Why the morning workout?!?

So last week my 6 am class at Core Fitness got moved to 530 am. It was already hard enough to chase children on scooters after a Train Like Jane class, but add another 30 min sleep deficit and I didn't know how I was going to deal with my 530 pm patient. Apparently the class was moved 30 min earlier due to more it allowing women enough time to primp and prime before work. I figured if people were willing to get up at 430-5 am to work out before work then there must be some kind of huge benefit. So my research began....

I started working out in the morning because I dont get off of work until 630-7 pm most days. By the time I leave the gym its 830 pm and I still have to go home to shower and cook dinner and be at work by 8 am the next day. I was not able to fall asleep until after midnight when I worked out after work which would leave me tired and crashing on caffeine the next day while eating massive loads of foods to stay awake. This was happening because as we exercise we raise our body temperature. As the temperature is raised our blood is pumping at mire vigorous rates leading to a reeved up metabolism. This was causing me to eat huge meals at 9 pm and I was going to bed afterwards thus not giving my body a chance to burn those calories. When our body temperature is raised it takes time to return to a resting state. Thus the reason why I couldnt fall alseep was because my body was still in exercise mode. Lack of sleep is huge when you are considering weight loss. If you are more sleep deprived certain hormone levels that control appetite are influenced. This can cause you to eat more so you have to weigh the benefits; lose sleep at night or in the morning.

Some of the suspected benefits of morning exercise is that its a great time to integrate a habit into your life. Every morning most of us drink coffee, brush our teeth, make our bed, etc. We do this in the mornings because we want to get them done before the business of the day catches up to us. Morning exercise can be added to that routine in order to initiate as a habit. And making exercise a habit will lead to even greater benefits!

Besides the creation of a habit morning exercise is said to provide you with extra energy to initiate your day. For the AM work-outers you've been up longer and your metabolism is going and your body temperature is raised. Since you've already expended calories to raise your body temperature you can better focus your energy on your work and you interactions with other individuals. There have been many studies comparing exercise groups to sedentary groups. The exercise groups consistently report increased energy with decreased fatigue. So why not give it a try? The only thing you have to lose is annoying your co-workers with your newly found increase 8 am energy.

SNOW DAY = NO MISSED WORKOUT!

SNOW DAY    MISSED WORKOUT!

An hour before I got off of work, this is what it looked like outside! There was no way I was driving home and then there was no way I was going to get to boot camp by 6 pm. I hopped on the red line and 40 min later I arrived at my apt to find my dear roommate wrapped like a burrito in a microplush blanket. Friday night for us = lots of wine, challah, and delicious foods. It was easy to convince her into a home-style workout. My goal was to burn at least 500 calories so we wouldn't feel guilty about that bottle of wine that we were planning on splitting ;)


I set a timer for an hour and this is what our workout consisted of. Rachel (my roommate) put on some jams and off the workout went. All we used for this work out was a pair of 5 lb weights and the stairs in our 3 story walk up. Rachel's only rule for me was that I had to call her Princess Peanut Butter Cup Powderpuff Poodle...


1- 5 min = Stairs
Alternating btw taking stairs one at a time vs skipping every other step. This is challenging your cardio system. The cold weather in the stairwell and the strength it takes to skip every other stair stresses your body. Working out in cold whether is a great way to challenge your cardio system and sometimes burn more calories. Your body is naturally burning energy in order to regulate your body temperature to keep yourself warm but as you are exercising you are also burning calories to move your body! Gotta love those double whammys :)


5-15 min = butt kicks x 1 min, R/L toe touches x 1 min each, jump rope (narrow stance x 1 min, wide stance x 1 min, R leg forward x 1 min, L leg forward x 1 min), running man x 1 min, R/L lunges x 10 reps --> hold 10 sec --> pulse 10 sec --> single leg knee ups
This section really challenges your cardio system but it also helps warm up the muscles. The butt kick works those hamstrings but stretch the quads. Your toe touches warm up your core and challenge your obliques. Lunges are a great way to work on balance and strengthen those thighs and butt!


15-30 min = push ups 2 sets x 10 reps, full extended plank x 1 min, R/L side plank x 1 min each, full extended plank x 1 min, high-five planks x 20 reps, R/L forward squat kicks with 1 min football run in btw
30-40  min = jump rope (narrow stance x 1 min, wide stance x 1 min, R leg forward x 1 min, L leg forward x 1 min), running man x 1 min, butt kicks x 1 min, R/L crescent kicks x 20 reps each, plie squats x 20 reps with 5 sec pulses every 5 squats
This section is really meant to work on strengthening. The planks work your core which is the most important muscle group in your body but you also are breaking up the strengthening with cardio.


40-52 min = R/L donkey kicks with 5 lbs x 2 sets x 15 reps, R/L 5 lb fire hydrates x 2 sets x 15 reps, old school sit ups x 1 min, R/L sidelying crunches x 50 reps, R/L sidelying triceps push ups x 15 reps each, in-out bridging x 1 min, scissor abs x 1 min
These 12 min we really worked the gluteals. Donkey kicks, fire hydrates, and bridging helps give you that buns of steel looks!


52-58 min = stairs again!
At this point our legs were definitely starting to fatigue. We were probably going at half the speed that we started. But this is the most important time to keep strong, fatigue = mm building! In order to build mm our mm fibers (actin and myosin) must tear. The mm strengthens as is repairs these tears!


58-60 min = stretch
I cannot begin to emphasis how important I think stretching is. In cold weather we have a tendency to guard up and tense our mms because they are working to keep us warm. As we work our mm we produce lactic acid and stretching helps keep that lactic acid moving in our mm which will ideally lessen our soreness.


After yelling at Princess Peanut Butter Cup Powderpuff Poodles for an hour I was way ready for my wine. So I'm off to drink my Sauvingnon Blanc. I hope next time you feel unmotivated and are wrapped like a burrito you give this a workout a try. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about any of these exercises. Happy weekend!

About Me

With the new year under way many Americans are famous for resoluting to drop the pounds. There are many ways to accomplish this goal, but the best thing about this goal  is that it feeds my addiction....

As the new year approached I found Groupon, YouSwoop, Rue La La, Gilt City, etc. all offering huge discounts on fitness classes. I have always been a bit of a fitness guru with a bachelors of science in Kinesiology and doctorate is Physical Therapy. But I became addicted to fitness classes after discovering their affordable prices on couponing websites.

 My job consists of telling people how to improve their health 8-10 hours a day x 6 days a week. This has led to me feeling physically and mentally tired at 7 pm when I get off work. I found myself losing motivation to go to the gym. Consequently, this is what led to my addiction. I told myself if I buy fitness classes I will feel more obligated to go. So I began purchasing. Every class I started to attend a class I found myself analyzing the movement and amount of calories burned. I was gaining new ideas on how to push my fitness limits. I started noticing that I was becoming stronger and it also became easier to balance my long work days. 

By attending a variety of classes I benefited by learning different ways to strengthen my body. I am taking these ideas from fitness classes and incorporating them in advice to friends and clients. By being a physical therapist I have friends ask me about everything from massage to wound care. The purpose of  this blog is to make my advice more public. I want to be able to put my addiction to good use and recommend to fellow fitness freaks where to find a good workout. This way I'll feel less guilty every time I see another purchase at Rue LaLa on my credit card. My goal is to help advise on how to improve your health from a  fitness perspective. I will discuss ways you can push your body to the limits of change, but also provide suggestions on how to prevent and treat injuries. I will try my best to include reputable resource links too and if you have any questions feel free to post!