Workout morning people - tell me your routine!

purplecait1212
purplecait1212 Posts: 56
edited October 1 in Fitness and Exercise
To all of you who wake up early to get in your workout - tell me your morning routine! Gone are the sweet days of summer when I can take my time in the mornings! My schedule is changing pretty drastically next week (back to school!) and I will have to exercise either very early, about 5:30am or wait until 4:30/5:00 in the afternoon. Usually after the school day I am very tired and sluggish, and I think I am going to have a hard time finding motivation at that time of day. So I am hoping to once and for all become a morning person!

My questions are:
If you workout in the early morning, to you give yourself time BEFORE that for breakfast? Or do you eat after?
How much earlier do you get out bed prior to actually starting your workout?
Do you feel better throughout the day or do you feel tired?

I'm hoping just by seeing what other people do I can try to find something that will also work for me. Thank you so much for your advice!

Replies

  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
    howdy! i'm a morning work out person (gym M, W, F; run t, th) and usually am up by 4:30 am. (I'm at the gym by 5:00 or starting my run by 4:45...just get dressed grab a bite and go)

    First off, i pack everything (food, clothes, work stuff, etc) the night before. Then i put my cell phone which is my alarm INSIDE My running shoes in the bathroom (NOT next to my bed) so in the morning i have to get out of bed and find my phone to turn off the alarm. by this point i'm awake and the hard part is done. Having my gym clothes all laid out is SO helpful.

    as far as breakfast, i'll eat 1/2 a granola bar (~100 calories with some carbs and protein) just so i have something in my tummy unless i'm doing a long run in which case i eat a bigger (300 cal-500 cal breakfast). Drink a bit of water too..especially if you are working out outside.

    best of luck!
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
    If I do cardio, then I will do it on an empty stomach. Then I will down a protein shake right after. If I wake up starving, I may eat 1/2 banana or a small yogurt first. If I were going to do strength training first thing, then I would def mix a small protein shake before and another one after.

    Edit to add:
    It energizes me for the rest of the day as long as I keep moving! If I sat on the couch for a bit after, I'd want to fall asleep!
  • s_cheryl
    s_cheryl Posts: 18
    I'm a teacher as well, so I'm in the same boat and it sucks! I do wake up early to get my workout in because I know I will be too tired by the time I get home. I don't eat before working out and I generally only give myself 10-15 minutes to dress, brush my teeth. etc. I swear sometimes I'm still asleep when I start working out! I really hate having to wake up early, but I know it's the only way I will fit that time in. I don't do it every day, but I aim for a minimum of three mornings, then one more on the weekend.
  • liberaltendencies
    liberaltendencies Posts: 150 Member
    BUMP!
  • jljc_2010
    jljc_2010 Posts: 137 Member
    I too prepare everything the night before, I even have my dvd qued and ready to go, I do P90X. I crawl out of bed, get dressed, grab my water and get started.
    Although I am up earlier, I do feel like I have more energy throughout the day, but I am in bed by 8 pm, usually....
    Good luck and stay in touch, let me know how your progress is!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    If I stay on track, I do HIIT first thing in the morning, before eating. I would only do this for HIIT or straight cardio; not for strength training (I would make sure to be fed and have glyogen stored up before a strength training workout).

    When I do the morning routine, I feel fantastic throughout the day. But in reality, I almost never get to bed at a reasonable hour, so I end up sleeping in, so I end up doing the cardio at night. One of my issues I need to work on.
  • Mel7759
    Mel7759 Posts: 8
    I workout at 5 am a couple of times a day. I basically get up, get dressed and go. I eat a banana on the way to gym, and drink lots of water while working out. I can't eat breakfast and then workout, need at least an hour, that's why I just have the banana. I find it's enough to not make me feel yuck through my training session. I feel weary throughout the day, but that's more because I've most times just come off doing night duties. But I also feel great during the day, just feel more motivated. And I think it's a little bit of being on my pedestal, knowing that while others were still sleeping at 5 am, I was at the gym lol.
  • dcgonz
    dcgonz Posts: 174 Member
    I love working out in the morning! I was working out in the evenings when I got home but it's too easy to blow it off and I have a two and half year old son I would much rather spend time with. Here is my schedule:

    3:45-Alarm goes off.
    4:00-Out of bed and getting dressed.
    4:30-Workout
    5:30-Shower
    6:00-Breakfast
    6:45-Off to Work.

    I prepare all of my meals the night before so all I have to do is make breakfast and pack up my food. There is always a debate in the morning with myself on getting up and working out but once I started I have not missed a morning yet! Once it's done you don't have to think about it for the rest of day, it's done and over with and I feel so much better. I am not tired durning the day, but I do go to bed between 9:00-10:00.

    Hope that helps!
  • njean888
    njean888 Posts: 399 Member
    I literally wake up, brush my teeth, put workout clothes on and then do my workout (currently Insanity workouts) then I eat or have a recovery drink depending on the workout. Working out in the morning is the only way for me, if I leave it for the evening it would never get done.
  • ahavoc
    ahavoc Posts: 464 Member
    I have to take medication when I wake up, and then I can't eat for an hour, so that's when I go to the gym. I usually get 7-8 hours of sleep. I get up at 6:20 am and am at the gym by 7, back home to shower and get my morning chores done, then I'm at work, (I work out of my home). Going to the gym helps me beat back the work-at-home syndrome - gets me out of the house! When my daughter goes back to school in September I'll have to get up at 6 am.

    But my workouts always energize me for the day. I always feel so great afterward, and I sleep better at night because I'm physically tired, and the endorphins definitely help when I have a stressful work day.
  • editara13
    editara13 Posts: 384 Member
    Wake up, make a cup of my favorite Nescafe- 1 glass of milk and 50 grams of raw unsalted peanuts. Then after that the fun begins :
    warm up
    3 sets of push ups
    3 sets of ab exercise
    30 minutes of different dumbbell ecercises
    all together is 45-60 minutes of morning flame

    3574379.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • sullivan1011
    sullivan1011 Posts: 28 Member
    Not a teacher just an early riser. I work out at home or outside in and around my neighborhood. I prepare myself for the next day the night before: food, clothes, and pack my work bag before I go to bed. I set my alarm for 6:45 but generally wake up before it goes off. My trick is to sleep in my work out clothes. I know it seems silly but to be honest I sleep in my yoga pants, anyway. Before I work out I eat a 1/4 cup of granola and 1/2 cup almond milk and then do my work out . Generally 30 min cardio and 20min weight/sculpting. Then I jump in the shower and get dressed, grab my coffee and a piece of fruit to eat in the car. I am usually out the door at 8:30 to be to work by 9. I have a little bite of a commute.
  • hewhoiscd
    hewhoiscd Posts: 1,029 Member
    1st - Wake Up
    2nd - Eat a banana or small serving of fat free yogurt
    3rd - wait about 45 minutes (get everything ready for making breakfast, catch up on messages on computer, etc)
    4th - workout
    5th - eat breakfast

    And of course drink water the whole time.

    That's what I do when I do morning workouts
  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
    If you workout in the early morning, to you give yourself time BEFORE that for breakfast? Or do you eat after? I eat breakfast AFTER I workout. I get sick to my stomach if something is churning around inside my belly while I workout.

    How much earlier do you get out bed prior to actually starting your workout? I got to bed between 9:00 and 10:00 pm, and am up between 5:00 and 6:00 am, depending upon the workout.

    Do you feel better throughout the day or do you feel tired? I definitely feel better throughout the day... and glad that my workout isn't hanging over my head. It also helps me to make better choices during the day, because I don't want to ruin my workout progress. Now, the first few days I woke up early to workout I thought I was going to die, but by the third day I was ok.
  • boopiejones
    boopiejones Posts: 73
    i work out during lunch, but i ride my bike to work every morning. i get everything loaded into my bike panniers the night before. when i wake up, i make a cup of coffee and check the news. then take a quick shower and get on the bike. when i get to work, i eat breakfast. same goes for my lunchtime workout - i eat my lunch when i return to the office after the gym. i greatly prefer working out on an empty stomach.
  • purplecait1212
    purplecait1212 Posts: 56
    howdy! i'm a morning work out person (gym M, W, F; run t, th) and usually am up by 4:30 am. (I'm at the gym by 5:00 or starting my run by 4:45...just get dressed grab a bite and go)

    First off, i pack everything (food, clothes, work stuff, etc) the night before. Then i put my cell phone which is my alarm INSIDE My running shoes in the bathroom (NOT next to my bed) so in the morning i have to get out of bed and find my phone to turn off the alarm. by this point i'm awake and the hard part is done. Having my gym clothes all laid out is SO helpful.

    as far as breakfast, i'll eat 1/2 a granola bar (~100 calories with some carbs and protein) just so i have something in my tummy unless i'm doing a long run in which case i eat a bigger (300 cal-500 cal breakfast). Drink a bit of water too..especially if you are working out outside.

    best of luck!

    I like that idea of putting the phone in your shoes! I am a snooze queen so I need to kick that habit. Great idea!
  • kje2011
    kje2011 Posts: 502 Member
    5:02am alarm goes off
    5:20 am - out the door for my 30 minute jog/fast walking
    6:00 am - shower/get ready for work
    6:35 am - breakfast - usually almond milk &cereal, banana, and a poached egg
    6:55 am - out the door for work (30minute commute to work)

    Love getting out there in the morning! One reason is to get that workout done and over with.lol.
    I like to get a dvd workout in, in the evening too .
    ~if I don't run in the am, then I feel guilty
  • ashesoh1234
    ashesoh1234 Posts: 132 Member
    Lately/currently:

    Alarm goes off at 5:25 am. Lately I wake up before it goes off.

    M, W, F my friend picks me up at 5:40am. We usually do spin 2x week (6 am class) and cardio and strength the other day.

    T, Th I'm at the gym by about 5:45 am. Do a ten minute light warm up, 30 min with trainer, then about 45 min cardio (elliptical, treadmill hills)

    I set my clothes out the night before. Sneakers by the door. I fill my water bottle and put it in the fridge. I set the coffee up so it's all ready to go. I put ice in my big starbucks cup and stick it in the freezer; measure out 1/2 cup of skim milk and put it in the fridge. (I drink an iced coffee in the car on the way to the gym. It's my treat!) When the alarm goes off, I pee, brush my teeth, get dressed, walk downstairs trying not to squeak the 90 year old wood stairs and wake up the kids or my hubby, make the coffee while drinking water, shoes on, out the door. iPod stays in my bag; phone goes in as I walk out the door.

    I know you're supposed to eat before working out, but I can't -- it really, truly, literally makes me sick.

    Then I work out and feel AWESOME afterwards! Mornings work best for me (and I am NOT a morning person! Just ask my husband). By the time the evening rolls around, I've been at work all day and I want to spend time with hubby and kids.
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