Early morning workouts

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2

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  • crystalinda
    crystalinda Posts: 151 Member
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    I've been doing early morning workout for several weeks now and while at first it was really hard I'm getting more and more used to it. Make no mistake I am far from a morning person I don't want to be up at 5 every morning but it's really been paying off for me when it comes to how I feel the rest of the day.

    I usually go to bed between 10 and 10:30.

    I totally agree. Another benefit to switching my workout to AM was that I got it done first thing, and things wouldn't get in the way later preventing me from putting it off. And I often feel really energized afterward.
  • monielovv
    monielovv Posts: 12
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    :smile: Hi.. I get up three times a week to take a 5:30 spin class. It's tiring to get up, but once you are up and out the house. You feel great.
  • susankfunk
    susankfunk Posts: 1
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    I'm an early bird and I love getting up at the crack of dawn to get things done before starting my day (workout, dishes, laundry, etc.). I don't go to bed very early most of the time. However, I tend to run pretty good on about 6 hours of sleep. Although about once a month I will sleep away a Sunday catching up. This tends to work even better for me when I am physically active.
  • SarahBrown1979
    SarahBrown1979 Posts: 229 Member
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    I work out in the a.m, Me and my fiancee get up about 5:15 and get to the gym by 5:30, do 45 mins of cardio and then 15mins of weights. We used to go after work but what started to happen was that we would get home from work and just sit there and then not go b/c we were drained from our day at work. So now we go to bed anywhere between 9:30-10pm. I can tell you I can feel the differance in my day! I'm a much happier person during the day (and I really don't like my job too much) and when i get home at 6 we make dinner and then relax and enjoy our evening. The other thing that has been great is SLEEP!!! When I went at night I would be so pumped up from my workout that I couldn't sleep and then didn't want to go to work b/c I was so sleepy from the night before. So I recommend it and it has inproved my quality of health and life!! Try it for a week, and see how it feels for you!
  • jennieodwyer
    jennieodwyer Posts: 1,036 Member
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    I am up at 5am and try to get to bed by 9:30pm. It was hard at first but now it is just like second nature.
  • slimmerme2012
    slimmerme2012 Posts: 120
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    Thanks for all the replies! How about breakfast...do y'all eat first or after?
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    If you aren't at least somewhat of a 'morning person', don't push yourself too hard to do this. I'm up at 4AM every morning during the week. My alarm is set for 4:15, and I wake up before it goes off about 90% of the time (with the time change this week, I've been waking up at 3, and watching the clock till I can get up..ugh!). Anyway, my point is, even for me (I've always been an early riser) its a tough routine to establish and maintain, and really easy to slip out of it again.

    If you ARE a morning person...give it whirl. I go to a gym and shower/dress there before work. I've been doing this for years, and there's a great 'get-down-to-business' type of crowd at that hour, and its a great feeling to be done with your daily exercise before most people are even out of bed. It just depends what works for you!
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies! How about breakfast...do y'all eat first or after?
    Coffee ALWAYS (I set the pot up the night before so I just have to push the button and start it when I wake and drink it on the drive to the gym), and some days I eat like half of a protein bar or something. Personally, I don't want a full stomach, but sometimes I do feel like I need the extra energy. Tried a banana one day and that gave me awful heartburn and ruined my workout!

    Its probably more important to eat something afterward for muscle repair and to restore everything you've just lost from your body, especially if you're doing any high-intensity cardio.
  • crystalinda
    crystalinda Posts: 151 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies! How about breakfast...do y'all eat first or after?

    I usually don't eat breakfast before, someitmes if I feel like I need something in m stomach I'll have a piece of fruit or half a protein bar (I like think thin bars). Then after my workout I immediately have a protein shake w/ yogurt when I get home. The protein shakes is around 200 - 250 calories and is regularly my breakfast.
  • MacSkillz
    MacSkillz Posts: 417 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies! How about breakfast...do y'all eat first or after?


    I HAVE to eat something first or I will get sick. I grab an apple or some other kind of fruit (cup of grapes or strawberries) eat that, then workout, get ready, catch the train to work at 7:30am and eat my "real" breakfast on the train.
  • 2bFitNTrim
    2bFitNTrim Posts: 1,209 Member
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    Wake: 5:45 am
    Leave House: 6:00 am
    Gym: 6:15- 7:15 am
    Breakfast: between 7:45-8:00 am after shower
    Bed: Usually 10:00pm
  • TammiAcker
    TammiAcker Posts: 53 Member
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    I go to bed around 9-10pm, wake up around 5ish and leave the house around 6, make my 1 1/2 commute to the town I work in. Arrive at the Y in that town around 7:30 (that is close to work) and work out for 30 or so minutes everyday. For me this is the only way, by the time I get back home it's 7:00p and I have to then prepare a healthy dinner and get ready to do it all over again the next day. So there is no other way. It's all about how bad to you want to make your goal! If you want it bad enough you will do WHATEVER it takes to get there, yes it's tough to get up that early, but I tell you I sleep so much better now that I work out then I did before! So it's about quality instead of quantity I guess! Plus you can plan your food for the day if you work out early! :) Good luck to all of you trying to get up early and work out! At this point I think I still would get up and work out even if I didn't have the commute :)
  • 2012Kristin
    2012Kristin Posts: 222 Member
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    I try to get up early to workout, usually around 5:30 AM. It really does help energize me for the day.

    My goal is always 5:30AM workouts Mon-Fri (I usually succeed at this about 3 days a week) & 7PM workouts Mon-Thu (these I always stick to) - I don't have a set workout on the weekends.

    5:30 AM - Workout (usually Jillian Michaels video at home)
    6:30 AM - Breakfast
    8:00 AM - Work
    7:00 PM - Workout at the YMCA (almost always on the Elliptical)
    10:00 PM - Bedtime
  • elz22
    elz22 Posts: 96 Member
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    I sooo need to start waking up early to get a morning workout in.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    I get up between 4:00 and 4:30 and do P90X. I wake my wife and the kids up when I get done around 5:30 and we start getting ready for work/schoo (my wife and I both start work at 7:00)l. I've only missed one day in the past 2+ months and that was because I was sick. I'm not a morning person and it's not easy but I have become somewhat used to it. I go to bed between 9:00 and 10:00.

    I don't eat before and I have a protein shake after. I can't eat real food that early in the morning or my stomach is jacked the rest of the day. I take a couple of eggs and yogurt to work with me and eat them a little later (around 8:ish).

    I love having it done early. With all the stuff that goes on in the evenings at my house it would be way too easy to put it off until it wouldn't get done. Also, if I work out right before bed I have a hard time getting to sleep.
  • SarahBrown1979
    SarahBrown1979 Posts: 229 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies! How about breakfast...do y'all eat first or after?

    I do After, english muff (100 cal) and PB
  • kcmomof2
    kcmomof2 Posts: 457 Member
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    My alarm goes off at 4:30am (up by 4:45) to do my workout (whether it be going for a run or an Insanity workout). I get to bed around 11:00pm.

    I eat my breakfast immediately after my run/workout.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
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    I have an alarm set to go off at 10PM at night to remind me to get ready for bed.

    Haha! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who has to do that! I still don't end up getting to bed before 11-11:30 most nights, then I have both my alarm clock and an alarm on my phone set for 6 a.m. I'd like to get back to waking up at 5:30, but right now 6 is hard enough! My dog usually makes sure I don't sleep past 6:30, then I do dvd's in my living room. I just found out there's a bootcamp at my local park, but it starts at 5:45. Maybe once I'm a little more organized and getting a better night's sleep I'll try it. Working out in the morning sets me up for eating more healthy all day, because I don't want to undo all the work I've done. At night there's too much to get in the way of my workouts, especially with kids who wait til the last minute to tell you they need materials for a project or something.
  • lauristewart
    lauristewart Posts: 379 Member
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    I'm up at 445 and turn the lights out at 10. Good luck!


    Me too....my alarm is usually set for 4:50 and I try to be in bed at 10 to 10:15 at the latest
  • lauristewart
    lauristewart Posts: 379 Member
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    I eat breakfast around 8 am

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