Excercising at night before sleep

[magika]

Hello everyone,

Im a extremely busy college student. Its impossible for me to excercise during the day - our gym doesnt open up until 7am (which is when I have my first class) by the time Im done with everything for the day its about 9:30. I do a hour and a half at the gym, and then Im in bed at 12.

I know any excercise is good excercise, but am I losing benefits from doing this? Since Im working out right before I go to sleep, are my fat burning benefits reduced? I know everything slows down when we go to sleep, and excercise bumps your metabolism for hours after your done....wouldnt sleep bump it back down sooner than it would normally go?

[tickletussler]

I don't know about you, but when I exercise at night, I find it harder to get to sleep because exercise is a natural endorphin and makes you feel more energetic rather than tired out.

Is it possible to do it first thing in the morning? Exercise tends to kick-start your metabolism, so may be better earlier in the day?

[snorkelman]

night time

Wow, even when i was in law school I still had much more free time than you. Makes me wonder just what you are doing all day...

Anyway, it is better if you can exercise earlier. The best time is right when you wake up (before you eat breakfast).

Why not bike or jog then? You don't need a gym for that.

[magika]

Re: night time

Wow, even when i was in law school I still had much more free time than you. Makes me wonder just what you are doing all day...

Anyway, it is better if you can exercise earlier. The best time is right when you wake up (before you eat breakfast).

Why not bike or jog then? You don't need a gym for that.

What am I doing all day? Im glad you aksed..

From 7 until 12, I have 5 classes:
Judical processes and behaviors
Public Finance
Business Finance
Comparative Politics
Individual in Society (Honors Class)

From 12-12:30, i run back and get lunch. From 12:30-5:30, I work on campus at the Research & Sponsored Programs office doing grant work. From 5:30-9:30, I have student advisory coucil meetings MWF from 5:45-7:45, and then a gamma beta phi meeting (honors society) from 7:45-8:45, and then I have a study group for public finance until 9:30. On tuesdays and thursdays, I work my second job at a retail store from 6:00 - 10:00. On the weekends, I work at said retail store from 7am-5pm.

If you can find time in my schedule, please, be my guest. The only time when I can do something before 10pm is on the weekends, which is why I excercise then at 6pm.

If you didnt mean your comment to be sarcastic, then I apologize, but you should know thats EXACTLY how it looks.

As for everyone else....
I dont have a bike (and the student gym is free, lol!) and true I could jog, but Ill be honest with you getting up before 6am is painful for me. Getting up at 6am is painful. Although if there is evidence that excercising earlier has alot more benefits than excercising late, Im willing to give it a try. And no, for me excercising helps me get to sleep easier ticklettussler.

[Piasabird]

Re: Excercising at night before sleep

You wrote that you don't have time to exercise in the mornings but you do at night. So exercise at night since you also wrote that it helps you to sleep anyway, and since it is painful for you to get up any earlier to run or cycle.

And yes, you probably are losing some of the benefits from not exercising in the mornings. But, from what you write there doesn't seem to be any other choice and I don't think you're losing that much. The important thing is to exercise ....... morning or night.

Does your schedule pretty much look the same every semester? This one is almost over, isn't it? Perhaps you can make adjustments in the future.

I'm not meaning to come off as being sarcastic here.

[snorkelman]

i didn't mean to get you so defensive. It's just that many people make excuses as to why they can't find the time to exercise.

My motto is that choice, not chance determines destiny. It has been my experience that those who really want something will find a way to make it happen.

Of course nobody is telling you to quit your jobs or school, but I will try and help you MAKE the time.

You said, "From 5:30-9:30, I have student advisory coucil meetings MWF from 5:45-7:45, and then a gamma beta phi meeting (honors society) from 7:45-8:45, and then I have a study group for public finance until 9:30."

Perhaps you can skip one meeting a week and one of these study groups per week. That will give you two hours a week.

The weekend is the easiest time in your schedule to workout. You can easily get in a workout on sat and sunday with that schedule. Your weekend schedule looks similar to most work schedules.

Not to sound sarcastic at all, so sorry for that, but if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. Rather than finding the time, make the time. You don't need to exercise every single day.

[ttdriver]

I agree with NIKE: JUST DO IT!

Whenever it works for you, that's the best time for you!!

Betty

[mere150]

I'm sure you have your answer by now, but I just wanted to say that if you're doing 1.5 hours at the gym when you workout you are far ahead of many (possibly most) people here. I workout in the evening too. If I go in the morning I am too grogy to be a safe driver and I know I don't push myself as hard as I do in the evening. And I completely understand about the being busy thing (everyone here does). I've never gotten the short term benefits of exercise that some people do (i.e. a runner's high) but I do find that I'm relaxed and sleep better.

[jroche5998]

I fit it in whenever I can. I leave for work too early. If I exercised in the morning I would be getting up ridiculously early. So weekends are morning, the rest of the week is around dinner time. It's the only time I can convince the wife to let me run.

[Pam_C]

I exercise late at night. I am a stay at home mom of a very very active 3yr old and at night I when my husband takes over and I get some "me" time. I found it works for me and haven't felt it has hendered me in any way. I have tried to do my exercise in the mornings but we travel in a 38 ft camper 10 months out of the year and any jumping I do wakes my daughter up and she wants to exercise but we just don't have the room. Any exercise is good so keep it up.
Pam

[magika]

Thanks for all the replies. I think some people are confused though - I DO excercise 6 days a week, for 1.5 hours a day. Im going to continue doing that, but I was just trying to ponder if there are enough extra benefits by doing it first thing in the morning...enough to justify me getting up and running around at 5am.

[Jake]

There are many theories that exercising early in the morning after waking up before consuming anything is better. However I wouldn't bother if getting up at 5am would be alot of effort. Fit it in whenever you can, important thing is that you are exercising, not really what time you are doing it.

[2big4mysize]

if your workout is not interferring with your sleep then do it when you are doing it. As an Atkineer you arre fat burning all day long those that benefit from the AM fat burn are those on a high carb plan and are after a long night of sleep depleted and therefore in fat burn mode for the duration of their workout.

Happy low carbing