A.M. Runs/Cardio

[pseudo_vegan]

This past Saturday I woke at 6 A.M. Central Time (5 A.M. Mountain Time -- what I'm used to [was home visiting family]). I got up and was running by 6:30...ran for about 35 minutes. Minus the effects of travelling from time-zone to time-zone, I felt pretty good.

This morning (Monday) I woke at 5:15; ran from 5:30-6:30. I felt pretty good...I had a full hour of cardio DONE and the day was just beginning, etc. However, my first few hours at work were sluggish and I was grumpy. I've been waking up early like that (aroudn 5:30) for a month or so now, I just haven't done the running.

So...for those of you that do early-morning cardio, was I just tired from traveling all weekend? Will my body "adjust" to the exercise first thing in the morning like that? Or should I just get used to the dragging/less-than-chipper mood or go back to evening cardio?

Thanks in advance!

:nigel: Cheers!

[brahmacharya]

Hey there,

When I make a change to my "routine" [such as it is!] I try not to make any assessments of it for at least a week. It takes that long for some of the new information to manifest in my body. Exercising in the AM can be great but you should do it whenever you feel like you wanna, whenever it fits in well with whatever else you have going on.

E.g.: I'm "supposed" to be going to yoga in the mornings but a) I'd have to bring even more crap with me to shower before work b) the studio is way cold in the AM c) ugh, getting out of bed :sick: So, evening practice it is.

And I find travelling, even if I'm not switching time zones, very unsettling. Give it a while and see how you feel!

[pseudo_vegan]

Thanks, B! :)

:nigel: C.

[zoebird]

off topic:

but i find morning practice more difficult than evening. by the evening, i've moved around a lot, so i'm more 'open' and 'flexible'--in the morning, i'm slow and stiff and it takes a lot longer to get things moving into the practice. that being said, i still practice in the morning.

on topic:

i think it was the travel at this point.

[GTChick01]

I'd have to say it's from traveling. I'm NOT a morning person at all and I have been getting up at 4:45am to be at the gym by 6:00. For the first month I had SOOO much energy all day long that I could barely sleep at night! Now I still have energy in the morning after my run but I'm not as energetic at night. :)

[brahmacharya]

off topic:

but i find morning practice more difficult than evening. by the evening, i've moved around a lot, so i'm more 'open' and 'flexible'--in the morning, i'm slow and stiff and it takes a lot longer to get things moving into the practice. that being said, i still practice in the morning.

Yeah, zoebird, I would totally agree with that [OT too, sorry pseudo! Although maybe this will be relevant if you are stretching before your run]. When I was doing my Mysore practice the crazier postures were much more of a challenge in the AM. But my belly was emptier...so twists and forward bends were easier. I dunno. I think GTChick's got a great point about getting that "sustained" energy all day long from setting the day up with exercise of any kind. Trouble is, it can't be a one-off...you kind of need to get into a routine with it.

[pseudo_vegan]

Well, it's been two days...uhhhhhhhhh :-/

I'm telling myself to give it *at least* a week...I've been waking around 5-ish for a couple months for work now, just not doing the work-out. So...like I said, if I can go a whole week, then I think I have a better view of whether I prefer morning or evening cadio...I mainly just like the feeling of having it "over" with doing it early A.M.

And now that I've *charmed* the...d00d I'm..."seeing" or whatever into running with me (just this morning, but I told him tomorrow's a go for launch as well), methinks it might help me get through Week I. Muahahaha :whip:

:nigel: Cheers!

[Jinga]

Yeah, zoebird, I would totally agree with that [OT too, sorry pseudo! Although maybe this will be relevant if you are stretching before your run]. When I was doing my Mysore practice the crazier postures were much more of a challenge in the AM. But my belly was emptier...so twists and forward bends were easier. I dunno. I think GTChick's got a great point about getting that "sustained" energy all day long from setting the day up with exercise of any kind. Trouble is, it can't be a one-off...you kind of need to get into a routine with it.

I'm the complete opposite! When I exercise in the morning I am 'fresh' and can do more. By evening, I am just worn out/lacking energy. I'm not referring to yoga, though. I tend to run or do calisthenics.