[xpost from r/fit]: Redditors over 30, who go to the gym/workout before your 9 to 5 job, is it worth it?

[epi]

@paperboat I don't go to the gym, but I bike commute to work. It's less than 3 miles, but I live in Pittsburgh, so it's uphill both ways. I find that doing that means I arrive at work awake and alert, whereas if I bus it, I'm often still half asleep when I get to my desk. Definitely worth it.

 

[bkhis]

@paperboat I love sleeping way too much

 

[simpleliving]

@paperboat 32 yo Registered Nurse. I work 7a - 7p so not exactly what you asked but I get up at 5am to run for 30 min before work. I feel a lot more awake and mentally there when I run before work. I think that it is worth it.

 

[bbless]

@paperboat I used to get up at 5 in the morning and hit the gym before work. Cardio and weights. I'd take the train downtown and walk in, so I got a little warmup naturally. It's hard, real hard. The advantage is that once you're in the habit of getting up early, there's nothing else to do at that hour.

You'll never succeed if it's not every day. If you're trying to do three days a week, you'll still need to get up early on the off days and do something.

Eventually, I built a garage gym and now I work out at home after work.

 

[muteesa]

@paperboat 33 here. My work hours are 7:30-4:30 and my commute is 45 min one way. I absolutely have to lift in the morning because there's no way to tell how unmotivated/tired/lazy I will be after work and commute. Even though I'm not a morning person, the alarm goes off at 5, I drink my coffee and mix my BCAAs and head off to the gym. Like others have said, there is nothing else to do at that time, so there are less reasons to not go. The key is definitely trying to go to bed earlier (9:30-10), but once you get into the habit it gets easier.

 

[loveisavirtue14]

@paperboat Yes. It's worth it.

Up at 5 or 5:30, eat something small, drink some water, and head to the gym or out for a run. M/W/F: run T/Th: weightlift. Take a shower (at the gym), eat breakfast, drink coffee, and head to work.

If I'm up for it, I'll add yoga or interval training in during the week. This is the schedule I kept while working full time and carrying a full course load for my master's degree.

 

[stripe]

@paperboat I did it for about a year and I wish I still could. It just takes way too long for me to "get going" in the morning. Between my incredibly active lower intestine, warming up, getting the kids on the bus, etc. I usually ended up being 1+ hr(s) late to work. It felt amazing to have my workout done before work. But... What ended up happening is I got lazy/rushed with warm-up and snapped up my back on a 135 lb deadlift. Yes 135. Just half-assed the warm up and with my very short/tight/shitty hamstrings that wasn't smart. Had to go back to the drawing board after that. It's better for me to work out in the afternoon, and since I can get to work early I can get a jump on traffic and squeeze in my workout before cooking dinner.

Edit: details...I'm 33, only training since 2012. 1rms: ohp 130, bp 185, squat 280, dl 350, bw fluctuates between 200-210

 

[jackieus]

@paperboat I never lift in the morning, and I've been at this for 20 years. Late morning, early afternoon is best for me, but I have a gym at work. Cardio is better for me in the morning.