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….
Definitely a morning person. It is the best time of day, because the first thing I do (after feeding my cat, of course) is knit!
Neither – I’m a nap person. I wish a day was 12 hours – sleep 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. up until 11 a.m. , back to bed until 3 or 4 and then up until 1.
Morning person.
Morning walks are great! I’m not a morning person either, but I’ve been walking at 6:00am every weekday for 2 years now. My secret is a walking partner. Without her, it’s easy to roll over and tell myself I’ll walk later (yah, right). But knowing she’s waiting for me gets me up and going.
Such a night owl here. I used to work second shift and loved it. (The job, not so much, but the timing wa awesome.)
And I’m more of a donut routine girl than exercise routine girl. 😉
Night person but it’s best for me to walk in the morning. I need to read the comments here to find a way to get myself motivated too!
Interesting question… Since becoming unemployed a little over a month ago, I’ve definatey become more of a night person than a morning person. But when I return to work again, I know that I will return to being a morning person. And you are right–morning people don’t have the extra knitting time in the evening because of the much needed sleep!
I am a night owl!! I have been doing the couch to 5k program and I tried getting up early to go running but couldn’t do it. I had to switch to evenings.
It depends….during the summer (I’m a teacher) I tend to be more of a night person. But during the school year, I am a morning person…I a m one of the first people at school. I’ve been like that my whole life…I used to work 2cd shift (3-11) at a mill during the week and the morning shift (6-2) at McDonalds on the weekend….so I’ve always been able to shift it around…
And I’ve heard exercising at the same time each day helps…me..I have to get back to it myself…
Definitely a morning person. Up at 4am pretty much every day.
My tip for sticking to a fitness routine? Be the teacher! I teach a class 3x a week at 5:45am. No excuses not to go…..the participants get MAD when they miss their workout!
Night person. Def. I used to tell people who wanted to schedule morning meetings that I could be there by 8:30, but if they wanted me to be jovial, it was better to wait until 10.
Having an exercise partner really helped me…someone to motivate you on the days where you want to be a little lazy.
I’m jealous of your mountains, but glad to hear you enjoy them every day.
Morning person here (though I do tend to stay up later than I should sewing or knitting!). When I walk in the morning I can feel virtuous all day! My energy tends to stay higher if I do the walk in the morning.
My best tip is to find a walking buddy. If I know my friend is going to be waiting for me at the bottom of my driveway at 7:10 in the morning, I will drag myself out of bed to be there!
So glad you are still using your fitbit! I’ve been slacking on the calorie logging, but I still wear mine every day!
Walk on!
morning. i worked overnights for 8 years and for some reason, that’s where my awake time settled.
I am a night person, but thanks to some relatively new medical issues I need to become a morning person so I can get up and take some medicine. I’ve heard that you can change and become a morning person, but I’ve been working at it for over a year now. Oh well. And my advice for exercising is to use the buddy system. Is there someone who can walk with you, or help keep you reliable?
I am definitely a morning person!
The best advice I can give you for sticking to an exercise plan is try to find something you love, and a friend to do it with you – I don’t like being forced to “work out” but I love to swim, ride horses, and hike, so that is what I do, with company!
I’m a morning person! I like how it’s quiet and I can just drink my coffee, read the blog, check out my Ravelry groups, look at the pretty yarns, and plan for my next project.
I don’t think I’m much of a morning person at all. But before work I play 3 songs on Just Dance to exercise & more on the weekends. Oh if you haven’t played you need to!
I am definitely a night person. But I found that if I don’t exercise first thing, I don’t exercise at all. Something about getting it over with, I think.
I was a night person, until I had kids, and now I’m a morning person, albeit grudgingly! Altho to be a morning person, I have to be in bed by 10pm or so.
I work for myself, so I like to work ’til about Noon, then hit the gym, then work. I like that it breaks up the day, and gives me a mid-day energy boost. Altho I guess chocolate would do that, too, wouldn’t it?… hmmmmm…
Morning for sure. If I skip exercising in the morning I have a hard time motivating myself later in the day.
Definitely a night person. No suggestions for the exercise thing, still trying to figure out that for myself!
I’m a morning person who stays up too late at night!! I just can’t seem to get a decent routine for getting things done since we moved last year. I keep saying one day it will happen. I need to take more time off work and regroup!
Morning person! Wish I could say I also exercise, but you MAY have motivated me to start walking again.
Like so many others, I was far more of a morning person before my daughter came along. Now I’m more of a night owl, because that’s when I can have some time to myself! But with DD off to Kindergarten in a week (yikes!) and a new puppy coming home in a few days (double yikes!) I’m hoping to both get myself back to mornings & a solid exercise routine. Having a dog who really needs those walks to run off excess energy (to keep him from chewing up the house) should be a powerful motivator. 😉
I am a morning person. Having a routine is the best way to get things done. I moved recently and it’s tough to get into a routine.
I am a morning person. By late afternoon, I am tired. So, I try to walk every morning with my dog. It is fun for both of us and helps me get the exercise I need.
I’m very much a morning person. It started when I was young and was showing horses (we were usually at the show grounds around 4 in the morning) and continued when I was teaching (I would get to school around 6 – the only time I could actually get anything done!!!). Now I use my mornings to run and get my day going. I love being up before the rest of the world because I feel like I get so much more work done, and my mind is fresher. The downside is I am not much of an evening person, which with my work as a musician is a bit of an issue. My solution – coffee! And once a week I let myself sleep in.
Seeing your morning pictures of Colorado makes me miss my morning runs there. The sunrises are amazing, and I always saw interesting animals (foxes, rabbits, once I saw a beaver!). Running in Baltimore I see interesting people, but it’s not quite the same.
I am definitely a night owl. I love being up late, and it’s when I get the most done out of the whole day. My brain just works better. Before noon I’m mush. But 3 kids have forced me to be up early which is really tough because then I’m tired all day and never really hit my stride!
Morning person, at this point in my life. I love to get out and run in the morning when it’s cool and quiet. It’s very meditative. I don’t listen to music or anything because I want to hear the birds, the trees, the sounds of morning.
Get a dog.
Ours gets at least a half hour walk every morning. I have Monday thru Friday duty around 6 am. DH has sat/sun.
If its rainy dog goes on treadmill…I go on recumbant bike.
I’m more a morning person. 🙂
Most definitely a night person – always have been – though the older I get, I’m finding ‘late night’ just doen’t mean the same! ha. I, too, walk every day and take my dogs. They keep me motivated.
My style is to burn the candle at both ends, and that amounts to not enough sleep, but by nature I’m up early and by choice I’m up late (my mental health requires some time to myself). When I am in a good exercise routine, it’s early morning–the operative word being WHEN!
I hate getting up in the morning, but once I’m up, I’m definitely a morning person. I am much more productive, have more patience, can think more clearly, in the morning. I do like to stay up for a few hours after the kids go to bed though to knit and read or whatever.
I haven’t been that good at sticking to an exercise routine myself so I wish I could give you a great tip but I don’t have one. I bought a Wii Fit Plus and am waiting for my husband to hook the Wii back up (we remodeled so it’s been disconnected for awhile) and then I hope to stick to exercising with that once the kids go back to school!
Eileen
I’m a morning person, and going for a walk before breakfast is the best way I keep on track. Lay out your clothes the night before so you can be out of the door without thinking. 🙂
I’m definitely a morning person. On weekdays I’m up at 4:30 (I commute by ferry every morning and the early hour gives me time to walk the dog for an hour before getting ready to catch my boat) but even on weekends I’m usually up by 6:30 or so. The trade off is I can’t stay up late, my brain just shuts off about 10 pm.
As for sticking to an exercise routine, I’ve found that having an event goal, like a 5k run or walk or a marathon or some kind of charity walk, that I’m specifically preparing for keeps me motivated to do my daily workout.
I am a morning person. I also know that it is really hard to for me to keep on exercising. I started small 6 months ago, I.e., 30 min a day and progressively built up to walking in the Mt. Sneffles Half-marathon 2 weeks ago. It took me 4 he’s and 50 min to walk 13.1 mi. Not the fastest, but I finished. Audio books help me walk also. So, cudos for sticking with your schedule!
My dogs get me out every day, rain or shine!
I’m definitely more of a morning person. I would rather go to bed earlier at night, if possible, and get up early in the morning. And if I’m going to exercise, I do have to do it in the morning, because the rest of the day gets in the way.
I’m a confirmed night owl. I really want to get up and walk at 6 am but I just can’t seem to do anything but roll over and go back to sleep. Maybe I should go get on the treadmill at 11 pm but then DH might wake up and wonder where the heck I went…
I’m more of a night person, but married a morning person and have gradually shifted my clock to be a morning person. I still like to stay up late and read or knit and tend to do that once or twice a week and then my schedule is off! The main benefit to being a morning person is that sometimes there is no one in the exercise room when I go downstairs to use the treadmill!
Morning!
Morning person and night person. I just need my 8 hours.
I am proud of you for sticking to your routine! And it sounds like you have a really good way of getting an hour walk in. I’m a morning person, but unfortunately, I get up at 5:15 a.m. to get ready for school. Which means getting a walk in before that is really not something I want to do. And after school I’m usually exhausted. But my husband has started to walk with me and I’ve found I really enjoy walking more when I do it with a friend!
Morning. I need to exercise every day because if I take a break it’s so hard to resume.
I use mapmywalk.com to keep me focused. I started walking/jogging on a regular basis at the beginning of June and it is fun to see the miles add up. I also sign up for 5K’s to give me motivation to keep going. I have noticed that it cuts into my knitting time too.
Probably morning for but I can do either. My fitbit needs a charge as it’s fun to see the numbers go up. I used to exercise immediately when I get home before even sitting on the couch but now I do it in the morning, before sitting on the couch. Seems to help get me moving.
I guess I’m really a night person … though when I was working, I came to appreciate the early morning hours. I would leave the house early to beat the traffic, and then I’d be in the office with peace and quiet to work on things before the rest of the world got moving and things turned crazy. Now, though, I tend to get going on a project late in the day and then not want to put it down when I need to go to bed. As for the exercise … that’s a tough nut to crack! I have a treadmill, so that eliminates all my old walking outside excuses (too hot, too rainy), and my iPod is loaded with podcasts, so I always have something interesting to listen to. Ultimately, I just have to DO it … and that’s the tough part.
I’m more a morning person than an evening person, though at the moment that’s reinforced by the dog, who gets me up at 5:00 to take him for a walk. That’s my big exercise motivator. And we do afternoon walks, too. Half an hour to 45 minutes each one.
I’m a night person, but I can only exercise if I do it first thing in the morning. Sticking to exercise: Vary it up enough so you don’t get bored. Boredom is my biggest challenge when it comes to regular exercise.
I am a morning person. My day starts out quiet and I have a short period of time to myself. sweet.