Working out in the morning?

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ahinski
ahinski Posts: 200 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Who here works out early in the morning?? I really wish I could, because then for the rest of the day I wouldn't have that battle in my head of convincing myself when to work out, but I find that when I do workout early, I just don't have the same level of intensity. I seem to have the most energy (surprisingly enough) around 6-7pm.

I even recently wrote a blog post about working out in the morning--and I think I could handle this one. Check it out if you're interested: http://lifeafterlazy.blogspot.com/2012/02/morning-workout-everyone-can-do.html

When is your best time to work out? If you workout in the morning, how do you gain energy?
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Replies

  • LisaR517
    LisaR517 Posts: 80
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    I can't stand to work out in the morning b/c my body just doesn't work! ;) My hands can't grip anything, and my legs feel like they weigh 100#. I hate it. Working out later in the day works best for me.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    When it comes to working out in the morning, it's great if you can do it. But if you need the extra hour of sleep, that tends to be more important.

    The reason why I workout in the morning is because of my thyroid medication. I have to wait an hour between taking that and eating breakfast, so I workout to kill the time. If I didn't need to do that, I probably wouldn't be doing AM workouts!
  • lewandt
    lewandt Posts: 566
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    I usually work out around 7 pm. Works best for me because then i don't snack at night as much. But, sometimes i have a full schedule of exercise and then i might get up at 5 to do a 20 minute dvd and finish with other exercises at 7pm. I don't like to do it, but once i am up i am usually ok.

    I don't really notice a difference in my energy either way.
  • secoke
    secoke Posts: 69 Member
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    I think it totally depends on the person and your typical schedule. While it would be really convenient for me to work out in the morning so I could come home straight after work, I feel the same way, like I'm just dragging myself. I noticed that I can't run as fast and everything is just more difficult. It's strange because two years ago doing a spin class early in the morning before school was my perfect time to workout lol!
  • theginnyray
    theginnyray Posts: 208 Member
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    In my early 20's I was an afternoon runner. As a mid-to-late-20 something, I'm a morning runner. I like it, I like getting up early and doing my thing before the rest of the house wakes up. And let's be honest, I caffeinate before running and there is a huge difference when I don't. I use energy gels.
    I do like running in the morning, and my lifestyle has a lot of say in my workout times - I work FT, have a toddler and husband. I don't have two hours in the evening to workout anymore, it's gotta happen before sunrise or it probly won't happen at all.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    My favourite time to go for a run is around 5:00AM but for strength workouts the evening suits me better. If I miss a morning run I'm ok with running as soon as I get home from work or around 9:00PM (coincides with my son's soccer practice schedule) I had a few weekend runs in the mid afternoon and just wasn't feeling the love.


    Everybody's internal clock is different.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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  • kgarman
    kgarman Posts: 61 Member
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    As you get older things change... now if I want to or not I'm up by 8:00 a.m. I just can't sleep like I did. In college I could party all night, sleep until 2:00 pm (or whenever the husker game was on) roll out of bed and hit it again like it was nothing. I miss that...

    Anyway, with life (kid, work, grad school) if I want to even think about getting a work out in... 5:30 a.m. every day. Bed time is around 11:00 p.m. some nights.
  • RileeMarie
    RileeMarie Posts: 113
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    i prefer to work out in the a.m., just got done doing my 60 minute workout and now i am ready for the day. but i am a early riser and a day person. good luck.. :smile:
  • bzmommy34
    bzmommy34 Posts: 229 Member
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    Odd enough, now that I am a SAHWM, I find I have a really hard time fitting in my workout if I don't get it out of the way first thing in the morning. Between the running of kids to events, volunteering, cooking, etc. my time just runs out and fast. When I worked FT I was much more aware of my time and found myself way more in control. Apparently I must be too relaxed now, lol!

    My husband is out the door by 5:20 a.m. Mon-Fri so I am up at 4:45 a.m. with him, have my MUST HAVE cup of coffee and when he heads out the door to the office, I head to our home gym. I can have my hour workout done and be showered before getting the kids up for school. My days just flow so much better if I don't have to worry about findng that hour later in my day. That, and it's also nice to be tired and ready for bed at the same time as my husband!
  • chaitrex
    chaitrex Posts: 94 Member
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    I like having the world's biggest cafe au lait, working out, and then having breakfast. But for yoga and long walks, I like evening best.
  • dlw13
    dlw13 Posts: 119 Member
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    Mornings work best for me. I go to a boxing class M-W-F's at 6:30am. I find that by having a class to attend, I'll get myself up and go to the gym, whereas the days I don't have class I'm less enthusiastic about getting up and exercising. I think its the commitment to the class that gets me up and going. The other days of the week I exercise, but much less strenuously and often times in the evenings.

    One outstanding benefit of a morning workout is getting your mind clear, your metabolism running and your body ready for the rest of the day.

    Cheers!
  • amanda52488
    amanda52488 Posts: 260 Member
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    I like to workout right after work around 3 30- 4pm. If I wait until later, I will get lazy!!
  • lkerbym
    lkerbym Posts: 7 Member
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    I work out at least 4 mornings during the week at 4:45 a.m. I find it gets me moving and makes me feel better all day long (and I love the extra calories that I earn). Of course, by 9:00 p.m. I am out like a light! But I am an empty nester, so I don't have kids to consider at this point. Before leaving for work at 7:00 a.m. I drink at least 2 glasses of water and eat breakfast. I need routine, so setting that alarm for 4:30 and hopping out of bed works for me!
  • nbkpjud
    nbkpjud Posts: 33 Member
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    I am up at 4:30 in the morning to workout...if it does not happen then, it will not happen later. That is one time of the day that no one wants to bother you.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I have shifted to getting up at 5:15 to get my workout done. If I don't do it early, it doesn't get done. Have to be up before the rest of the household!
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
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    I always work out in the morning. I am too tired to make excuses not to go. If I wait until after work, my brain is more awake and I can think of dozens of things I should be doing instead of going to the gym
  • FranklyFatso
    FranklyFatso Posts: 3
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    I can only handle yoga in the morning. Anything else I'm just not awake enough for. That might be because I have to start at 5am if I want to get to work on time, but either way I do yoga in the morning and my harder workout around 6pm. Though, on the few occasions that I did workout in the morning, I practically floated around for the rest of the day, high on the realization that the evening was open and guilt-free.
  • mrsjennifermaffei
    mrsjennifermaffei Posts: 469
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    My problem is that I set my alarm for 6am and when it goes off, I can feel my eyes get heavy before I can fully open them. I am trying hard to get up to work out in the mornings but so far it isn't successful.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    im not a big fan of working out in the morning - i do walk first thing to get my daughter to school. then i come home and have breakfast and do house work and play with kidlet #2 until i walk to put up kidlet #1. sometimes if i miss a workout at night for whatever reason, ill squeeze it in sometime after breakfast, but its so much easier for me to workout after the kids go to sleep at night

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