Switching to morning workouts

[Iamsuperman]

Hi!
I currently workout (strength training) 3x a week along with cardio before each workout. I have been contemplating switching from night workouts to mornings mainly because i feel great after i go to the gym and i think if i hit the gym in the morning then this would carry out throughout the day. I would split my routine into upper and lower body so i would be working out about the same length of time and be getting up the same time every morning.

I was hoping someone could enlighten me about this transition. Did you experience any fantastic effects? Problems? Is it worth it? Advice? Post any experiences you've have with it.

Thanks for the help,
Angus

[Athena]

Hi Superman,

That's a great idea, to make the switch to morning workouts. It's definitely the ideal time for exercise!

During my summers and vacations from college when I have more flexibility in morning schedule, I always put exercise in the morning-- my target time is to be at the gym about 90 minutes after I wake up. I usually wake, stretch, and have breakfast within 30 minutes of waking, then review daily schedule and check email for another 60 minutes.

some things to help--

*it's best to have a light breakfast about 1 hour before you start cardio, about 400 calories (trainer always says get proper ratio of protein:carb, I usually do about 30g protein to 60g carb)

*and is best if it's something easily digestible, like a green meal or raw meal (my favorite is the Ultimate Meal, mixed with berry powder)

the right breakfast is really important, and choosing the best standard breakfast is good to make the morning most energizing.

*on waking in the morning-- I find that after a few days of morning exercise, my body EXPECTS to be out and exercising in the morning, as soon as I wake, my heart starts racing and I get really restless.. time for the gym! it becomes automatic, no need for extra push or motivation, as my whole physiology clicks into rhythm of morning exercise. it's good to keep the morning exercise slot at the same time daily, for that reason of securing it into the circadian rhythm.

*on administrative stuff, I streamline my exercise clothes so that it's quick to dress in the morning (like 10 different colors of the same sports bra, top, and shorts, and exact same kind of socks, so I don't have to think about anything but color combinations : )

*and also streamline my music on my ipod, so that I already have loaded whatever I want to listen to. I generally update my music weekly, at the same time, so I don't have to think about it between workouts.

*as for post workout meal, it's more individual depending on how hard you train, but trainer usually says to have the meal within 1 hour of workout completion. again here, it's good to have something easily digestible, to get the nutrients to the muscles quickly for recovery.


not sure how regimented your mornings/exercise rituals already are, but I find that the more streamlined all the administrative stuff is, the better it is to GLIDE to the gym and focus on the workout.


I find that exercise is the PERFECT morning time slot, mentally, it's a very 'pure' activity, and is a great for the start of the day; and physically most invigorating in the morning.

Good luck to you, and enjoy your workouts!!

[droren]

regarding this interesting topic
I want to start this routine too but I'm afraid I couldn't wake up at time and break the all routine....
I usually take a shower at the morning which is a sign for the start of the morning ....
any tips or ideas?

[Athena]

ooh, I think MOST importantly, is to make sure you get enough sleep! a full night of sleep is the foundation of the day, of primary importance, even before exercise!

I rarely use an alarm to wake up, I simply make sure to get a full 8 hours of sleep.

what does NOT work, for me at least, is to wake up with an alarm when I'm still sleepy, and then try to exercise. I find that it's not nearly as invigorating or as fun as after a full night of sleep. after my body's rested, then the exercise in the morning schedule becomes automatic. again some of this is personal preference. hope this helps

[Iamsuperman]

Hey
Great advice, thanks Athena

I was wondering, is there any real problems with exercising in the morning when you have school?

[cela]

Hey lamsuperman, I can't see why you'd have any problems exercising before school, as Athena says, as long as you've had enough rest the night before, and give yourself plenty of time in the mornings, you'll be fine.

I've just transitioned to morning gym sessions, and have so much more energy - both during the workouts, and throughout the day.

Go for it!

[jwinn]

Hi superman,

I switched to morning workouts and I'm never going back. Ton of energy during the day and more time to feed my body with adequate nutrition.

It's something I look foward to each morning. Go for it!

[traderdad]

I work out in the morning, after dropping my youngest daughter off at school. I get up at 5:30; eat around 6 - 6:30, and hit the weights by 9:15. It works for me.
HOWEVER!

Men exercise best when their levels of testosterone are highest. This is about 8 hours after we wake up. When I have hit the gym around 2:00 I notice a definite increase in strength and stamina.

but as I said, what works best overall for me is working out at 9:00 am.

I can't imagine working out late in the day.

[Athena]

Superman


Certainly, it's a great idea to exercise in the morning before classes--

for me, I see what fits into schedule -- I prefer to be at the gym around 8am during the semester, for a couple semesters when my weekly schedule had a lot of classes in the morning, I put my routine to do afternoon exercise instead for those couple months. But this is totally personal preference-- I just need a long time to get ready, shower and dry my hair after the gym before walking across our cold campus. When time allows I certainly exercise in the morning though, as that's much more enjoyable.


so yea- get enough sleep, standardize your schedule, and streamline your routine.... and...
have fun!!!

[Lonewolf]

I've been exercising each morning for about 3 years. It's good to combine it with a sauna - your day tends to start relaxed and refreshed. I will say that you do get used to it over time and after 6 months or so it does not seem to have the same refreshing effect. Also watch out for stiff joints in the mornings - spend lots of time doing warm ups to avoid injury.

[RuthinToronto]

Hi there IamSuperman,
I know that the thread on this has been highly positive as far as morning workouts go, but I can't say I've had good results working out in the morning.
The problem is the timing of eating. I would have to be at the gym when it opens at 6:00 in order to get in a decent workout, then get ready for work and be at work for 9:00.
I like to run on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes as a warm-up before I work on the weights - if I don't do this, I get pulled muscles (poor circulation). But I cannot run unless at least 2 hours have passed since my last meal - otherwise I get stomach cramps. That means I'd have to get up around 3:45 a.m.!! That just isn't possible. Going to bed at 7:00 p.m. every day would put me too much at odds with the rest of the world to get anything else done.
So my choices are either workout on a completely empty stomach or don't do any cardio. The first choice is OK for running, but as soon as I try to lift weights I bottom out and can't do a thing (of course!). The second choice means that I'm not getting any cardio, or would have to go to the gym TWICE, once to do cardio, then later in the day to do weights. That kind of defeats the purpose, I think.
So what I'm doing now is working out between 9:00-11:00 at night.
By the way, I've tried using protein/carb shakes first thing in the morning, instead of solid food, so that it isn't as heavy on my stomach, but it just gives me heartburn.
Don't get me wrong - I'm grateful that I have two arms and two legs that work fine, and that I'm able to work out AT ALL! :-) But morning workouts are not feasible for everyone...
RuthInToronto

[leahj77]

I recently (about a month ago) made the swtich from evening workouts to morning workouts. My neighbor belongs to the same gym and our goal is four mornings a week. We get out of the building by 6AM and are home by 7:05.

Having my nights free from gym guilt has been wonderful, so has the feeling of bring truly awake by the time I get to work. It has also helped me add eating breakfast at home, checking email before my commute and making coffee at home into my morning.

I love it and think it is totally worth it.

[Athena]

Ruth--

if it's a matter of timing, keep in mind that the IDEAL time for workouts is the morning. if, because of scheduling, you must work out in the evening, standard advice among trainers is to do so 3 to 4 hours before you go to sleep, so your muscles have time to recover and system has time to calm down to ensure deep sleep.

since this is all about optimizing-- if you can arrange the ideal morning workouts--
have you tried adjusting your calories? like if you could do it on 200 calories of a liquid meal?
if you have it at 6am, let it digest for an hour, then start with weights first at the gym at 7am, you could leave your cardio for second half of your gym session. say you do weights for 40 minutes, and about 30 min of intense cardio after that.
as for warming up mucles- have you tried simply stretching before doing weights?
or reducing warm up time to 10 minutes?

[thadroe]

I've experimented with both morning and evening. However, I still haven't conquered being an "early riser".

From my personal experience though, I would definitely say I enjoyed morning workouts better. I feel so much better the rest of the day. Evening workouts can feel like a chore and keep me too jazzed up to go to bed at a decent time.

Thad

[Rach]

Personally, I like night workouts because i've comsumed energy throughout the day that will help me have a great workout. whereas in the morning, i can workout for maybe 30mins, and get tired easily. i assume it's becasue i dont have enough food in me.
good luck with your switch!

[smk2652468]

i have always struggled to gain weight. I have chronic stomach problems. I have stints of about 2 to 3 weeks when Im fine, but then all of a sudden my stomach aches get out of control. I would really like to have a consisten routine at the gym, and was hoping you had some advice.

[Hsiang-Lin]

Hey smk2652468,

My advice would be to take it easy on your self (your ego) and don't be afraid of failure. In fact, don't even consider it as an option. I like what Brian Tracy says, "Failure is not an option." Get this attitude.

In the mean time, start off slow and steady. Don't even think about hitting the gym and weights. Do something you enjoy. I started off 8 years of daily exercise with basically 1/2 a push-up. And I had no intention of exercising regularly at all when I first started.

The only reason I started was I loved showering and did it 3 times a day so my dad said why don't you at least sweat a little before you shower? I thought, "Fair enough" and it was all downhill from there. I don't think I've dreaded exercise once after that whereas I dreaded it all the time before.

It's funny how life works sometimes so don't be afraid to do something illogical. It just might set you on that unique path to success.

[Dimitry]

Do people generally find it easier to work out with a partner or by themselves? I've tried doing the gym thing on and off a few times and was unable to sustaint it fully. The longest I've done it for (6 months) was when I went along with someone else and we pushed each other not to slack off. Once the other person was unable to go, I phased out of it slowly unintentionally.

On the other hand, when I was younger, I participated in Tae-Kwon-Do for over 10 years. Something tells me I preffer activities that are centered around other people participating in them with me also. Any suggestions? I know one would be...find a partner...I'm just having some trouble finding one for morning workouts (which is what I want to ideally be doing).

[Jehosephat]

I would love to switch to a morning workout as well. I think the biggest problem I have is the timing and quantity of eating in the morning. I don't really like the idea of having to get up even earlier just to give myself time to digest something before working out. However, I know I won't have a worthwhile workout on an empty stomach. Does anyone have a link to some good quick

[Jehosephat]

... pre-workout breakfast resources? I think that is the key that I'm missing. (sorry for the broken post. accidentally tabbed to the Post button)

[RandomGuy101]

I have also recently switched to morning workouts. I wake up at 7am, out the door by 7:05. Is it bad that I don't eat anything before my workouts? I feel fine during and after my workout and I just eat breakfast when I get back home around 8:45. Would my workouts be more beneficial if I ate breakfast before them?

Here's my weekly schedule:
M: weights then cardio
T: yoga (not supposed to eat for 3 hours before yoga anyway)
W: weights and cardio
T: weights and cardio
F: weights and cardio
S: yoga
S: usually break day

I must say the thing I love most about morning workouts is that they free up my time after work and I don't suffer from any nighttime gym guilt.

[Athena]

Randomguy: if you work out fine without breakfast, then you can keep it that way. most trainers recommend having a pre-workout meal of balanced protein and carbs (studies show that it helps increase endurance during exercise). but like ANY of this advice, you consider it then match it against what works best for you.

Jehosephat:
it's important to choose something that will ENHANCE your energy and workout, without weighing you down or being hard to digest. to make it best,
pre-workout meal should be small, about 200 to 400 calories, and eaten 60 to 90 minutes before you begin exercise. some people do better with smaller meal for easier digestion, but can see what works for you. It's important is to get the proper balance of protein and carbs, about 20-30g protein and 60-80g carb, of something easily digestible. meal powders work well here, especially raw vegan ones (bacon and eggs is probably NOT an optimal preworkout meal )

*my favorite raw vegan meal is The Ultimate Meal, mixed with berry powder
1 serving of the ultimate meal, 1/3 cup is 170 calories, with 1 tbsp of the berry powder, is 200 calories total.

*rice protein also works well with fruit, like a banana or strawberries.
3 servings of the rice protein is 150 cals, with a banana = about 250 calories. (can add raw nuts like a few almonds to either of these, to balance out with healthy fat)

*greens bar is probably the best meal bar available now, with the cleanest ingredients, though it's not vegan (it has whey protein in it) ideally the company would make them with rice protein, but that's what they have now.
this bar has has balanced ratios already, and is 250 calories.


==
these 3 products are THE best- from a raw/vegetarian perspective- in terms of quality of ingredients and ratios available now

==

I think it's very important to streamline your pre- and post- workout meals, and to have the same thing every day, for convenience and for easy digestion. each meal is basically like breaking one big meal into 2 smaller snacks.
all of those also work well for post-workout meal (about 1 to 2 hours after exercise completion)


again for any individual factors, and as with any adivce-- consider the recommendations and experiment to see what works best for you.

[Iamsuperman]

You guys offer great suggestions and support! Thanks to everyone

I am rebuilding my workout program to be something like:
S-day off
M-lower body
T-upper body
W-lower
Th-upper
F-lower
S-upper

I'm getting started tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes! (The tough part will be getting up at 7, but with the "Early Riser" article in my repertoire i think I'll pull it off)

Thanks,
Angus

[cela]

Great work, Angus!

[Athena]

Horray!! wish you the best and super fun workouts!!!



===

Dimitry: you can see if you can get morning workouts into your own routine, or if you want to exercise with people, maybe you can try joining classes at a gym? or meet with a trainer every few weeks to track your progress? or even take up tae kwan do again?

[run_fly]

Morning Workout advantages:

-More likely to workout if you do it early.
-Enjoy the workout "high" you get to boost your day.
-Gets you going early sets the tone for your day.
-Don't have to worry about what to eat before your workout during the day (I usually grab an orange right when I wake up do my workout then eat a breakfast after)

anyone els can think of any advantages?

[Iamsuperman]

After trying it a few times I definitely agree with your advantages for morning workouts there are more, here's a few to add on to your list

- More time in the evening
- No night time guilt
- Getting the toughest part of the day done right away (swallow that frog!)

I tried for a few days but found it difficult because i have to get up 2 hours earlier, to make the successful switch early rising must be learned

[Iamsuperman]

I made it only a few days but quit my morning workout routine for these reasons:
1) wasn't ready for 6 day a week workout routine (i go 3 times a week right now)
2) was tired in the morning, had trouble adjusting to 2 hour early waking time
3) didn't have a good enough program, one that i could trust in and motivated me

OK enough with the problems, here's some questions/solutions:
1) On my new program i will be switching to 6 workouts a week in 9 months, i should be ready then
2) I was hoping someone could help me out on this one, when you tried switching to morning exercise/workouts how many days until you adjusted and weren't tired anymore? How long do you have to mossy around till you get going?
3) 20 Months to a Champion Physique - by Bill Pearl - Bill Pearl Enterprises, Inc. great program, highly recommended

[ChefSalad]

Originally Posted by Iamsuperman

I made it only a few days but quit my morning workout routine for these reasons:
1) wasn't ready for 6 day a week workout routine (i go 3 times a week right now)
2) was tired in the morning, had trouble adjusting to 2 hour early waking time
3) didn't have a good enough program, one that i could trust in and motivated me

OK enough with the problems, here's some questions/solutions:
1) On my new program i will be switching to 6 workouts a week in 9 months, i should be ready then

Be sure to switch gradually. Move up to four per week in a few months and then five a while later before going to six. Otherwise, it'll be quite difficult to get there. (Trust me.)

2) I was hoping someone could help me out on this one, when you tried switching to morning exercise/workouts how many days until you adjusted and weren't tired anymore? How long do you have to mossy around till you get going?

You'll find that after about a week, the exercise will wake you up and get you going. You'll still be tired when you first wake up, but I don't think that ever goes away unless you get up really early (like 4:30 AM). When you get up before 5 AM, you'll be amazed at how alert you are straight from jump.

As far as "mossying," I usually take a half-hour to drink some water and evacuate my bowels and bladder before working out. I don't recommend eating before a first-thing-in-the-morning workout, but other people do. It always makes me feel sick if I do.

[John Hill]

Hi Iamsuperman,

There are a number of beneficial reasons to train in the morning as opposed to training at night. Firstly, if you exercise before eating especially cardio workouts you will be in an optimum state to burn fat at twice the rate you would at any other time in the day due to your low blood sugar levels. Your blood sugar levels are at their lowest point in the morning on waking because you haven't eaten since the night before.

Secondly, during exercise your brain releases endorphin hormones and this gives you a natural high that will kickstart you down a happy path for the day.

And thirdly, after intense exercise your core body temperature increases and stays elevated for approximately 5 hours after you finish your workout, this can make it difficult to fall asleep if you are training in the evening.

You can check out more on this topic and other related health and fitness information at Universe Of Success

Cheers,
John