Despite all my attempts to make a deal with God, the other powers that be (aka my boss) decided the road conditions were fine and I had to go to work. Boo!
I will say that the 2 hour delay helped to lessen the pain of returning to work after two glorious snow days. It also turned out to be a very busy day and next thing I knew, it was time to go home.
Before heading home, I worked out like always. This is a habit I began a few years ago when I switched from morning to evening workouts. I used to run every morning before work until I got injured and had to take time off. Even then, I would go to the gym and cycle or swim in the morning. Dragging myself out of bed for a gym workout took lots of motivation and only lasted a few months so, I changed my routine and began exercising after work.
I will admit that I miss morning workouts, but my biorhythms or hormones or something must have changed; I just don’t have the same AM energy that was once so abundant. For a while I was very hard on myself for falling out of the morning exercise habit. I still miss the energy that used to greet me at the start of each day. Nevertheless, I’m finally sort of embracing the fact that nothing in life stays the same. I can adapt and be happy or dig my heels in the ground and be miserable. In this scenario, I first dug my heels in and then decided to adapt. I’m currently working on choosing “happy” the first go-round. I am but a work in progress, excuse my mess.
It seems that the blogger world is full of women who leap out of bed at 5am, excited to log an 8 mile run or sweat their way through a 90 minute yoga class. These same bloggers, who are the object of envy, have also given us advice on how to become a morning exerciser. As I’ve mentioned, this is no longer how I operate. I don’ t know about you, but I can lay out fabulous exercise clothes and even channel Jane Fonda, but that is not going to convince me that running in the cold is better than staying in my bed, fantasizing dreaming about Chuck Bass. You gotta do better than that.
Now that I embrace myself as an evening exerciser, I’d like to share with all of you, my tips for successfully delaying your workout.
1. Stay up late. Read more blogs and keep up with twitter. The twitter fun doesn’t really start until all the boring people have gone to bed. 
2. Hit the snooze button. When your alarm tells you it’s time to leave the comfort of your bed for physical exercise, hit that snooze button.
3. Pack your workout back. Include layers so you have the option to run outside in the cold in the event the the January Joiners have taken over the gym. Bring your Garmin and Ipod. Also, don’t forget a fleece and gloves for those really cold nights.
4. After work, do not pass go or collect $200. Put your workout clothes on, pronto, and head to the gym. I’ve found that if I make my workout the next segment of my day, it becomes very routine—like brushing my teeth. And none of us forgets to brush our teeth, right???
5. Every now and then, you miss a workout. This is how you keep compulsive exercise in check and learn how to give yourself a break. It’s also known as: listening to your body.
These are the steps I follow each day that allow me to maintain my evening exerciser status. Who knows what will come along in life to disrupt this routine, but for now it works for me. Perhaps I’m the only neurotic perfectionist who felt less than because I could no longer get my workout out of the way in the morning, but I share all of this in case there are others who are in the same boat. In the end, all that matters is that I get some exercise most days. I’m happy to report that this is a lifestyle that I currently maintain and I’m slowly but surely, removing the self-imposed rules that have been so useless.
Do you feel pressure to maintain a certain type of workout schedule? How do you break that mindset?
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{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this post! I used to be a morning exerciser as well, but I just lost the ability to get up one day. I get annoyed with articles that make it sound like working out in the morning is so much better for you. It’s the same workout, whether you do it at 6 AM or 8 PM.
I don’t know why I feel like exercising in the morning is superior–it’s a very stupid thought. Like you said, the workout is the same no matter the time of day.
I’ve always been a morning person, and definitely prefer to exercise first thing in the morning, but I find that I am pretty much seasonal about it – I wonder if that’s part of what you’re experiencing? When it’s light out in the early morning I don’t have much trouble getting up and out the door, but when it’s freezing and dark I find that it works better for me to exercise in the afternoon/evening (although I end up skipping a lot more workouts too), especially because if I’m going to go running in the dark I feel a lot safer in the evening than I do in the early morning (I tend to think if there are more cars out I am less likely to run into trouble, and that if I did for some reason, more people would be awake/around). I think it’s all about finding what works for you…and it’s kind of fun to change things up every so often!!
I agree that the light issue does have a huge impact, but that isn’t the whole problem. Ever since I fell out of the morning habit, my body doesn’t like to move until later in the day. When I do force myself to exercise earlier in the day, it takes much longer for my muscles to warm up and ease into the activity. In the evening, I’m tired of being sedentary and ready to move. My fear is that one day I won’t have time at night to exercise and I won’t be able to get back into the morning routine.
I go back and forth between being a morning exerciser (earlier than 5 am most days) and a night exerciser (6:30 or later). I don’t really prefer one over the other because they’re both too late and too early for me. Hopefully I’ll have a new job soon b/c 5 am workout actually sounds good right now.
Ahhh 5am!!! Somehow I can manage yoga at 6:30am every now and then, but running at 5am would never happen. Don’t know how you do it.
The same thing happened to me. I got myself into the am exercise schedule and after a few months, I reverted back to pm exercise and I’ve NEVER looked back. Sorry, but being in bed by 8:30=NO LIFE.
I’m with you. Maybe if I went to bed earlier, it would be easy to wake up and exercise. But now that I a large portion of my life happens after 7pm, it would be hard to give that up.
I just think I’m a pm exerciser. I’ve tried and tried to get up earlier to work out, but it just doesn’t happen. Oh well!
That is the conclusion I’ve come to for myself, for the time being.
I love working out in the AM mostly because it leaves my busy evenings open. But, my body would much rather work out in the PM – this way, I get to sleep in, my energy levels are higher in the PM, and my muscles are warmer which result in a much better workout. But I would prefer to be an AM exerciser because it’s SO nice not to have to stress about fitting it into your evening.
I love working out in the AM because I do feel more energized and like you, there’s no worrying about fitting it in later, but I just can’t do it any more.
Now you like Chuck? Poor Nate
I’m an early morning workout-er in the summer when it’s actually daylight before 7:30 am. I used to feel pressure to get in my workout before work, but now that I work from home, I enjoy lunchtime workouts.
I know, poor Nate. I started liking Chuck in this last season–his hair looks good and he’s less emo.
Ahhh…I love Chuck Bass
I tend to have a random workout schedule right now…some mornings, some evenings. I’m still sorting out what works best for me.
I just recently starting having a crush on Chuck Bass. It’s pathetic, sometimes I dream about him now. lol
I prefer morning workouts and do really well with them for a month or so and then I fall back into evening workouts for awhile and go back and forth. Although you make a compelling argument for sticking with nightly work outs!
Right now, I’m on the after work kick and enjoying it. I have more energy and time!
I’m glad my argument is compelling..lol! I’m trying to convert everyone to PM workouts!
Ha I love this post! I am *kind of* a morning exerciser. I do it 2-4 times a week, mostly to get it out of the way in the morning because I LOVE to have my evenings free. But I also like to sleep in which is why 3-4 times a week I do my exercise in the evening instead.
Last week I got up three mornings in a row at 5:15 and while I did feel like it got easier, on the 4th morning when I was allowed to “sleep in” until 6:45 I slept like a log!
I would say 2-4 times a week makes you a morning exerciser. I don’t know how you can flip flop your workout times like that. I guess I’m just an all or nothing person.
I’m switching from morning to afternoon exercise times and am surprised how much I like it. It does make it harder to be sure to fit in sometimes but I prefer the extra time in my morning.
And glad you had a fun night last night (per Caitlin’s site).
I did have fun! It was amazing!
Happy(belated) birthday.
Great tips; I’ve definitely used a few of them in the past when I shouldn’t have been
Thanks! I think these tips are what messed up my morning routine–to many late nights on Twitter and snooze-buttoning.
I’m so glad to see one blogger who doesn’t like morning workouts! I always read blogs, articles and reports that encourage working out first thing in the morning, but my motivation to sweat and get moving is non-existent any time before 9AM. I struggle to get out of bed by 7:15. After work though, nothing is a better stress-reliever than a good workout! I have much more energy and motivation at night.
I’m exactly the same—7:15 feels way too early. I just can’t understand how people get their bodies to function at 5am!
Nothing beats working out at sunset! I’m a failed morning exerciser as well, embrace the evening sweats!
I certainly have embraced the evening sweats, but there is a part of me that feels lame because I can’t get my ass out of bed!
Us lameasses can stick together as the 'evening warriors'
I don't feel bad about it, I needs my sleep!
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