who exercises first thing in the morning?

I'm thinking about doing this as there is just no time during the rest of the day... I did it about four years ago and lasted about 2 weeks

What is your morning routine and does it get any easier with time lol

 cheers guys

 

I have never been a morning exerciser--always a late afternoon sort. This semester, I teach afternoons, so I am planning to make a move to mornings. We have an onsite gym at work, and I figure I can get in my workout, then shower up for work.

Not sure how it's going to be, but keep your progress updated on this thread to keep the inspiration going!

that's what I figured. Do my exercise, grab a shower... then DONE...

xxx

*waves hand*

Hi there, I am an early morning exerciser. For me it's partly preference (I am one of those morning people--don't boo me!), and also much as you said get up, get it done and go on with your day.

In fact I'll take it a step further. For me, if I don't do it in the morning, I flat don't do it. So yep, I get up, drink my coffee, brush my teeth and then I'm either out running (weather permitting) or doing aerobics 3x a week. The other 3 days I do either weights or power yoga or Pilates.

Then I get to go around the rest of the day feeling quite virtuous!

I do my best when I do.

about 1/3 of the time I do it in the afternoon and that never works out as well.

Agree with the poster who says if she doesn't do it first thing, it doesn't get done.  I run at 4:15 a.m. during the work week, at 6:00 a.m. on the weekends (you have to sleep in some days!). It sounds crazy, but you really do adapt.

Stick with it for 21 days- it will become a habit!  Morning is the only time that I can exercise (before kids go to school), so now, I wake up at 5:20, go to the gym and either run & weights, or elliptical & weights, home by 7, then can start my day.  Even on a weekend my body now still wakes up at 5:20.  I find when I start the day like this, I get way more done, eat better, and don't feel so sluggish.  Go to bed earlier if it is hard to get up.

i too am an early morning exerciser.  it got to be habit and if i don't work out in the mornign i know feel a bit sluggish throughout the day.  I use to think i would workout right after work, but then i am tired or other commitments come up. 

I am at the gym by 5 am when it opens 3 days per week and 5:30 two day per week for spin class that starts a 6 am. 

It does get easier and it is a great way to start the day. i just have to make sure i am organized the nite before - my breakfast is planned, my lunch is made and ready to pack, my gym cloths are laid out and so are my work cloths.  Pending on the planned work out - i usually shower the nite before to wash and dry my hair and then after my work out i have a quick bath to clean up, then get ready for work. or shower at the gym - with or without a shower cap - pending your time and how long it takes you to get ready.

yeah, I've been going at 5 am... the kids are up at 7-ish, and husband is working by then. Planning the meals and outfits the night before is a must, and there is no other time (sometimes I walk or run at lunch, since my office has a shower, but I can't count on doing that). So far, so good.

for training in the morning u need to sleep early.

our thai training starts at 5 a.m finishs at 8 a.m .

ull get used to it not hard just give it time.

and again sleep early

Thank you so much for all your replies These are just what I wanted to hear

I don't know if I'll feel refreshed straight away; I'm quite heavy -243 lbs- and the last time I tried it I was quite ready for a nap at 2 pm lol but then I wasn't paying much attention to my diet, which probably attributed to me feeling sluggishWell, I'll be doing it in the morning, not going mad though, just a powerwalk with the dog for me. Hopefully with time I will be able to do a slow jog...

 

Thanks again for all your replies

I also run first thing in the morning.  I get up at 4:45 in order to get out the door by 5:00.  It is the only time I can seem to fit my running in.  My boys have sports activities that I need to get them to many afternoons during the week and everytime I have ever tried a regular afternoon workout, I skip out on it too much.

I have always been an afternoon exerciser and thought I simply couldn't transition to morning workouts - but I did!

TIPS:

As other posters have mentioned, get yourself to bed early.

Make yourself go on your chosen days (I just go every morning before work) and DO NOT SKIP. This is important for the first month, because you are forming a habit. If you skip one day, it is easy to skip the next day and then the next. 

Don't scare yourself by trying to do too much in the beginning. My body has a much harder time working out in the morning, and it takes longer to adjust, so I scaled back my workouts when I first started. The goal is to keep yourself moving for however many minutes you have set as a goal. If you kill yourself on your first couple workouts, it can discourage you from going back the next day. Ease into it and scale up as it feels right.

Grit your teeth and get through the first month and you'll be addicted. I occasionally take exercise breaks for a week or two, and I find that I actually miss my morning workouts. Nothing feels better than showering after a morning workout and knowing that you'll feel energized and virtuous the rest of the day.

GOOD LUCK! 

I know the summer before last I was up at 6 every morning and took a jog for 30 minutes. This was before I started counting cals and saw no results as far as weight loss. Then I started doing Taebo which was still a morning routine. Although I found that I had to have something in my stomach before doing Taebo which was not the case when I jogged. Now, I will eat breakfast and then wait 2 hours before doing Taebo. That happens on weekends and days that I do not have school or have to go to work early. If I can't do it early then I will do it later on the in the afternoon. Point blank: Just make sure you exercise no matter what time of day it is!

Does your gym have any morning fitness classes? That always Motivates me :)

 

Good Luck :-)

thank you guys

I powerwalked with the dog this morning, she didn't know what had hit her lol; 'a walk? this early?'

Really enjoyed it though, was amazes by the amount of people I saw up and about doing the same thing!

xxx

Good advice from some posters on taking it slow. When i transitioned from evening to morning workouts i started by getting up 10 or 20 mins earlier then normal - getting in a quick workout and everyday bumped that up 5 mins.  I definetely go to bed earlier and am sometimes still tired in mid afternoon at work - but if i watch what i eat i seem to be ok.

I am a morning work out person too. I had to find a time when I wasn't being pulled in 10 different directions at once. Came to the realization quite quickly that it would be when everyone else is asleep. That is my time and no one bothers me. I can't go to the gym every day, so I do my treadmill every morning and then do the gym in addition on the days that I can (usually 3-4).

I feel so much better after working out and feeling like I can "cross that off my list" for the day. Even if I don't accomplish another thing, I got that done!

Good luck with the new workout. Take it slow and let your body tell you when you can add more activities or time. I started off at 260.5lbs and felt like I was slow as molassas but I don't feel uncomfortable any more, I just do my thing!

Hi there!

I'm a morning exerciser too!  I'm with the others who say that if I don't do it then, i won't do it at all.

I get up between 5-5:30 and usually workout until 7... then hit the shower and get to work by 8.  

I don't have a gym membership, so I do home dvd's and i have a treadmill that i rotate between.

It is a great idea to get you stuff out the night before (breakfast/lunch/clothes).  A trick that I do that has helped is I get my workout clothes and lay them on top of my alarm clock.  That way, I have to pick them up and move them to turn the alarm clock.  Kinda reminds me 'hey, it's time to work out'

 Something that I've learned is that you don't have to feel like you have to jump out of bed and start jumping around!  take it nice and slow.  In fact, invest in a heart rate monitor! (I have a polar F6... it was about $100).  It has helped me so much determine what zone I need to be in.  (And surprisingly, I was working out harder than I needed to! and now I'm really seeing results by slowing down a little)

Since you have more weight to lose, your heart rate will get pumping faster than you think.  Consistency is more important than killing yourself in hard workouts.

Take it nice and slow and make a commitment to yourself to 'just do it!' 

 

...one more thing I'd like to add... I find that on days that I workout, I stick to a better diet during the day.  If I don't, i'm much easier to over eat.  Not sure why that is, but it's definitely helped me in more ways than one.

good luck and keep us posted!!

 

I've been exercising in the morning. I am not a morning person, but I have been 'making' myself do it. I enjoy it...by the time I'm awake, I'm done!

I do find that if I miss it in the morning it's much harder to fit it into the rest of the day, so it usually gets neglected. I've only been doing it for a week, so I'm not sure if am vs. pm workouts will affect my weight loss. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has switched from pm to am and noticed a change.

I wake up at 5 am, make breakfast, leave for the gym around 6, get there at 7, finish working out by 8:30.