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Becoming a Morning Exerciser

By on February 18, 2011

I generally work out right after work.  Sometimes, like when I have dinner plans or a happy hour set up right after work, I’ll get up earlier to work out that morning.  The morning workouts never catch on because it’s hard enough for me to get up and go to work as it is.  However, on those rare occasions that I do work out in the morning, I feel a lot better during the day – not only physically, but I’m also happy that my workout is over with and I get to enjoy my entire evening.

Since the start of the year, I’ve been making an effort to exercise in the morning.  I don’t plan to make the change over night and I know I’ll still work out in the evenings on some occasions (like when I’ve had a late night the night before or if there is a class I want to take … orrr if I’m lazy and don’t get out of bed in time).

These are the main reasons I want to get into the routine of working out in the morning:

  • My evenings are free to do whatever I’d like (social stuff, blog stuff, wedding stuff, fun stuff with G, etc.)
  • It establishes a good routine (my work schedule is flexible – it’s great, but it doesn’t provide a good routine)
  • Get it over with early (I enjoy working out, but there are those days when I’m not feeling it after work).
  • Less likely to skip a workout (my relationship with exercise ebbs and flows and I think morning exercise would help)
  • The gym is mine (the gym is MUCH less crowded in the mornings before work – I despise a crowded gym)
  • No rushing (I don’t like it when my days feel rushed – getting into a routine and checking off exercise first might help)
  • Promotes being more active (with free evenings, especially in the summer, I can go on walks, play tennis, go swimming, etc. – when I work out in the evening, I generally don’t do these things)
  • Sets the tone for the day (I do feel like starting the day in a healthful way sets a tone for being healthy the rest of the day; translation: I’ll put down the fried food and pick up a clean salad so that I don’t waste my workout)
  • Sets your Circadian Rhythm?  (at least according to this article)
  • Get more out of the day (if I get up early to work out, I’ll get off earlier, so I’ll have more time to enjoy the good life)

I’m sure there are tons of other benefits that I’m missing (share yours in the comments … I’ll use them for motivation ;) ) and exercising in the morning would benefit everyone differently, but these are my main reasons for my desire to work out in the morning.  Now here are the obstacles:

Sleep.  I was ALWAYS that girl at the slumber party that was the last one awake.  Even after everyone laid down to go to sleep, I’d be the last one with my eye’s open, twiddling my thumbs while I listened to everyone’s slowing cadence of breaths.  It still takes me a long time to fall asleep.  About 50% of the time, it takes me 30 minutes to an hour to fall asleep.  About 10% of the time, it takes more than an hour.  The other 40% of the time are those glorious nights when I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.  I usually have trouble falling asleep on the nights that I start worrying about the next day or my to-do list.  I do not think having a flexible work schedule helps sleep issues – sure, you can sleep longer if you had trouble falling asleep the night before, but that jacks up your routine even more.  My number one obstacle for working out in the morning will be sleep issues.

Energy.  Although this could be directly associated with sleep, sometimes it’s not.  Sometimes it’s just damn hard to get out of bed before the crack of dawn no matter how much sleep you get.  The likelihood of getting to the gym in the morning really starts to dwindle when I start picturing myself at the gym, torturing myself on the “dreadmill”.

Weather.  Sometimes it’s below zero degrees in the morning.  Sometimes it’s snowy and icy.  Sometimes it’s a blizzard.  I live in an apartment.  I don’t have a garage.  I’m a firm believer that when you torture yourself for exercise, you’ll end up hating it.  I don’t plan on going to the gym in the morning on those awfully cold days (at least until I have a house with a garage where I can warm up my car while I’m getting dressed).

Life.  Stuff happens.  Right now, I have marriage classes and other church classes (I’m a sponsor for a Catholic-in-training) two nights a week.  Sometimes those classes get out late.  Sometimes I have happy hours with the girls and get home late.  Sometimes we have a birthday party or a family dinner and we’ll get home late.  Hopefully I’ll still be able to coax myself out of bed the next morning to hit the gym, but there will be times that I don’t.  This is where having a routine helps, too.  Once I get into a fairly consistent routine of working out in the morning, a couple late nights shouldn’t be enough to take out my entire regime.

I don’t like rigid regimes.  While I’d like to start working out in the morning the majority of the time, I know that there will be times when I can’t, when I won’t.  That’s okay.  The gym will always be there that evening (it better be, I’m paying good money for that place).

For me, the benefits of becoming a morning exerciser greatly outweigh the cons.  I know it takes time to get into a routine, but this is one that I’d like to focus on this year.  I don’t expect it to happen over night and I do expect many slip-ups.  I figure being realistic about this goal and accepting that it will take time (maybe even years!) will make it that much more attainable.

Do you prefer to work out in the morning or in the evening?  Why?

Categories: Body, Exercise, Goals, Routine26 Comments

Staying Motivated to Work Out

By on January 11, 2011

Gyms are packed right now. Those with a weight loss dream are high off the new start of the New Year and are hitting their workout routines hard.  It’s great to see so many motivated people repping it out at the gym, but it’s hard not to feel a little cynical towards them since many of them will fall off the wagon in a couple weeks.

It’s really freakin’ hard to maintain a workout routine.  I’m not gonna lie, it’s NOT easy.  But what’s the alternative?  Letting the pounds pack on as each year passes and just waiting for diseases and illnesses and obesity to take over our body?  Well … that doesn’t sound too fun.

I battled with maintaining an exercise routine when I was younger, yo-yo exercised through college, and finally hit my stride after college (I’m going about 6 years strong now). 

As hard as it is to maintain an exercise routine, I always feel SO great after it’s over.  This is the main thing that keeps me coming back for more.  After an excruciating workout, when I’m exhausted and my legs feel like rubber, my head is always clear, I feel grateful, I feel accomplished, I feeling cleansed, and, most of all, I feel happy.

Since I know many people will struggle to maintain their routine towards the end of this month, here are some things that usually get me off that couch and into the gym:

  • The aftertaste.  Everything I listed above is usually enough to get me to the gym.  When I’m really consistent with my workouts, I really begin to crave that feeling I get after I workout.  I usually feel my best right after a workout.
  • Sweat out the day.  If you’re beat, pissed off, or stressed out after a long day of work, it’s easy to want to crash out on the couch.  I’ve gone with this option many times, but I always feel much better if I workout instead.  And at the end of those nights where I park it on the couch, I usually ending up wishing I would have worked out anyway.
  • Avoid the guilt.  If I do end up going with Option B: Parking it on the Couch, I always feel so guilty at the end of the night.  Knowing that feeling of guilt that will come if I still on my butt sometimes helps give me that push out the door.
  • What else are you going to do?  Seriously.  If you don’t have any other plans and if you don’t workout, what are you going to do?  Sit around?  Watch reality TV?  Eat chips?  Yeah, it’s time to go workout.
  • It’s good for you!  Of course, the best reason to workout is just because it’s good for you.  It wards off colds and other illnesses, keeps you trim, keeps your heart/brain healthy, and helps you sleep.  If you’re a human being (and I’m guessing you are if you’re reading this), then those things might appeal to you.
  • You want to write a blog post.  No joke.  My BEST ideas for blog posts usually come when I’m running.  Those endorphins seriously help with creativity.  Trouble is … I often forget my brilliant post ideas by the time I make it to the locker room – I should really bring a notebook with me.
  • Fun activity/socializing/people-watching.  If you have nothing else to do, it’s sort of fun just to go to the gym.  Sometimes I just tell myself to go to the gym and ride the bike for awhile and am usually entertained by the people and conversations around me.  And it’s always fun when I see friends at the gym, too.  Or,  you could always take a class and make friends there!

Like I said before, working out is HARD, but it’s better than the alternative of a sedentary, unhealthy, and unhappy life.  I’d LOVE to see more resolutioners make it past the end of January and make working out a lifelong commitment.

How do YOU stay motivated to workout?

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Don’t forget to check out my latest post on Lending Tree —–>  It’s Not Too Late: Financial Checklist for the New Year

Categories: Body, Exercise, Goals, Health30 Comments

The More You Sweat, The More You’ll Want To Sweat

By on September 13, 2010

Have you ever heard that saying, “The more you lay around, the more you’ll want to lay around”?

I’d be surprised if you had since the only person I’ve ever known to say it is my best friend who heard it from her dad, so I’m pretty sure it was just one of those all-knowing dad-phrases that he coined when the kids were younger.  Smart guy.

Every time  I’m laying around like a lazy bum when I should be doing something, that phrase plays over and over and over and over in my mind.  The more you lay around, the more you’ll want to lay around.  The more you lay around, the more you’ll want to lay around.  Sometimes it wins and sometimes my laziness wins, but in the end, it is always right.

There’s a reason that phrase has stayed with me over the years: It’s one of the truest, yet simplest, observations of life.  How hard is it to get up off the couch after you’ve become perfectly snuggled into the cushions under a soft, warm blanket with your favorite reality TV show dancing on the screen in front of you?  It’s pretty tough … and the longer you lay there, the harder and harder it becomes to get up and get going.

As I was finishing up my run the other day, I realized the phrase not only applies to being lazy in life, it also applies to being lazy in fitness.

Making exercise feel easy and natural

Lately, my runs have been coming as easy and naturally to me as it is to love Lloyd (I’m engaged, people – sorry).  In non-lovey-dovey speak: my runs have been off the chain lately.  Or, even more simply:  lately, me run good.

There is nothing worse than a bad run.  That moment in a bad run when you lift your leg off the ground for that first stride and it feels like a limp sand bag is one of the worst feelings I ever experience when working out.  You know that this run is going to drag on and on and you’re going to be in extreme pain and agony for every millisecond of the next 30 minutes.

But a good run – there is nothing better than a good run (when it comes to living well, that is).  These are the runs where it feels effortless, your mind wanders to happy thoughts, you completely forget you’re running, the sweat feels good, the physical movement feels good, your breath feels good – you feel like you could run forever!  No, there is definitely nothing better than a good run.

Good runs come to those who commit

A good run takes time to achieve.  I remember when I went on my first run way back in 2002.  I couldn’t run a half mile before I felt like I was going to die.  My muscles were on fire, my lungs were burning, my breath was wheezy and harsh, I felt like my body and legs weighed a ton and I could barely move one foot in front of the other.

The easy solution is to give up.  To just quit.  It’s only natural to worry that this is how exercise will feel forever.  That it will be constant, excruciating pain.  Who wants to commit to a daily activity that you dread and that only makes you miserable?  How can anyone possibly stick to a workout regime if it’s this painful?

But it does get better.  A lot better.

Once you commit to running and start running regularly, you will reap great rewards.  Eventually, you’ll start having excellent runs.  At work, you’ll look forward to your upcoming run that night.  And during your run, all the stress, frustration, and annoyance from your work-life will dissolve from your body.  The sweat will cleanse you.  Your legs will feel strong and at the end of it all, you’ll feel happy, content, accomplished, and calm.

Stick With It

It isn’t just running.  All exercise becomes easier over time.  Not easier in the sense that the movements are easy to do, but in the sense that you’re stronger and healthier and your body can handle more.

This is why those quick-fix workout plans never work.  In high school, I would jump on an intense, 4-week workout program to drop weight, but I never finished.  I always got burnt out and discouraged.  Workouts should be hard and intense 90% of the time, but going from zilch to 100 miles per hour isn’t the best means to the end and usually always ends in disaster.

I am like everyone else in the world who jumped on and off the workout bandwagon for years.  I didn’t want to make a commitment to my health, I just wanted to make a commitment to the boot cut jeans I planned to wear that night.

It takes time to become committed.  It took me years to get hooked on exercise.  And sometimes I still waver.  But I do know one thing – the more you stick with it and the longer you regularly work out, the more you’ll want to work out.  You’ll crave those feel-good sweat droplets licking your brow line.  You’ll want more of that confidence and happiness that comes with health and exercise-produced endorphins.  But, it doesn’t happen over night; it takes years.  It takes change.

Becoming committed to working out and leading a healthy, balanced lifestyle was one of the best things I ever did for myself.  Sometimes life happens and my commitment falters a bit, but it’s always there to welcome me back with open arms when I’m ready.  It doesn’t beat me up for stumbling, it just encourages me to keep on running.

Do you struggle to commit to a workout plan?  Why do you workout?  Do you hate working out or love it?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

Categories: Body, Exercise, Health9 Comments