The Morning Workout

Most of my adult life I have been an exercise after work guy. I hit the gym off and on in university, and it would be either after class or in between classes if I had a long break. When I started exercising regularly at twenty-six, I would hit the base gym after work, do my thing and go home. The same was true when I moved to Ottawa. I would go on Saturday morning, but it was at a reasonable time, when I was ready.

Last summer I started to occasionally go in the morning. I have to admit that I do like it but it is really easy to not go in the morning. In fact, asa matter of full disclosure, I am writing this instead of exercising.

There are some real upsides to working out in the morning. You are done your work-out and know that nothing is going to come up and keep you from getting that much needed exercise. You get to enjoy that post work-out bliss all day long. It puts you in better spirits for your day. It frees up your time after work for other activities. The gym is never as busy before work as it is after work. 

There are also some thing that seem to be preventing me from exercising in the morning. Getting up to a cold,dark, or rainy morning to walk down to the gym is tough to do. If you didn't sleep very well the night before, it may be easier to use those two hours to get some rest. I am always watching the clock to make sure I get out of there on time and I get really frustrated with delays in the morning because I have a schedule to keep.

One thing that is also looming in the back of my mind is how often I have been having a bad day but planning to hit the gym after work. That post-workday time in the gym has always made it better. I'll admit I haven't had too many bad days in the last four months but it's a hard factor to ignore.

Now, let's be honest here. It doesn't matter when you get your exercise in, it only matters that you get your exercise in. As long as you are making time for vigorous, demanding, rewarding exercise, you are doing it right and you will benefit greatly from it. All the benefits are there no matter what time you get your sweat on so find a time that works for you, get out there and be active. If you already are, that's even better.