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Becoming an "evening" person!

Morning all,

There is a similar thread here discussing how to become a morning person. I am a natural morning person and don't typically have any problems with this. However I find from time to time that my work schedule dictates that I have to workout in the evenings. How do you "evening" people do it? Do you workout before dinner or after dinner? If I get the workout done before dinner it means I wouldn't be eating until after 7pm. Otherwise the workout would not be done until 9pm or so. I would think that this would then have an impact on my sleep time. 

Another factor is that when I am done with my work day I just want to be done. How do you find the energy to climb on your bike or hit the road for an intense workout.

Thanks,

Pete

Comments

  • I'm definitely an evening person. My bike workouts are usually post-dinner, while I can watch my primetime TV shows. Unfortunately, this usually causes me to stay awake a few hours later too, because the endorphins are coursing through my veins for quite a bit of time.

    Starting this week, I'll be doing:
    M/W: bike, after work but hopefully pre-dinner
    T/Th: run at lunchtime, pre-lunch; masters swim at 6:30pm, then dinner
    F: off
    Sa: bike in morning, post-breakfast (smoothie)
    Su: run in morning, post-breakfast (smoothie); maybe a swim again or something else in the afternoon
  • I'm definitely a night owl; and all attempts to change that merely results in hitting the snooze button a million times before going back to sleep. image
    I typically work out before dinner. To fuel for this workout I have an afternoon snack of 200-400 Cal, depending on the length and intensity of my workout. I try to eat this snack 90-120 minutes before the work out. It's typically something starchy with not too much fat and a little protein like some brown rice with an egg or apples with low fat yogurt. After the workout, I eat dinner which then becomes a recovery meal with lean protein and starches of low and high glycemic index. I eat this meal within 1 hour of finishing the workout.
    Then the rest of the recovery is easy because my feet are up in bed ready for sleep.
  • 100% evening person here, If I had my way we would race at night

    I'm home by 5:30 or 5:45 and as soon as I walk in the door, I'm chaning out of my work clothes and into run gear or bike shorts. I do not sit on the couch and get comfy or dig around the fridge.

    On the bike by 6pm and showered and looking for food around 7:30....I rarely eat before 8pm unless I'm not working out.

    I eat bf at 9:30 and lunch at 1pm so I'm not starving when I get home.

     

     

     

  • I get my workouts done after the kids are in bed or when the wife gets home, so usually between 8:30-9:00 pm start time. It's definitely a mental thing in getting it done as by that time I'm tired since I start work at 7:00 am. I try to walk around a lot or sit up straight vs. lying down on the couch. I'm also making sure to drink lots of water instead of snacking, that way I'm hydrated for the workout and the water helps me feel full instead of wanting to eat.

    As far as late workouts interrupting sleep, it definitely doesn't impact that for me. I'm obviously getting to bed later, but I could get off my bike, rinse off in the shower and be in bed asleep within 10 minutes of ending a workout. I actually fall asleep so quickly that my wife gets mad.
  • I'm pretty much with Kitima and Hayes. I usually drink a protein drink or eat a greek yogurt before the workout for fuel.
  • Definitely an evening person. I work out morning and night most every day, but it takes great willpower to drag my carcus up in the morning. The only other struggle is forcing myself into bed on time at night to get enough sleep. Typical evening has me getting home at 7 to 7:15pm; scarfing food, then on the bike or out the door by 8pm for 60 - 90 mins. Then consume food in mass quantities, do a little, and jump in bed. Like Keith, once I hit the sack, I crash within minutes. When I'm in my IM build, it's probably seconds. It would be nice to relax in the evening so I usually take off Friday evening. For the OS, I'm getting 2 evenings off.
  • I am a morning person and once in a while I too have to train at night.  Here is what I do.

    1.  It helps to know a day or two in advance to mentally get ready.

    2.  If you have family, warn them you will be busy for said time and will be eating late.  Especially if you don't cook your own dinner.

    3.  Eat a healthy snack between lunch and at least 60' to 90' before your training time.

    4.  If you feel hungry have a Gu or something very light about 30' out.

    5.  When you get home "DON'T STOP FOR ANYTHING" grab your gear, change and get training.

    6.  After the workout now you can combine a nice dinner/post workout meal.

  • +1 for working out pre-dinner, and for @David's advice to "not stop for anything". If I don't get my workout done before dinner it becomes exponentially more difficult to get myself off the couch to do it later.
  • I do most weekday cycling in the evenings after my kids go to bed...so starting the workout at 7pm or so. I don't have anything particular for lunch -- just a sandwich or whatever -- but I do try to get an apple or some other fruit mid afternoon, and I do try to keep well hydrated. Then I have some Gu Chomps about 30 min before the workout (in fact the only time I use these over caffinated sports food is for these evening workouts). After the workout I have a very light dinner.

    This whole setup annoys my wife if she is set on doing something particular for dinner, since she usually ends up eating while I'm working out and I usually end up eating some cereal. But to be honest it has had the positive side effect of really dialing back on evening calories.
  • I'm in the Kitima and Hayes camp as well. But the twist is that I like to get my bike workouts in before dinner and my run workouts after dinner.

    I work from home, my wife works, and the kids go to daycare after school. On a typical day, my wife gets home with the kids around 5:30 and that's just about when I'm wrapping up work and ready to start my workout (if it's a bike day). By the time I'm finished and showered it's usually around 7-ish and the rest of the family is just finishing dinner. I'll throw mine in the microwave and my dinner becomes my recovery meal.

    If it's a run day, I'll just wait till about 9. I really enjoy running in the dark. I live a half mile from the Little Miami Trail, which is the longest paved recreational trail in the US (~76 miles). Most of it is heavily wooded and follows alongside the Little Miami River. I'll throw on my Petzl headlamp and I'm on the trail within a few minutes of stepping out my front door. I find it to be a very soothing and relaxing way to finish my day; running through the woods with my headphones on in the dark makes me feel like I'm the only person on the planet. What's even stranger is that I enjoy it more as it gets colder. I like the crispness in the air and for some reason I like seeing my breath in the rays of my headlamp.

    Jason
  • @David- Great list. I am a morning person and I agree totally. The only thing I do is, i've kind of trained myself to be able to eat whenever. So, I'll eat something small 10-15 min before the workout, Just so I have some energy. I prefer a granola bar or something over a gu or gel.
  •  I have a catch 22 when it comes to workout times.  I'd love to get it done in the morning whenever possible but that depends on certain things, whether or not my wife and baby are awake.  I can't set an alarm or I risk waking both of them and then my tri season is over because I'll be dead.  So that leaves me to evenings a lot.   When I get home, I relieve the babysitter/parents/in law and spend time with the kids until my wife gets home.  Then its play some more, get dinner ready and eat.  Its my rule that I eat with the family, so I try not to down too much when I have a workout.  If its a run, I eat very little and focus on getting the kids fed.  Then its time for clean up, play, read books, and get everyone to bed.  If I'm lucky, my wife goes to bed too so I can start around 8:30pm, if not, it can be as late as 9:30-10.  It turns into a waiting game and staying focused on getting it done.  The hardest part is getting on the bike or taking the first few steps.  Once 5 minutes into the workout, I feel good and ready to complete the warmup and get going.  Caveats would be sleep the night before and food.  Hopefully I've slept enough to feel okay, and eaten just enough, erring on the too little side to feel good for the workout.  Trouble starts when I have the opportunity to workout the next morning and do it, or if I get done late, not being able to sleep.  This is where I have to make the OS schedule flexible making sure I get the workouts done for the week.  I may not follow the OS schedule, but usually get the work done.  Anyway, I have no idea what this adds to the conversation, but really it turns into a mental game.  You have to just convince yourself to get going, and once that's done, you are usually all set.  Sleep is key.  If you are awake early regardless, you end up digging a hole that's hard to get out of and end up skipping a workout and having to make it up when you haven't planned for it yet.  So plan to workout late, plan to sleep as much as you can, and plan on not feeling like working out but doing it anyway as long as you are not doing it for more than 2 sessions in succession.  Take a day off, then get back into it.  But others have alluded to planning for late workouts, and I think that is the key, physically you can usually do a workout whenever, its the mental game that has to be mastered.  I figure that this time of my life (with 3 young children) that sleep is not going to be consistent and I've accepted that so I find that I can dig deep when needed and it will be made up sooner or later.  If you have the time to get it done when you get home from work, do it then, having planned accordingly nutrition wise.  If you can't before dinner, don't fill up too much on fat and protein as you will feel bloated, stick with light fare. Don't workout too close to bedtime if you cannot sleep right away (I can't, I'm usually very hot for at least an hour after and can't get comfortable).  Good luck.  

  • Finally some sanity! Just kidding....

    I am and have always been an evening person. My job keeps me at a desk looking at a computer all day so my end-of-day fatigue is mental. My drug of choice before EN had been running and marathons. So that is where most of my years of ‘night’ training have come. I find it incredibly peaceful to run in the dark, past houses where everyone has long since gone to bed.

    Typically I eat a snack when I get home and do little or nothing that requires thinking for a while like TV or internet. Many evenings I will lay on the floor for 45 minutes to an hour just to chill out waiting for my second wind to kick in. My wife is a nurse and doesn’t get home till nearly 8PM – she requires my attention at least for a few minutes…… or my SAU account will be overdrawn!

    On rare days, I would have already run when she gets home but most days I wait till she is in bed (8:30ish) before I leave. Dinner can be as late as 10:30 if my run is 75+ minutes. Usually I would eat dinner, catch the late news for the weather then hit the sack. Rarely does it take longer than 3 or 4 cleansing breaths to fall asleep.

    Favorite post-run meal? A 1/3rd lb of 90% lean beef, cooked outside on a grill (even if it is 10 below and snowing), with grated sharp cheddar (melts better) on a wheat bun and a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast (chocolate). Other dinners may include stir-fry with pasta, ahi tuna, tilapia, homemade veggie stew, cheese ravioli or 2 bowls of Wheaties with Craisons.
  • Thanks everyone for your input.

    My biggest struggle with evening workouts is that they are never consistent. I can get home from work anytime between 6pm and 9pm. The morning workouts provides that consistency that I need. The other problem is that I have trouble falling to sleep. It could take me anywheres from 1-2 hours. If I add exercise to the mix who knows if I would even go to sleep.

    All of your approaches sound like they will help when I do need to do that evening workout.
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