Primal Morning page

[Diana Renata]

Gooood morning...


So I got to thinking this morning, about waking up, and sleeping, and exercise.


My usual routine is to get to bed early, sleep about 8 hours, wake up before the alarm, get dressed and go to the gym. Some mornings I just don't feel into it and end up with a lackluster workout. Other mornings I feel great and have great workouts.


But this morning was one of those blah mornings, and I got to thinking... maybe I should switch my workouts to after work, and just spend my mornings waking up and relaxing. A nice leisurely cup of coffee, shower, breakfast, then guage my workout by what kind of workday I had.


I'm just sorta curious about how you all do it- waking up in the morning and when you work out. It seems to me that waking up quietly and having a relaxing morning, then working out later is probably the more healthful, Primal approach. What do you think?

[Clint]

From a Primal standpoint, both options are valid. Deer, for example, feed, primarily, in the pre-dawn and pre-dusk hours. That's why hunters, typically, get up so early. So Grok would have his most successful chance of catching one either the time right when he wakes up (or even before) or near the end of the day (right before dinner!).


From a modern standpoint, it's really all about personal preference. I prefer to work out closer to the end of the day b/c I get up really early for work and generally just hate mornings


Some people like to start their day w/ a workout b/c they either feel they won't do it if they put it off until the end of the day or b/c it makes them feel energized for the day ahead.


If I were you, I'd mix it up depending on how I felt. If I felt good in the morning, then I'd workout b/c if I end up having a bad day at work, I might want to just skip the workout. On the other hand, if you're not feeling your best in morning, then give the day a shot and see how you feel in the evening and try knocking it out then.


Probably, the more random you keep it, the more Primal you'd be anyway!

[Miriam]

I go to the gym after work, I just find I get a better workout as I have been up and moving all day and the blood if flowing.


In the mornings I wake up normally about 5ish, feed the cat (#1 priority upon waking) shower and then go back to bed with a lovely cup of coffee with cream and read this forum for a while and then meditate and then get ready and go to work in a nice relaxed manner.


Also I find it is better for me to go at night as it gives my body the time to mend itself overnight, I used to go the gym in the mornings but then would get really fatigued mid afternoon.


So give it a go going after work and see how you feel.

[hannahc]

I don't do well with workouts in the morning, they are always lackluster. I do like to get up and have a little bit of time to myself though to eat breakfast (except for this week . I always do a better workout in the afternoon/evening, and that way I can fit my workout to what I need that day after work, how I feel from the day before, etc. I agree with Clint about switching it up though, that probably is the most primal way to go about it!

[DiabetesCanKissMyButt]

I usually do my work-outs after work. The week my mom was here, i got up at 5am to work out so it wouldn't interfere with "quality" family time- lol! I despise working out that early. I am sluggish and it makes me tired and starving all day. The up side is that it's done for the day and that's a nice feeling.

[SassaFrass88]

I like mornings because:


A. Traffic allows me to get to work in 30 minutes instead of my normal 1 hr rush-hour commute (I bet this also saves a ton of gas in my SUV guzzler!).

B. Gets the blood moving and sets me up for the rest of my day.

C. Gets it out of the way so that things don't 'come up'.


I don't like morning workouts, however, because:


A. I have to wake up early and I am STILL not getting a full 8 hrs (or 7 hrs or 6 hrs) of sleep :-( (But, if I sleep in, because of the extra commute time, I don't really get much of a difference in the extra sleep time anyway).


B. Sometimes I am really lagging (but once in the middle of working out, all's good in da hood!).


For me, I like to go during lunch. It's not too late in the day, it wakes you back up and gives you a great 'stress reliever' in between your work hours. I eat lunch at my desk while I play on Mark's Daily Apple....er, I mean, while I work...., so a lunch hour of the gym is nice (that is, if I actually get my butt out of this stupid chair and make myself go!)

[bpm]

I much prefer a morning workout, usually on an empty stomach- I find I lift stronger that way. Don't know why, just personal experience. It also, as others have said, provides two benefits:


1. It really gets you going. I have coworkers who can barely get anything done for the first 30 minutes they are here, while I'm off and running directly.


2. The workout is out of the way, as others have said. I often have stuff come up in the evening- working late, social gatherings, etc, that I don't anticipate. I work in Manhattan and live and work out in Brooklyn, so I can't really make a dinner if I have to go borough to borough to get my workout in.


Lastly, there's just not nearly as many people on the weights in the mornings.


-b

[LabRat]

It doesn't matter when I get up, my metabolism does not get up until around 11 am. Period. Until then, no matter how much sleep I got, I will be dragging and have not much to give to the workout. I've done intense physical activity at such hours before (mostly things like family firewood expeditions or hunting), and the activity doesn't energize me, it makes me savagely cranky.


Some people are night owls, some are larks... I am most definitely on the owly end of the spectrum.

[Diana Renata]

Wow... thanks for your thoughts everyone.


Gives me a few things to consider while I experiment.