Your thoughts please on early morning workouts

[Stephen]

Hi Everyone

I would like to to hear your thoughts on the potential dangers of early morning workouts. When I exercise it has always been running, to the exclusion of most other methods of sporting activity.

However I am concerned that there are dangers involved in exercising very early in the morning.

(caveat -- Please dont get me wrong. I am fully aware that exercising in the morning is infinitely superior than not excercising at all and if that is the only option the so be it. However the point of this post is to weigh up the dangers if any, of exercising very early in the morning as opposed to later on.)

Ok. Here is my thinking. When we sleep (and most of us do at night) our motorways and byways of blood vessels behave differently from when we are awake. They go into 'slow down' mode. When we wake up things start to get sloshed about in there and sped around by a faster pumping heart which seems all well and good. However by forcing ourselves to pump our hearts at a very fast rate when our bodies are still in 'slow mode' internally, begs me to ask a few questions. I do so because of the huge amount of early morning heart attacks: yes, admittedly the unfit and unhealthy make up the stats for the most part in this case, but I am sure a few scalps have been taken from those who perceived themselves to be sensible when it comes to looking after our bodies.

The questions which I ask myself are:

#If exercising is more dangerous to the cardiovascular system very early in the morning then shouldnt we postpone it (if we can) till later in the day?

#When I awaken, my body doesnt 'feel' like being put through the mill: so why dont I just listen to it and exercise later on when I have lossened up a bit?

#Have we been socially programmed to think that those exercising at 5am (like Rocky) in the dark is somehow tougher and better for us?

#Are we more prone to injury of muscle at such early hours due to tight and contracted muscles which have not had a few hours to loosen off?

I have very low cholesterol being a vegan and I am normal weight. I am knocking on the door of my 40th birthday. I dont consider myself in any 'at risk' group, but shouldnt I be at the very least cautious in my exercising methodology?

[Ree]

i've been exercising first thing in the mornings, beginning anywhere from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., since 1993 and have not suffered an injury or had any ill effects from it. I always exercise outdoors if at all possible. My routine includes brisk walking, running, aerobics, yoga and strength training with free weights up to 20 pounds each. My sessions last at least an hour, sometimes an hour, 15 minutes.

[Matthew Shea]

I exercise in the morning, also mostly running. I force myself to lift weights twice a week to keep my muscle mass up and for metabolism's sake, but I feel that I get more out of the running. Anyway, giving myself some time to wake up definitely helps, but multiple hours aren't necessary. 15 minutes with a cup of coffee before I leave makes a huge difference in performance and gives my body time to adjust to being awake. I don't even need to move much, really.

Regarding the heart attack risk, I'd say if you need to be worried about such a thing, you'd know it by age 40 unless you're one of the rare cases of undiagnosed congenital heart defects. I would also suspect that if your ticker was that close to giving out, it wouldn't make a difference what time of day you exercise. Exercise itself is going to stress your heart no matter what time of day you do it. Just make sure you're not over-stressing yourself and running your heart rate up too high for your age.

[MercuryLime]

I think that your body "wakes up" and is ready for physical activity fairly quickly upon waking. Just like a car can go from 0 to 60 in a couple seconds, so can we.

[Stephen]

Experts.com - The Premiere Online Experts Directory

Why are there winter heart attack spikes?

These articles are quite interesting and do not exagerate the risks, but clearly acknowledges them.

I think it is worth taking account of especially if you are trying to get fit as many people do after lengthy periods of poor living.

[mikew]

Originally Posted by Matthew Shea

15 minutes with a cup of coffee before I leave makes a huge difference in performance and gives my body time to adjust to being awake.

I'm curious - do most people eat/drink anything before an early morning workout? If so, what?

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by mikew

I'm curious - do most people eat/drink anything before an early morning workout? If so, what?

I need about 2 hours after eating a meal before I feel comfortable: so no, not me.

[NotesMaeve]

Originally Posted by mikew

I'm curious - do most people eat/drink anything before an early morning workout? If so, what?

I usually eat before I go on a bike ride, like a cereal bar or a banana.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by NotesMaeve

I usually eat before I go on a bike ride, like a cereal bar or a banana.

Ah! But you avoid that bouncing motion when the bum is on the saddle!

[Ree]

I don't eat or drink anything before my early morning workouts. Immediately afterwards I drink 500 ml of water at room temperature. An hour or so later I have breakfast, usually cereal, fresh fruit or a fresh smoothie, and more water.

[NotesMaeve]

Originally Posted by Stephen

Ah! But you avoid that bouncing motion when the bum is on the saddle!

Spoken like someone who's either been on a ride with me or been cycling with me.