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….
It’s been a while since I threw my name into the hat. But here I am. I’m a night person but having a baby has forced me into being a morning person and I hate that part. Oh well. Anyway when I was exercising regularly I felt getting into a routine was the best cure. Same time each day. I did my workout at night. Now I don’t have time to exercise but hoping to change that soon.
By nature I’m a night person. However, when forced to exercise, my favorite time is first thing in the morning — if I leave it ’til evening it just doesn’t happen…
I guess I’m more of a morning person. Happily, I’ll soon be getting into a earlier morning job, yay!
I’m a night person–but once in a while I really enjoy being up early! My exercise program is (are) called Loki, Tonks and Kyrie. Dog walking is a great excercise program!
Definitely not a morning person here, but I’ve found I do better with exercising if I just do it in the morning. I always have good intentions in the evening but it’s just to easy to make excuses. My secret to being consistent with exercise ( which I have been for the first time in my life) is twofold: 1. I keep reminding myself how much better I feel, mentally and physically. Plus now that I’m in my 40’s, I feel like it’s essential if I want to feel good and be able to do lots in future years. 2. I find something fun and switch it up whenever it gets boring!!
I’m neither. I used to be a night person until my son was born. Now I’m strictly a mid-day person. I agree that getting exercise out of the way in the morning is preferable. I don’t have any great tips, I need to get back into an exercise routine myself. It helped to tell myself “it’s only an hour. This is the most important thing I need to do right now.”
I like to ease into the day gradually with a mug of coffee and my knitting before I have to shower and dress for work. This means I need to be a morning, early riser type. 🙂
I am most definitly a night person. I find it much easier to stay up knitting, watching TV or reading than to get up and do those things in the morning.
Definitely a night person. While I love mornings on those days I have to get up extra early (I get up at 6:30 on normal days) my body does not come fully alive untilearly evening.
Exercise????? Painful but trying to walk every day and also looking for suggestions. Help.
Morning person – absolutely can’t help myself. The alarm never even goes off. My best time for exercise is early morning, as well. it gives me energy for the day, so that’s what keeps me going. Another big help: your body will start to DEMAND exercise, you’ll feel loguey and unhappy if you skip, so you’ll be saving yourself trouble all day by getting out for your morning walk. It’s so good for your state of mind, too. I find I’m much less tempermental after morning exercise (that’s a very GOOD thing, trust me).
Best wishes, and thanks for all you do!
I use to be a night person, but the older I get ( perish the thought) makes it hard to stay up late anymore. Since I retired I get up early and work on a project while drinking my coffee. So, now I have become a morning person.
I guess I’m more of a morning person. I’m usually up by 6am. As far as exercising goes, I’m very limited because of my disabilities. This fall I’m planning to try chair yoga. Back when I could participate with an exercise program my favorites were the stationary bike and walking but now I’m not able to do either. These days my exercise program is knitting. Yah for knitting.
I am an evening person. I do like to get up and enjoy the quiet weekend mornings to myself, as long as I get a nap. I prefer exercise in the afternoon, it gives me time to cool off before bed without wakin gup a o’dark thirty. I suggest trying a few 10-15 minute segments spaced throughout the day – it’s easy to rack up an hour that way.
I am definitely a morning person. I love the quiet time in the early mornings before my family awakens. I also prefer to workout in the morning, although lately I have been having a hard time with it. My best results come when I go early and have no distractions.
Morning person – all the way!
I am such amorning person, but lately i become more of a night person because of my husband who likes to sleep late. And now he sleeps earlier than me!
But I am still a morning person, I like to move about in the morning.
And my tips for sticking to an exercise routine: start exercising! Once you feel the adrenaline pumping and the sweat pouring, yourbody will feel good and your mood will be good, and you have all the more motivation to exercise more.
i’m neither a morning nor a night person, i am more of a 2 in the afternoon person.
I’m a night person–I’d prefer to be up until after midnight and sleep until 8:30. Unfortunately my job does not allow this, so although I still stay up until after 11:00 many nights, I have to be up ~6:30. This of course, makes me tired much of the time.
I am jealous that you are off to such a good start with your exercising. I’m going to look up the website in your blog. Maybe it will halp me to get in more exercise.
I am so not a morning person, but I do wish I could like getting up early to exercize.
Mornings are my most productive time. Over the years, I get up earlier and earlier-sometimes as early as 4 am. I guess if that trend keeps up, I’ll eventually be a night person! As for how to stay on an exercise routine–that’s a problem I haven’t figured out myself.
Definitely a morning person. No tips for exercising, though!
I am so not a morning person, but my night-owl habits are starting to readjust. 🙂
I don’t seem to be much of either anymore! Used to be a late night person, but now I find the eyelids getting very heavy shortly after I hit the couch – which, usually, ends up being after about 9:00p.m.
I have always exercised after work – going directly to my workout before going home. All bets are off if I go home first! I thoroughly enjoy working out and like the feeling that I have given it my all. I think it really helps to keep this old body going!
I have become more of a morning person as time goes on. I love the feeling of accomplishing something while most everyone else is still asleep. That’s why I run in the morning; it’s the best time for me to stick to it. Also, it helps if you just get up, get dressed, and get out of the house before your mind wakes up 🙂
I am definitely a night person! But, with a son who is on his high school swim team who practices at 5:15 am, I have had to adjust to being a morning person. It’s tough, but he practices at our local YMCA (in their indoor pool), so I drive him there and spend 90 minutes with the weight machines and treadmill. That’s the only way for me to stick to this exercise routine — I”m there so I may as well make it productive!
I’d love to be an early morning person…it’s a gorgeous time of day…but I am more of a mid morning person. I like a little bed time before I bounce up and face the day. I squeeze in a walk in the late afternoon….also a nice time of day and cooler in the summer. Don’t forget the incidental exercise you get by choosing to take the stairs, for example, rather than an easier option.
I’m definitely a night person. Mornings are painful. My best advice about exercise is to find an exercise buddy – I am much better about working out if I have someone who will go with me.
I am a morning person. Unfortunately, I love to get up early, drink my coffee and knit (outside if possible) – so that doesn’t help with the exercise. I do love to walk in the mornings when we are at the Rehoboth Bay.
I am a night person for sure! And the only way I can seem to stick to any exercise routine is to pay for a class. I also schedule it in between my other college classes so I don’t have an excuse to not go!
Morning…thankfully since I have to be at work early. I do walk 20-30 minutes after I get off the bus. Other than that, it is yoga for me about three times a week.
I am a morning person, as long as you mean 1 am to about 4 or 4:30am. After that,I am asleep.
Congrats on getting started Sheri! I think you are definitely on the right path. Personally, I find that I have to do the most important things in the morning, or else it won’t get done. Something always gets in the way if I miss that critical morning window.
And I understand the fatigue! the good news is that it’s probably just temporary, while your body adjusts. I’ve been waking up at 6Am everyday and going to bed around 1AM for a while and I’m so used to it now. (My little secrete is a 20-30 min nap every afternoon.)
Most definitely a night person! Particularly in the summers when I don’t work as much (college prof) — I turn into a regular night owl!
Night person and need 8hrs sleep. Not compatible with working which I do, so I’m generally sleep deprived. Exercise? What’s that?
I think I’m a morning person, but I generally don’t go to bed until late so I can knit/sew/read. So I get 6 or 7 hours of sleep at night and take a nap in the afternoon. I need others to keep me faithful re: exercising. My most regular time is doing laps while my kids take their swimming lessons.
I’m a morning person. I like to get up early and have a little time to myself before the kids wake up.
Morning person, for sure. I like getting a good start on my day. The quiet in the morning is wonderful, too. I was definitely not this way when I worked evenings. Ha!
I used to think I was a night owl, but really I’m a late-morning person. I’m definitely not someone who gets up at 6am on the weekend, but I’m much more productive in the morning than evening
I am definitely a night person! I completely sympathize: it is hard to make myself exercise after work, but I can’t seem to get up early enough to do it either. But to encourage you, here is advice from my health coach: once you make it a habit, you don’t have to think so hard about it any more. If you can keep getting up at the same time every morning, it should get easier after the first month. Good luck with that! Just the fact that you are already walking in the morning shows that you mean it and you will be successful!
I am definitely a nightowl most of the time, but there is something to be said for getting up early and getting a bunch accomplished before the rest of my household is up and about. Exercise? How does one find the time to stick to that?! Although I really really should
I’m definitely a morning person! I also use a Fitbit, and find that running first thing in the morning with my Fitbit on gives me the motivation to keep moving throughout the day.
Not sure I can say that I’m a morning person, but I, too, find that if I don’t get up early and exercise I’m not going to do it at all. Recently saw the Fitbit and wondering if that might help motivate me.
I am definitely a night person! I didn’t realize this until I worked part-time for awhile in a job where I set my own schedule.
I’m a night person. I hate to “exercise”, but I really enjoy walking, so I make the most of my walks. Unfortunately, i haven’t figured out a way to knit and walk at the same time.
Night person trying to evolve into a morning person. Slowly but surely…
I am at a Needlework Seminar. We are up at 6:30am every morning to get to our 8:30 classes. I get up this early because I live the classes. I may be a little bleary eyed but it is totally worth it.
There are also loads of knitters at this event. My idea of early morning beauty this week is all the gorgeous threads that are used in the class pieces.
Kitty Smiles, arlene
I am very much a night person. I’ve always been more energetic at night, and hence get most of my knitting done in the evening. With a 6 year old son, I have to practically force myself to get sleep at night because he goes to school and I work.
I can be either one – whatever it takes to carve out a few minutes of “me” time! I do like the peacefulness of the morning before anyone else is awake. And pretty much the only time I like snow is when it’s pristine and sparkling in the morning after an overnight snowfall. Thanks for the giveaway!
I’m more of an afternoon person. Mornings are so stinkin’ early, and I’m so tired in the evening!
For exercise, I do best if I do it every day. Also, I like audio books to listen to, or something with a driving tempo when I’m doing aerobic exercise.