This is what it looks like in our back yard at 6 am. The sun isn’t quite up yet, but it’s on its way. How do I know this? Because I’ve finally decided that there is hardly ever going to be a time when I feel like exercising after I get home from work at night. I tried fooling myself into thinking that after work was the best time for me to do it (since I am so not a morning person), but it just meant that I’d come home, not exercise, and feel slightly guilty the rest of the evening.
So, I heard about the Fitbit and thought maybe that would help. If someone says I’m supposed to walk 10,000 steps a day and do 10 flights of stairs, then those are the numbers I try to hit. And since I started getting up early in the morning to walk for an hour, it has been working. I do like getting it out of the way before work. And I get to see pretty scenes like this (finally – the sun is up above the horizon.):
And this (I love seeing mountains first thing every morning.):
These things have helped me stick to this routine for a couple of months now:
1. Personally, I need to do it every single day of the week. I do take Saturdays and Sundays off, but I’m just about ready to throw at least Saturday into the mix, too. Mondays are a bugger when 6 am rolls around again.
2. I listen to audiobooks. It makes the hour of walking pass by really quickly.
3. I fool my brain. I tell myself that I’m going to walk for 30 minutes (in one direction, away from my house) and then I’ll just walk home. That equals an hour, but the last part of it is just “walking home”. 🙂
The downside? I am tired too early in the evening. It’s affecting my knitting, FPS. Somehow I need to learn to be a morning person AND a night person. Is that possible?? I need to finish my Camp Loopy Project Three this weekend. (I’m making a Derecho out of the Loopy Solid Series. So many fun colors to choose from.)
Today’s blog contest question: Are you a night person or a morning person? (And while we’re at it, do you have any tips about sticking to an exercise routine?) Leave a comment below and I’ll draw names for two more skeins of Wollmeise Lace next week.
We do have winners from last week’s blog contest! I’m sending a skein of Wollmeise Lace to Linda in IL and Amber in IN. Congratulations to you two!
Sheri 9162stepssofarfortoday.
Mustwalkbackandforthintheshopafewmoretimes….
Well, pre-kids there was no doubt I was a morning person. However, now I end up staying up too late because it is quiet time where I can knit, read, think, etc. I’d like to figure out how to be both too because exercise is something I need to fit in to a busy schedule. I enjoyed reading your tips a lot. Thanks for the extra motivation!
Ican so easily talk myself out of exercise! Now that hubby is retired and diagnosed as pre-diabetic, he takes his exercise very seriously (much more than I do) and because of that I get to the gym more often than I would otherwise. But I keep telling myself I need to work on doing ‘planks’ every day…and if they would work just by visualizing doing them- well, I would be in great shape!
Altho I work dayshift, I am so definitely not a morning person….and altho I worked nights for more years than I want to think about ….I am not a night person either. An afternoon/evening person maybe!
I guess that I’m more of a morning person, but not always by choice. The dog usually wakes me up at 5:30 or so, whether I have to go to work or not! Sorry, but I don’t really have any exercise tips, if I did I would for sure use them!
I am definitely a morning person. I begin fizzing out by late afternoon. I don’t think you can change your insides from morning to night or vice versa. I think we are what we are and we are who we are. Advice on exercising? No, just do the best you can. And don’t beat yourself up if you don’t feel like exercising every day. Just keep going on.
I already wrote a comment, but just thought of something else to add about exercising. Clean your own house. Do not hire someone to do it for you. YOU do it. That is a lot of exercise especially if you clean every day!!!
Morning & I love my srtiiv pedometer! I’m encouraged to walk that last little bit more to reach my goal.
I am so not a morning person. My latest exercise plan is when I take the dog to the dog park I walk the perimeter while he is playing with his friends instead of sitting on my behind yakking. 😉
I’m definitely a night person, although as I get older I find myself waking up at 6:30 every morning. Then I get up and feel like a zombie. I need to start exercising, but it’s so hard to put the knitting down!
I used to be a morning person, but now I find myself staying up later and later. So I don’t know what I am any more! I’ve heard that exercising with a friend helps you stay with it, but I’ve never found anyone who wanted to exercise when I was available! Good luck!
I am becoming more of a morning person the older I get. I have no helpful tips for exercise – if it’s called exercise, I have to force myself to do it!
Definitely a morning person! One thing I do when I’m having a hard time squeezing in any exercise is walking the long way to the restroom. Instead of walking down the hall from my office, I go up the stairs, down the hall, down the far set of stairs, and then back to the restroom.
Total morning person, since I was 3yo. No exaggeration on that, much to my mother’s dismay. I also tend to nod off knitting in the evening – I get up at 5:00am! I try to find time during the day to do any tricky bits and save the garter and stocking sts for the evening. That’s a good reason to have multiple WIPs, right?
I find I can stay awake longer (not always a good thing) if I get up and do a small chore, like unload the dishwasher when I start to nod off a bit.
I’m a night person.
I think what you are doing is great! Keep it up!
Just staying active is half the battle. My mom (90 yr young) has an embroidered picture on her wall that says, “to rest, is to rust”. She is still playing golf and winning games and prizes all the time.
I’m an night person…. I work at a Local Community college… I register for a exercise class that falls during my lunch hour… I’m more likely to go to the class than exercise before or after work. My favorite class is water aerobics. This term I also registered for a yoga class after work two nights a week… Let’s see if I make them 😉
Donna
I’m a morning person. & I’m trying to figure out how to stick to an exercise routine myself, so I have no tips but will be reading everyone else’s!
Night person – definitely! And I’ve never been able to stick to an exercise routine.
Night person, my boss just bought a fitbit and I was wondering how it would work. I exercise as soon as I get home at night but you are right it cuts into the knitting time but I have to do it. Good luck, hope you are able to continue the walking.
I usually like mornings and need to start an exercise plan. I haven’t slept through the night in 7 years and tend to get by on less sleep (some nights are better than others). I usually am in bed by 10:30 every night and have no trouble falling asleep (usually though there is a rare night when I can’t fall asleep). I should start exercising in the morning, a co-worker moved and gave me her exercise bike. It’s a nice model and I really do want to play with it. It’s been such a hot summer that I haven’t touched it.
I am totally a night person, BUT when I have to get up in the morning for work, I can’t stay up very late. So I guess I am a frustrated night person!
I normally would wake at 7am, but that was to give me plenty of time to drink my latte and read my newspaper. I normally would be in bed by midnight giving me the evening to knit or read and/or watch tv and still get at least 7 hours of sleep. Sometimes I have a nap in my chair in the afternoon. I do work in a bookstore parttime so getting a lot of walking in on those days is no problem at all! I used to wear a pedometer but don’t anymore. I easily do 10,000 steps….
I’m definitely a night person.
I’m so much a night person that it frightens me sometimes. I really seem to hit my groove around the time the sun goes down, and have a difficult time going to sleep before 1am…no matter how much sleep I got the night before or how tired I was during the day.
As for keeping up with the exercise, you just have to push through. Your body is used to having a certain amount of stamina for every day and eventually it will increase because you require more. We used to have to argue with patients at PT ALL THE TIME over that. It’s also a good idea to throw in some weight bearing exercises…as a woman it will help keep your bones strong. You really need to mix up your routine every once in a while so your body doesn’t get used to it. Try some pilates, it’s great for strengthening and keeping flexible. PopPilates on YouTube has some great videos (with fun music!)
I am a formerly morning person who now lives with a night person, so I’ve had to do some adaptations. Some were successful, some not. Mostly, I go to bed late (for my old self, but relatively early by DH standards), wake up not as early as I used to, and exercise at the little gym at work during lunch hour.
I’m definitely a morning person, but exercise has slowly been weaned out of my life. I would much rather do work early in the day so I can knit after the kids go to bed. An hour a day is too much time for me to give away. I’d rather just knit….
I am a morning person but that doesn’t mean I have been able to convince myself that I should exercise first thing. Now that our mornings are starting to be cool and not so humid I am going to try to get in a routine. I totally agree that it has to be done every day so I have to find a time that will always work – like 6:30am.
I am absolutely a night person, and I’m constantly sleep-deprived because I have OMR syndrome (One More Row), and a whopping case of OME (One More Episode) to boot. I am in need of an exercise program and a housecleaning program too. Think I’ll start tracking my steps to see where I stand with daily routine, and then try to make that 10000 steps by actually leaving my house and walking the neighborhood.
Oh, and joining a class of some sort is really motivating! There are people you become friends with who will give you a hard time for missing a class (and usually you lose the money for that class as well.) It’s quite the incentive!
When I was in highschool and the first half of college I was a night owl. After I came back from studying abroad, my internal clock got reset, and now I am more of a morning person.
I try to force myself to get to the gym before work, but it doesn’t always happen….
I love my fitbit. Now that I’m telecommuting, I’m finding it harder to get my 10000 in per day, however, I’ve fixed that by walking 2 miles every morning. I walk all around the apartment during the day and at the end of the day, leave the house for another walk or visit to the gym. I’m averaging 11000 per day
I’m very much a night person. I only see 6am if I’ve stayed up all night! As for exercise I just try to do it without thinking about it. The more I think about it the less likely I am to do it. Another thing that helps is having a book or show that I only read or watch while on the elliptical. So if I want to finish it, I have to exercise.
I am a night person. Unfortunately, my job requires me to be a morning person. It is not pretty.
Morning – I definitely don’t like to exercise at night except to do water aerobics with my sisters at the Y. Knowing someone is waiting on me forces me to go – esp if they’re your sisters & will give you grief if you don’t show up! We have so much fun it makes me want to go!
I like early mornings and late nights with a 20 min nap in the afternoon. Not doing well in the exercise department.
I am a morning person. I get up early for work each day. In the morning, I try to do a few weight lifting exercises. My job is pretty active and I walk up and down the stairs as much as possible. I like to walk and ride a stationary bike in bad weather. The bike I have has a shelf so I can look at magazines such as knitting magazines :). I also like to listen to music while I exercise. One way to add in extra movement to each day–park far away from the store/place you are going if possible, use the stairs as much as possible.
I think I’m more of a morning person. I love the wee hours when the neighborhood is just beginning to stir. It’s definitely my favorite knitting time. I think it has to do with the fact that there can’t possibly be anywhere I’m supposed to be, or anything I should be doing that early……nothing’s open, no one’s up, can’t make noise with things like a; vacuum……I’m sure that has something to do with it.
I’m most definitely a morning person, but it takes me longer to get going these days. The easiest exercise ever was for me was when I was able to meet my best friend to walk for 40 minutes 5 days a week (we walked MTWFW and had coffee together on Thursdays). Because we each depended on each other, it made it hard to skip. Walking gets harder in the winter as it is so dark so late — and so cold. We ended up using our local community building (basically a big gym) and walked around in circles inside during the winter. Not very exciting, but better for us than just waiting for good weather. Good luck keeping it up!
What is FPS?
Ever since I retired I’ve turned into a night person. I need, like you, to be a morning person for the exact same reason as you. I’ll be reading the, if any, hints on sticking to an exercise routine. I started walking every morning, then the grandkids came, and my routine fell apart. Then it got really really hot and I have not resumed my walking. Good luck to you. I do think you have one of the best places to walk.
Definitely a night person. I hit my stride around 10pm. And I get the best sleep in the morning.
I am a complete night person. And I can never stick to an exercise routine because of it. I can be sleepy all day long and as soon as it’s 9pm, I’m wide awake. Definitely enjoying some of the other comments, though, maybe I can put some of their plans in action.
I’m definitely a morning person although I like to walk after work in the evening. During school I drop the kids off at the bus stop and continue on since I’m already out and about.
I’m definitely more of a night person, which is really by default since I’m SO not a morning person. I can get a lot accomplished after 9pm, assuming I don’t have to be up early in the morning. Sorry about the exercise, I need some advice in that area as well.
I’m a mid-morning person. With the scenery you have, I think that would keep me motivated to get out in the fresh air every day. Another plus, knit winter accessories so you can show them off when walking in the cold/snowy weather :).
I tend to be a night person. I have a really hard time being functional in the mornings, especially to exercise, so I am really impressed by your stick-to-it-ness. The audio books are a great idea. I listen to my ipod while doing my workouts. I have several playlists that are set to the length of time i want to exercise and also to the beat I want to move to.
I am NOT A MORNING PERSON, so that must mean I am a night owl. Actually, I do have trouble falling asleep at night anytime before 11 pm. I tried to ‘bribe’ myself with a ‘bottomless mug’ card from Brueggers Bagels. I live a half mile (or thereabouts) from a Brueggers and I figured I would reward myself with free coffee when I got there and walk the 1/2 mile home (theoretically several times a week). … sad to say, it was easier for me to bundle in the winter and walk, drink coffee, and knit a bit before returning home than it has been in the summer. Then, my son would call me to walk with him around the lake near him, but now he’s working full time (praise the Lord for a full time job, but no more walking with Mom).
Great post, Sheri. I am trying to be a more disciplined morning person. I would like to be up and ready for e day before my kids. I think I could actually focus and cast on a project rather than waiting till night when I end up so tired I am useless:) As far as exercise- I am still trying to find what works for me.
If I had a choice I would say afternoon. But morning seems to be the best time to exercise. Maybe we need to call it something else to get us going.
I am definitely a night person and not an exercise person in any sense of the word.
I am mostly a morning person, but I do tend to stay up fairly late, too. I guess I just don’t really sleep! 🙂
Definitely a morning person. I do my best working out and knitting (if I have time) then.