Morning exercise for not a morning person?

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Amandajs232
Amandajs232 Posts: 194 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I don't particularly enjoy exercise but it is critical for me losing weight. That is because if l have burned 500kcal in the gym I am super sure not to over eat and waste the effort. I have a mental block about going to the gym after 7pm - I think I have just tried too many times and been hungry and fatigued and had a poor session. As I have been working late, I have been going to the gym in the morning but am not a morning person so even with my best efforts I move in slow mo and end up only spending about 2/3 of the time I would at night. That said I perform ok once I am there and get a decent if shorter workout. Any other "not morning" people had any success in the morning to inspire me? Or tips to feel better exercising late?

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  • nickynoneck83
    nickynoneck83 Posts: 25 Member
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    Just incorporate exercise in your daily life that you won't notice, take the stairs, stand when you can, a great exercise we do with seniors is the sit to stand, if your watching tv at night, just during the commercials sit out of your chair and sit back down 10 times your basically squatting burning cals without noticing.
  • Amandajs232
    Amandajs232 Posts: 194 Member
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    Thanks I will try this but need more to stop me falling off the healthy wagon. If I've been to the gym I chose salad, if not large pizza. Crazy but true.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I have to say I've never been a morning person. I've been really diligent for the past few months in getting in a minimum of 4 workouts (lap swimming) a week.

    I strongly prefer to swim on my lunch break, but at least once and sometimes twice a week, my schedule doesnt allow for that, and so my only option is 6:30- 7:45 a.m.

    I don't pretend to like it; but I do it.

    And I must admit that I do enjoy the smug satisfaction I get the rest of the day from an early morning workout(!) Sitting in a 2 - hour faculty meeting listening to my colleagues blither about students and policies and academic rigor, I sometimes find myself thinking "HAH! I swam a mile and a half this morning before you even had your coffee!"
  • ltworide
    ltworide Posts: 342 Member
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    Try building in some exercise and making it a habit.... Maybe have your gym gear packed up so you're ready to go in the morning... Fit a few 10-15 min exercise breaks throughout the day...body weight squats, lunges, jumping jacks, planks/mountain climbers add up.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    just keep going and eventually you will be used to it
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Amandajs232 wrote: »
    I don't particularly enjoy exercise but it is critical for me losing weight. That is because if l have burned 500kcal in the gym I am super sure not to over eat and waste the effort. I have a mental block about going to the gym after 7pm - I think I have just tried too many times and been hungry and fatigued and had a poor session. As I have been working late, I have been going to the gym in the morning but am not a morning person so even with my best efforts I move in slow mo and end up only spending about 2/3 of the time I would at night. That said I perform ok once I am there and get a decent if shorter workout. Any other "not morning" people had any success in the morning to inspire me? Or tips to feel better exercising late?

    This beats not doing any exercise.
  • prettysoul1908
    prettysoul1908 Posts: 200 Member
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    I started finding excuses to not go to the gym... So what did I do? Started working out at home.

    I don't love waking up at 530 am but it's the only time I can get it in and not have to worry about end of the day exhaustion and hunger (more excuses for me to skip the gym)

    At home there's not many obstacles. All I need is a sports bra, a pair of sneakers and YouTube and I'm getting a really good workout. And there's no better feeling than being done with your workout for the day.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
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    I'm not a morning person either but also couldn't count on after work time or energy. In the morning I know I have the time. Just keep doing it and you'll get used to it. I don't tell myself I have to have a great work out but I do tell myself to get out of bed and do my work out. Once I get started though, it's usually a good one, and I feel very motivated all day to keep eating well and walking more.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    If you are not a morning person, why do you want to work out in the morning. Fit it into your own schedule. I am a morning person and love being active first thing, but it's not for everyone. The main thing is to make it part of your life. If you already hate forcing yourself to get up early, you probably won't stick with it long. It's really hard to make a new habit doing something you don't want to do. And exercise is one of the harder habits to form. So, I wouldn't set up the odds against you to beging with.
  • beachhouse758
    beachhouse758 Posts: 371 Member
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    I am totally not a morning person -at all - and I kinda hate exercising. But I do it anyway.
    It was the *only* time I could do it.

    So I started Couch to 5K. But to get up early *and* run? wha?!?

    I figured out that the only way I could do it is if I had everything set. This is going to sound insane, but I'll come clean: at first I'd go to bed wearing my running clothes! and just leave the shoes and socks right by the side of the bed -- so when the alarm went off I could just grab my shoes, phone and go.

    Yeah, I know that sounds a little extreme. But I am such a lazy-non-morning-non-worker-outter that if I gave myself a chance to : 1) not find my exercise clothes 2) not be able to find a "suitable" outfit 3)where is my other shoe?!? or whatever other B.S. excuse imaginable, I would just say "maybe tomorrow" and never get out of the house.

    I know sleeping with running clothes sounds crazy, but I read the tip in a forum, and it worked for me.

    Now, I don't have to sleep with my running shorts on, but I do lay out my clothes the night before, along with HRM and I let go of the idea that I have to have a "suitable" outfit and my hair/face should look like an Nike ad.

    I just wear appropriate (mostly non-matching, non-trendy) clothes and my running shoes. But laying it all out the night before helps so that I am not trying to find a non-blistery sock at 6:00 a.m. in a p!ssed off stupor.

    It gets better, I promise.

    hth
  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,245 Member
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    I'm not an "early" morning person, but end up getting up fairly early anyway. I retired last year and thought I'd enjoy sleeping in, but that never happened. Hubby getting ready for work wakes me up and I can't fall back asleep.

    I have found that doing yoga first thing in the morning (after he leaves for work) is a nice way of waking up my body and my mind without jumping right into a "heavy" workout. Yoga is a workout, but a slow and gentle one. I end my yoga practice feeling very energized and ready to start the day. Often, I will then go for a brisk walk or aquasize or do strength training later in the day or evening.
  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
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    I'm not a morning person at all. I found morning to be the only time I had just for me. Early morning 3:45 am :( I ease into my morning. I watch the news I have 2 espressos and I'm out the door by 5 am and in the gym by 5:15 am. I am in bed no later than 10:30 pm.

    I just do it. its a habit now. I tried going at night even after 7 pm but humans gonna human and I don't like gym humans. Its my zen place in the morning.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    i wake up between 4am and 4:30am and either run or walk. i too often sleep in my exercise clothes. that way i just have to inchworm out of bed and put on shoes. and out the door i go
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    I'm a late night exerciser and I enjoy that.

    That said, I also feel zero guilt at eating pizza instead of salad - as long as it fits with my calorie goal, it's all good. I will change how much I eat, but I still eat what I enjoy. It's better practice for the harder work of maintaining weight once it comes off.
  • Amandajs232
    Amandajs232 Posts: 194 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your advice - I was hoping to hear others had overcame this challenge. Breakfast and lunch prepared, work clothes packed, workout clothes laid it out and Alarm set for the morning
  • LunaStar2008
    LunaStar2008 Posts: 155 Member
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    Great advice from this blog. So what, if you have to work at night, meaning your mornings are other peoples afternoon? And your evening is other peoples early morning? My shift changes every two month and I adjust easier to the night schedule then the day schedule.

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