I always get this odd look when I tell people that I get up each day (five days a week) to work out at 5 AM.
Four of those days I run; one of those days I do a tri training. On Fridays, rather than get up early, I sleep in and do my abs and arms later in the day when I get time. And on Sundays, I’m supposed to get to sleep in as long as I want.
I say supposed to because, if you have children, you understand that this never happens.
They sleep in on the days I wake early and workout.
On the days I am supposed to sleep in, they are up before 7 AM, every single time!
At this point I am so conditioned to first working out and then to having a cup of coffee before anyone else in my family rises from bed that on the days when I don’t get up early I’m cranky.
Really cranky.
And tired. Really tired. Cobwebs in my head tired. Can’t pull out of the slog tired.
Maybe I should give up this idea of sleeping in, I keep thinking.
Maybe, every single day of my life, I should wake up early to get in my workout time.
On Sundays, my one day off from any type of workout, maybe I should instead get up early and write, or work on projects that are due.
For whatever reason, when given the opportunity to sleep in I just get crankier. It’s like I need that adrenaline rush that I get when I work out early in the morning in order to feel good. Awake. Alive.
I’ve also noticed on the days when I don’t work out with cardio I don’t really feel as great as I do on the days that I run.
I am a bit grouchier, maybe. A little more grumpy.
When I work out and then the kids wake, I’m ready to go. We eat. We take showers. We head outside.
On days when I don’t work out, I’m tired, and don’t feel like I can get myself in gear more quickly.
I’m sure this has to do with those endorphins people are always talking about when they talk about how great working out is for you, and how much energy you’ll have after you get up and get going. I suppose that my body is now used to these, since I have been working out in the early morning hours for the past twelve or so years. Now, my body is conditioned to getting its butt kicked as so as it wakes, and when it doesn’t, it doesn’t feel as though it is awake.
Which made me wonder: If I get a jump rope, which I’m sure my daughter has laying around here somewhere amongst all of her toys, and I spend ten minutes or so jumping on Fridays and Saturdays, my cardio free days, will this make those endorphins kick in and give me the boost I need?
Will this make mom feel more happy, more alive, less grumpy, on cardio-free days?
This will be my experiment next week, and I will let you know if it works.
For now I’m going to fill up on caffeine, quickly, as Sesame Street is almost over and I’m expected to do something with the kids to keep them busy for a few hours.
Maybe we’ll go for a run?!
If your body reacts that way (with “The Cranky!”) when you don’t get up early enough, at least you know what you need to do to NOT feel that way. Sometimes it’s so nice just to curl up under the covers and get a few more minutes of shut-eye, though…
I know lol! I can’t figure it out some mornings. However, I did get my daughters into the gym daycare, so I think that at least two days out of the week when I was getting up super early I can sleep in some and take them there. I’ve always worked out as soon as I get up in the morning so it will be strange to get up, maybe have a cup of coffee, eat breakfast and then go!
Thanks for stopping by! I have to check up on your online dating now . . . curious minds need to know :0)