hitting snooze and completely out.
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Replies

  • LadyKT
    LadyKT Posts: 287 Member
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    I wake up early to watch the news - but instead of sitting on the couch, i'm in front of the tv with my weights and such :wink:
  • LadyKT
    LadyKT Posts: 287 Member
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    *oh and you really only need 30 minutes!
  • kimmydear
    kimmydear Posts: 298 Member
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    I'm not a morning person anymore because I have an infant who still at 5 months old gets up every few hours at night. I too prefer evening workouts, but they are hit or miss, so I am doing morning workouts during his good nap in the morning. Let me tell ya, I feel stiff, tired, sluggish, all those things, but I'm doing it anyway. I've lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks. For me it's more about consistency than about how hard I can work out. Hope this helps!
  • Drunkadelic
    Drunkadelic Posts: 948 Member
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    I'm just like you. I sometimes wake up early to do my workout if I know I have plans and won't be able to do it after work, but my body is just sooo tired and it makes the workout 10x harder. I'm just not a morning person.
  • ksmittens
    ksmittens Posts: 65
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    Try going to bed a little earlier. I am a night owl myself but in order to do my workout's in the morning I HAVE to turn it in earlier. The first week is the hardest but if you commit to it, it gets much easier from there.
  • tdjones00
    tdjones00 Posts: 68
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    I'm not much of a morning person either, but once I get into it I do pretty good.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
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    I am totally the same way! I hate getting up in the morning!!

    BUT..... it gets a lot easier as those workout calories pile up at the beginning of the day :smile:

    I just started getting up 5 minutes earlier every few days. I got up and sat... eventually I started working out since I was up and bored :wink:
  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
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    I'm fairly certain that people who work out in the AM must have some mutant insane-gene or something, because I'm right there with ya! I just CAN'T get my body properly functioning in the AM!
  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
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    I never have and never will work out in the morning. I'm just like you - an evening-functioner who does not get up well in the mornings. Anyone who's lived with me knows better than to speak to me before about 9 AM. :) So, I work out after my son goes to bed, actually, and that seems to do just fine for me.
  • haeden
    haeden Posts: 183 Member
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    I do it more in the afternoon time.i dont do it at night time because it seems like my body just doesnt want to go to bed at night time after.i really find that doing it in the afternoon works for me and it makes me want to do it
  • ksmittens
    ksmittens Posts: 65
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    also, not sure if you drink juices or caffine but I would cut those off after 6pm so they are not keeping you up and give your body a chance to wind down.
  • mirandamatte
    mirandamatte Posts: 130 Member
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    I have been doing my workouts at 5 am for the past month. I have 2 kids and work so its really my ONLY time to fit it in....IT BLOWS. workouts that are normally not that hard for me kick my @ss at 5am. BUUUUTTTT....I am a teacher and tommorow is my last day of school so I can kiss those 5 am workouts goodbye for the summer.
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
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    I actually got myself to wake up and do workouts in the morning for a while.
    Then I gave up.
    Grrrrr.
  • doobabe
    doobabe Posts: 436 Member
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    I work out every morning. I get up an hour earlier than I normally would for work (5am) . I would NEVER work out if I waited until later, because I would talk myself out of it every time.

    I put out my work out clothes the night before, and honestly it is second nature for me. Oh- and I dont drink caffiene lol
  • ltf304
    ltf304 Posts: 132 Member
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    I admit it. I'm the worlds worst morning person.

    I love to stay up late. Night is when I have the most energy. I have struggled getting up in the am my whole life. Even with a good nights rest I just don't want to get up! If I go to bed early, I sleep TERRIBLE!

    A few years ago I was in a contest at my local gym. I was in the 5:30am class. I HATED it. Not the workout...the hour and how my body just wouldn't get going. I just felt like my body wasn't fully functioning. Some days I had time before work to fit in my cardio and would try to run. I couldn't go as hard or as far. On the days I went at night....I got a great workout. (We did strength in am and had to do 1 hr cardio on our own). Then I had to go to bed at 10, just to be able to get up at 5am. I felt like I had no life. When I did the 5:30 am thing, we did a protein shake before our class, it didn't seem to help.

    Even now, I just work out better at night. I can push myself more and go harder. The problem is, I'm a busy single mom and it can get tough finding time after work/at night to work out. I'd love to be able to get up in the am...and do 30DS and then do 30 mins cardio at night....but even 6:30am might as well be 4am. I'm SO STIFF in the am and my muscles just feel weak. Even with a good night's rest, I can still take a few hours before I feel really "awake".

    Any suggestions on how to train my body to get up easier? Is there anything I can do? Or is my body just built for night? If I could just get up 30 mins earlier, I could fit in my 30DS. It seems like so little, but on the days I try, I wake up so dang tired and stiff I can barely move. It feels like 4am. Without working out in the am I'm hitting snooze and completely out.

    You can ask anyone...I mean any of my family or friends and they will tell you that I am NOT a morning person. Now saying that, I have become a morning person within the last year. I started working out in the morning because I was making too many excuses after work. I have a 45 minute drive home and my gym is within a mile from my home. I was too tired after working all day and I couldn't do it. When you work out in the morning you have tons more energy during the day and it is done and over with. Sometimes I forget that I even worked out! haha. Not really, but I don't think about it, since it is over and done with. Having a little coffee before I go workout helps me wake up also.

    People always ask me how I get up so early and my answer is "I go to bed earlier". Shut off all electronics, especially computer, an hour before bed. Watching TV is ok and I don't have a problem with it, but the computer is a problem. I always shower at night too and that helps relax me. It took my years to get to this point but it is totally worth it. I can't imagine having to work out later in the day....hate it! Good luck!
  • Iam918
    Iam918 Posts: 118 Member
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    I ride my bike to work, so that counts as my morning and evening "workout". I get up @ 415am so I can ride to work, shower and be ready to start work @ 6. I also weight lift 3days a week, however this is done in the evening.
  • Lsnitkin
    Lsnitkin Posts: 9 Member
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    Your body can be trained to function in the morning. Set an alarm, and force yourself to get up, dressed, and start to move. If you get in the habit of waking up, and simply taking a walk, you will eventually be able to increase your intensity to the 30DS program.

    I'm at a point where I don't even set an alarm anymore. There is a motivational speaker (Zig Ziglar) who suggests that you get up when the alarm goes off (no snooze alarm!), sit up at the side of the bed, clap your hands together and say, "It's gonna be a great day!" Sounds dumb, and feels dumber at first, but it actually works.
  • beverlyl64
    beverlyl64 Posts: 381
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    I am not a morning person either, but if I put my workouts off till the evening they won't get done, plus if I do them in the evening then I can't slow down to fall asleep. For me it was a matter of when was the best way for me to get my workouts in on a consistent basis.

    It takes me a few minutes to get going in the am but once I'm going, I'm so glad I got up and made myself do it.

    Good luck to you!
  • SLambertAlaska
    SLambertAlaska Posts: 197 Member
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    Some people are "morning people" (we hate them) and some people just aren't. That said, if you are dedicated to a.m. workouts, or need to get up because of a job, etc. you might consider trying a "happy light." Different people respond to them differently, but it really works for me! After 3 - 4 days of being in front of the light 1st thing in the morning, it becomes much easier for me to get up. It makes a really big difference for me in the winter. I live in Alaska and its dark when I go to work and dark when I come home from November to the end of February.
    The lights are expensive (you have to get one that says "light therapy" not just "natural daylight") but for me it has been worth it.
    Keep working out - whenever you do it, Just Do It.
    Good luck!
  • kickinkate
    kickinkate Posts: 7
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    Today was actually my third day of morning workouts! And I got up at 5 AM!!! It was a beautiful sunrise run, so that is somewhat motivating! But it is difficult to get out of bed. I love my sleep as much as anyone, so I have been trying to go to bed earlier. I don't feel like I run or exercise as good in the morning as I do later in the day, but I am hoping my body will adjust over time.

    I have to get up this early so I can get back before hubby goes to work so I can take the kiddos to school. So, if I want to get an extra workout in, I have to get up early. And YES, I said EXTRA. I am extra crazy this week as I am doing some two a days to try to get over my plateau. I've been stuck for 2 months at the same weight.

    My suggestions are :

    Go to bed early and consistantly early. If you go to bed late one night you could throw yourself off.
    Have water avaliable during your exercise. I usually don't need water while I run, but I do in the mornings.

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