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5 Reasons NOT to Workout in the Morning

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Working out in the morning is overrated.

That’s right. Β I said it.

There are far too many posts out there touting the benefits ofΒ working out early in the morning. Β Tips for becoming a morning person. Β How to fit in 30 minutes before dawn even shows it’s ass crack.

Screw that! Β I’m not a morning person and I don’t want to be. Β If I do go “early,” it’s at 9:30am and I’m not happy about it. Β I prefer to workout midday or at night, and I’m not sorry about it. Β Sleeping in is marvelous.

Here are my 5 reasons to NOT workout out in the morning.

5 Reasons NOT to Workout in the Morning

1. Risk of injury

It’s early. Β I don’t really know where I am or what I’m doing until at least 10 am. Β This is problematic if you wake upΒ to find that you have a barbell loaded with weight on your shoulders.

Even if you’re not lifting heavy it can be dangerous. Β On the .21 mile jog to the gym I tripped. Β Three times.

Not sure if sore from the gym session yesterday, or from falling down stairs.

2.Β People are there

I don’t know who all these people are that exercise at 7am, but they’re packing out β€œmy” weight room. Β It’s so much less crowded later… I have no idea why more people don’t get on the later train, but I’m glad they’ve stayed away.

It also seems to be amateur hour. Β Believe it or not, that leg press is NOT meant to be a magazine-readingΒ station, that lat pulldown isn’t a stand for eating your banana, and the crunch machine isn’t a coffee drinking perch. Β No, I can’t make this up. Β 

That guy at the gym on the phone.

3.Β Nap time is lame

Getting up so early and exerting so much effort renders me as whiney and lethargic as a pre-schooler by 1pm. Β No one wants to be around that.

If I did take a nap… doesn’t that defeat the purpose of getting the workout done early? Β I may as well have slept longer, and then used the nap time for my workout. Β A midday workout is energizing, and I find that I’m much more productive at work when I’m awake.

I like sleeping because it's like being dead without the commitment.

4. My feeding schedule

I can’t eat super-early in the morning. Β I wake up and want to puke, not eat. Β However, I also can’t get through a workout on an empty stomach. Β Like most things in life, my next meal informs my plan of action. Β Early morning workouts can’t be getting in the way!

I'm useless until I've had coffee, lunch, and snack breaks.

5.Β Poop

This is the most frustrating thing to me. Β I can’t go #2 when I wake up that early and have to hit the ground running. Β I need to wake up gradually and take a little time to relax in order to get my day β€œgoing” properly.

You’re grossed out… but you know it’s true.

I don't always use a scale, but when I do, it's before and after a poop.

Speaking of timing… check out myΒ free Macro Calculator, which helps time your meals to get the most out of your workouts!

Get your FREE macro calculator!

***

Disclaimer: This is a bit tongue-in-cheek. Β Don’t get all offended or feel the need to cite every study touting the benefits of morning exercise. Β #sorryimnotsorry

Are you a morning person?

What is your favorite time of day to workout?

Comments

  1. Haha! This was a funny read and a twist on what you read on most fitness blogs (as they typically say you must workout in the morning). I tend to be a fit it in when you can type of fitness person. Mid morning is my sweet spot. Just enough time for me to digest my breakfast and coffee… and enjoy my morning poo πŸ˜‰

  2. I am a morning person- I love mornings with sunrises and coffee and no rush. But I love my workouts at lunch hour or after work (usually both) when I am awake and alert. Why do bathroom habits interfere so much with exercise? I have a hard time registering for certain races if the starting time is too early (for coffee and food and poop!) I need a 1pm start time please πŸ˜‰

  3. Haha I am indeed a morning exerciser but loved this post- different strokes eh ;)! My bowels and me have reached a happy place whereby it make sires I go almost as soon as my eyes open…otherwise working out can get uncomfortable ;)!

  4. Love it!
    I am a morning person but I can see your points. The cell guy on the bench. Love that!

  5. Thank you! I actually am a morning person BUT couldn’t believe the amount of posts I’ve read lately about forcing yourself to workout then. I totally understand people can have very different body clocks – and we should go with them, not what a magazine says.

    No#5 does happen to resonate with me – as early as I workout, it must follow the poop clock.

    • It is definitely a personal thing – I think my motivation for this one was to say it can go both ways (having read all the “morning workouts are the best!” posts).

  8. I couldn’t agree more! My husband is an early riser / early exerciser and I’ve just never been able to get on board! Mostly due to my ever important “feeding schedule” – we just can’t get off on the wrong foot for the day!

  9. I hate morning workouts. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much the best time for me to squeeze one in. Pre-baby, I used to work out after work. I do still sometimes go to the gym on my lunch break.

  10. I love the honesty but I have to admit I am a morning person. Getting up and working out is how I start my day. If I don’t get my run in I am so lethargic and tired the whole day!

  11. Love this, so funny and true! I only workout in the morning when I have stuff to later that evening and wont have time to workout after work. I cringe when people tell me they got up at 5 am to workout and that they ate nothinggggg… I would die.

    • I would too! Though I’d probably be sleep walking so I wouldn’t notice my empty stomach. LOL!

  12. I like cardio in the mornings or evening – I use the term ‘like’ loosely, because well, it’s cardio. And prefer lifting in the afternoons.

    But seriously the poop thing. I swear soo many people at my gym in the mornings, wait to do their business their. I fear using the bathrooms in the early hours due to how…fragrant they are.

  16. Very funny! When I was working, I exercised in the morning because that’s when I could fit it in. I think everyone needs to figure out what works for them and stop trying to be the expert on what everyone else does. You are obviously doing the right thing for you!

  17. I am so with you on it messing up my poop schedule! Wake up, coffee, 1st breakfast, poop. I did morning workout for a few months last year and it was horrible on my digestive system and I wanted to go to bed by 6pm. No thank you!

  19. Ha, this is so true! I used to lift at 7am and I have no idea how. On Tuesday’s, I’ve started training at 11am and even that feels wrong. Most days I train at 6 or 7pm and that’s the way I like it. Plus, no one is drinking coffee in the gym then. To be fair, my gym is famous for all the people standing around drinking Pepsi Max (we have a vending machine there). Not the typical thing you’d expect to see in a gym!

  20. I agree with ALL of the above, except for #1. I just do cardio in the mornings, so it’s pretty mindless. Little risk of injury on the machine I use. But #5 is the biggest downfall of the morning workout. There are some mornings when I feel bloaty, and that really blows goats.

  21. I am so NOT a morning person- I would love to workout in the afternoon or evening, and sometimes I do…. but most of the time it’s the morning or not at all, with my husband’s schedule, getting dinner and kids to bed, etc. But enjoy your sleeping in for me… someday I’ll be back there again… maybe?

  22. I am so not a morning person. I much prefer later in the day for many of the same reasons you mentioned. Your last reason cracked me up, but it’s oh so true. I need an hour before I run, so getting up an hour earlier than an ass crack of dawn run? Yeah, not going to happen.

  23. I JUST started the mid-morning thing now that my kid is in school two mornings a week and I love it, although some mornings its a miracle all of us get out of the house on time, never mind me eating, that needs work. The other 3 days I go in the morning. I’ve always been a morning person, but honestly, the traffic by the time my husband gets home is insane, so I have to wait to 7ish to go to the gym which means I don’t get home until after 8, ugh. It probably wouldn’t be too bad if I still didn’t have to get up early with my son, but I do hah.

    • Good for you getting to break it up a little! Whenever you can fit it in is really the BEST time. πŸ™‚

  24. I am NOT a morning workout person. Last summer I tried to make myself one, but getting up at 5:50 every weekday was miserable. I switched to going after work and it was so much better. Ideally I love to go late morning (11-ish), but I’d take a late afternoon or early evening before an early morning session. I like staying up late and sleeping in a little!

  27. Our gym is PACKED in the evening, I’m shocked yours is not – but glad for you!! I started the morning thing when my work hours shifted a bit later. I am NOT motivated after work and it rarely gets done (that’s why I missed two workouts last week). The key is to workout whenever you’ll actually do it. πŸ™‚

  29. This is hilarious! I used to workout in the evenings and felt the same about morning people. I was forced to become a morning workout person because of my job. It’s too unpredictable and even if I planned to go to the gym, it wouldn’t happen with unexpected meetings and traffic. Now that I’ve done it for so many years, I love it. It just feels right to start my day that way. But I totally get where you’re coming from. πŸ™‚

  30. Lmfao I’m dying at #5 – that’s hilarious – it’s sad how the older you are the more regular you become; I always know when it’s time to roll. I prefer to work out late too – by late like after 3PM when I get off work and weekends samething. I hate waking up early and yet I have to be in at work at 7AM, another reason why working out early AIN’T an option – it’s just not, if I woke up earlier than I do now the world would end because I’d destroy it. Have a great one Laura! -Iva

  31. I’m not a morning person but I do get up at the butt crack of dawn because it is the only way to make sure my workout gets done. I do like knowing that no matter what comes up later in the day I was able to workout.

  32. Hahah this post is awesome because I am so effing sick of people touting the benefits of the 5am workout club and telling me if I wake up in the morning to work out enough, I will get used to it. Well I haven’t gotten used to it and I don’t think I ever will. I wish those people would back off. It’s nice to read the other side for a change.

  33. haha I LOVE this!! I used to love working out early in the morning but now, I can’t manage to wake up. I’ve been trying to convince myself that I should try to get back in the habit so thank you for convincing me it’s not worth it! πŸ™‚

  34. I wake up super early in the morning but only ever to eat breakfast as soon as possible πŸ˜€
    After reading your post, I am justified in not exercising in the morning though!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  35. lol this is awesome. I am NOT a morning exerciser. I get jealous of all those people who post on social media that theyre done with their workout by 6 am. I wish!! I just have more energy in the evenings. I’ve tried morning workouts but I swear I’m like a zombie.

  36. Funny U posted this bc I used to be a morning exerciser 5am/5:30am-ish lol but definitely no morning person. I’m like a damn zombie in the morning just walking is dangerous haha!! My workouts recently changed to evenings & I’m loving them bc lord knows I need the sleep hahahaha!!

  39. hahahahaha! I love this especially that last one. I have a coffee mug that says at the bottom time to poop, so yeah I don’t understand the super early morning workout folks either. I can run early but nothing else.

  40. I just love how you’re just so YOU! I used to be a morning workout-er and now I love afternoon workouts! I couldn’t do an evening one…more power to ya!

  41. You just became my new best friend. Whether you like it or not. πŸ˜‰

    But seriously I’ve been feeling guilty for liking my afternoon/evening workouts for so. long! I have the same problem with the awkward..do I eat something before my workout..a banana? Do I get up at 4am so I can eat breakfast and let it settle first? (<-bahaha no) My favoritest workouts are late at night by myself in the gym watching Netflix on my tablet. Especially Walking Dead.

    That being said, next time I sign up for a race I should probably run once a week in the morning to figure out the stupid am food situation.

    Thanks for this post, lady!!

    • I love it. πŸ™‚

      There is no way in hell I could eat at 4am. When I raced, I used to eat half a banana with PB. I could eat that like 30 mins before the start and be ok.

  43. I just had to read your post because I was wondering what your poop reason was! LOL

    I’ve tried eating before working out but that just made me nauseous so I don’t eat anything until after I get to work…sometimes several hours after.

  44. I totally do agree!!! Noon is the best time for a workout. But I do go for a short run in the morning 2 times a week, when I know I will be done with work after 7 pm without any energy for anything, even eating… (and I do love eating a lot πŸ˜‰ One day I will have my dream job where I will be able to workout any time I want !! πŸ™‚

  45. AND THIS is where YOU AND I DIFFER

    I am ALL ABOUT THE MORNING BECAUSE NAP TIMES ROCKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!

    And there is NO ONE in the gym when I go at 6am – because I am fucking fancy and live in an apartment complex where everyone thinks they are TOO GOOD for working out. Bah ah ah!

    • You are fucking fancy. And you can keep your 6am workout. I’ll stay home and cook the salmon.

  46. I’m an anti-napping morning person but my husband would totally agree with you! Everything you said about morning workouts is how I feel about afternoon/evening workouts. With the exception of #5. Not affected at all by PM workouts πŸ™‚

  47. Oh I’m so glad I clicked on the link from Amanda’s Run To The Finish post today! HA! I’m absolutely a morning person, which is super annoying to most of the world, including my husband. Love this…

  48. Fun (and funny!) post!! I am still one of Those morning running people though… precisely because “I find that I’m much more productive at work when I’m awake.” ! And possibly because I’m not dealing with a gym — no way you could get me to spend the best part of my day there.

  49. The poop thing has me laughing.

    I’m literally the EXACT same way. I don’t like morning workouts because I have a very specific poop window (between 6:30-8:00 am) and if I miss it, I have to wait until the next day.

    Decisions, decisions.

    • Poop is an important thing! I don’t want to be uncomfortable all day. Ain’t nobody got time for that! πŸ˜‰

  50. I never used to be a morning person, but I’ve definitely become one. Working out first thing though is always the only way I can guarantee it will happen, since I never know when I’ll get out of work, if there will be an impromptu team dinner, etc. And leaving work for either a nap or a workout isn’t usually an option πŸ™

  51. I’ve gone in cycles. I can, but I do enjoy sleeping + a nap in the afternoon so I get my workouts in after that. I just have to be motivated by then – it definitely helps when I workout at home because I don’t have to put clothes on (eating all day = bloating and not liking how my shirt/pants fit for working out).

    • Oh man, I know exactly what you mean. I think we should all make a pact to live in yoga pants.

  52. see, I can run in the morning, even hop on the bike trainer and watch a movie … but weights? Oh hell to the no. That’s just a huge disastrous accident waiting to happen! I don’t feel awake enough, strong enough, loose enough to be lifting anything heavy before 10 or 11 am.

  53. All the reasons I work out early! πŸ™‚ My cardio helps me poop in the gym, no peeps at my time, more risk for me later in the day, like to work out on an empty stomach.. YUP, shows we all have to find what works for us! πŸ™‚

    • It’s all about what works best for YOU. Thank god we’re not all the same… the gym would be so crowded. πŸ˜‰

  54. Amen! I was beginning to think I was the only one filled with disdain for all of these “best reasons to workout in the morning” articles. I like to just do a 2 mile speed walk on the treadmill in the mornings to wake my tired butt up (I need it!) but other than that, I prefer my major workouts for later in the day. Whatever floats your boat is what I say!

    • You are not alone! πŸ™‚ I actually used to do the AM treadmill thing too. Then my cheap-ass HOA cut the cable in our workout room so that went out the window. πŸ˜‰

Trackbacks

  1. […] 5 Reasons Not to Workout in the Morning via Sprint 2 the Table – This is funny! Some people just can’t workout first thing & that’s just as long as you get it in somewhere. […]

  3. […] I thought of Laura’s post this week with 5 reasons not to workout in the morning. All entirely valid and yet I still encourage most people to aim for a morning workout, so what […]

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