I’m not really a morning person so I often train in the evenings, or at least I have done in the past. The problem is that I now have 2 kids (2 & 5) and Mrs Oddjob is now working full time again so there isn’t much slack in the evening routine until about 8:00 by which time I just want to relax having been up since about 6:30.

I can see that the solution is to get up earlier to train and I could realistically push it so that I could be finished by 7:00 or maybe 7:30 in the morning if I have to. The problem is getting out of bed!

This morning my alarm was set for 6:00, it woke me up but having been awake between 3 and 3:30 with cramp in the night, I simply couldn’t make myself just out of bed so yet another session went out the window and I will have to fight myself to get out the door or on the trainer tonight.

After a long ramble, is there anyone here who has successfully managed to turn themselves into an early riser who gets their training done before breakfast and how on earth did you do it?

Well unless you expect to have cramp every night between 3 and 3:30, I can’t see a problem.

And if you do expect to have cramp every night between 3 and 3:30, then I would suggest seeing a doctor is probably more important than getting your training in.

HTH

Doing is achieving.

Give GABA and Kava Kava a try.

Not much help but you just have to get up!

As soon as your alarm goes off just get up and get out without thinking about it, before you know what’s hit you your halfway through your run/ride and on the way home.

After a few weeks it will become second nature.

get a kiddie trailer, no need to even get up before 7.30

After a long ramble, is there anyone here who has successfully managed to turn themselves into an early riser who gets their training done before breakfast and how on earth did you do it?

When I’ve read about this, your morning or evening person tendency is hard-wired into your brain chemistry, and can’t be changed.

You can learn to manage it, and even force it a bit but you can’t change your spots. I can get up at 6am for instance and get stuff done, but my Mum leaps up at that time full of smiles and vigour. That just ain’t gonna happen for me.

I simply can’t do anything other than what is strictly necessary early in the morning. I can ride to work, but I can’t go out training, it’s just too hard. I can however wait til everyone’s gone to bed and pop out for 2 hours at 10pm.

Pik n Mix – Member

Not much help but you just have to get up!

This is sound advice.

I hate, hate, hate mornings and am hopeless on regularly getting up early. On the days I have to I make sure I get up at the first sound of my alarm.

After 15minuts of being up all is good.

I feel better on these days too due to less dozing.

Must work on getting up earlier every day!

Buy a dog, ours will not rest if there is any sign of life!

Seriously though, I am defo not a morning person, and as my work typically involves working beyond 9pm not a good sleeper either. Like yourself my training was “slipping” and the onset of the 40’s meant my waist line was as well.

The wife is an early rise anyway, but a sympathetic one so would let me sleep on in the mornings, with her “help” and placing the alarm clock where I have to get out of bed to get it (not so easy if u are trying not to wake others) I changed the alarm by 5 minute intervals over a period of weeks. Also had all my gym kit laid out so could literally fall out of bed and get out the door. Now … I hate it slightly less but at least I do it.

Oh … but u do have to do it EVERY day so the routine sticks, including days off 🙁

After 15minuts of being up all is good.

It takes me hours. I don’t get properly stuck into work til about 4pm 🙁

Get some additional sleep at another time of day. Make sure you wind-down before bed.

Get a timer to turn all the lights on

I feel just as crappy getting up at 7am if I’ve been to bed at 1am as if I’ve been to bed at 10pm.

Obviously less sleep has knock on effects that accumulate, but getting up is no easier.

I am not good in the mornings. I have managed to cycle to work when it was closer but I am not getting on for 50 miles each way so that is simply out of the question.

I am fine with training in the evening, but I can’t get to sleep if I am training after 9 so it becomes a sort of vicious circle.

I know deep down that the answer is to MTFU but I was looking for some tips on making the MTFUing a bit…

I know deep down that the answer is to MTFU but I was looking for some tips on making the MTFUing a bit..

No need to MTFU when you can just use Kava Kava and GABA.

Kava-Kava or any other stimulant will only help once you are up … and have taken them, and they have kicked in. Not going to help actually rolling out of bed.

Also a fairly vicious cycle as their use impedes the natural circadian rhythm so short term benefits at best.

oddjob … is it possible to drive / train etc part of the way and cycle the rest ???

Kava-Kava or any other stimulant will only help once you are up

It’s not a stimulant. Not only does it make you sleepy, it improves sleep quality.

GABA doesn’t make you sleepy, but it improves your sleep quality.

Apologies … my bad but isn’t kava-kava banned in the UK due to the link with liver failure ?

There was some talk about banning it but it appears to be readily available still. The liver failure stuff appeared to be rare cases of people eating handfuls of the stuff for years.

Like anything, if you’re stupid with it you’ll get bitten in the arse.

No real options for splitting the journey to work without adding an hour to an already looong commute.

I guess one option could be lunchtime training, but it seems like a huge amount of hassle.

Back to MTFU or stick to the old method of training in evening which being honest is far more likely to work out.

Lunchtime spin class at a local gym is going to keep the cobwebs in check ???

go to a gym to ride a bike indoors?

WTF? 😕

Back to MTFU or stick to the old method of training in evening which being honest is far more likely to work out

I certainly found this. What training are you doing btw?

You might find that you can slash the amount of time you need to put in my carefully selecting intervals.

Hey … its better than doing nothing at all (we’ve damn near exhausted every other option) and at least its sports specific, you can shower afterwards, and its convenient (assuming locale)

surely a run at lunchtime…its free and easy

Training for the Marmotte (again) and hoping to get in shape for some late season road races but that is looking less and less likely as time passes.
Really wanted to get the gold time at Marmotte this year, the weight loss is on track but the training is at least a month behind (meaning that I have just started)

mightymarmite – no need to justify it, you’re perfectly entitled to your opinion, personally I’d far rather do nothing than go to a spin class! but I fail to see how going to a gym can be more convenient than simply getting on a bike and riding it outdoors 😉

This is where living just the right distance from work comes in really handy.

There was some talk about banning it but it appears to be readily available still.

It’s banned in food, you can still get it as a supplement.

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/faq/kavakavaban/

+1 on what Molgrips said; far as I’ve read, you’re a lark or an owl and that’s your genes.

easy. if you want to be up for 6, you’ve got be asleep for 10.

which means heading off to do your ablutions at 9:30.

easy.

Yeah not a problem easily solved, getting all your kit laid out the night before and getting to bed early might help but you’re still going to find excuses not to if you don’t really want to.

I have a roughly similar problem myself, although I am a morning person and get up happily at 6am. Trouble is to train before work I’d then need to get up at 4:30-5am which is a step too far.

Used to be a night-owl, now an early riser by preference (though kids leave me little option!). How? Go to bed earlier. Going to bed before you are tired leaves you better rested. Think of it as like servicing your bike on time instead of waiting til something starts to creak.

Oh and eat something before you start.

Is anyone ‘not an evening person’?
I’ve always been ‘a morning person’ but then I’m an evening person too.
I’m just wondering if there are people out there who leap out of bed every morning happy as a lark but then actually crash when it gets late….

In answer to the OP though, it’s been mentioned above. make it as simple as possible to leave the house in the morning. When I was training for triathlons it was during a two year stint in Leeds (a 55 mile drive away) and I had to be in the office early. So that meant getting up at 4.00, doing a run or a ride, shower, drive to work. I found if all I had to do was put on my clothes and lift a leg over the bike it was a lot easier to get moving. I would leave my bike in the kitchen all ready to go on these occassions.

if you can, remove any curtains from your bedroom windows – natural light, man

Samuri
My wife, brother and dad are morning people. They are all fine from first thing in the morning but crash hard after about 8 in the evening. My wife could be out of bed with her contact lenses in at 5:30 but simply cannot operate after 10:30 even if she wants to. I am the polar opposite which is sort of unfortunate.

Buy a dog, ours will not rest if there is any sign of life!

I’m up at 5am every day to walk the dogs. It’s hard to get up two days a week, the other 5 are fine. You get used to it, but don’t expect to be awake at any time after 11pm on a regular basis. And you’ll need to accept that alcohol pretty much goes out of the window; you simply can’t cope with drinking anything and getting up/remaining alive if you’re reducing sleeo to 5 or 6 hours a day

Get a loud alarm and put it the other side of the room from the bed.

Once you’ve got up to turn the b@st@rd thing off, you’ve made the hardest step, which is the initial leaving of your warm and cosy pit.

I’m just wondering if there are people out there who leap out of bed every morning happy as a lark but then actually crash when it gets late

All proper morning people will crash in the evening. Mrs Grips does (although she can be flexible on this).

Getting up early and sleeping early is the most healthy way.

Only if you are a lark. If you are an owl it’s been proven to be quite bad for you in the long run.

Going to bed before you are tired leaves you better rested.

Not me at all. I’ve often found a good late night makes me feel much better.

+1 for driving part of the way and riding the rest. At least you can get some miles in.

When I went to long-distance commuting (60 miles each way), and having a very early rising baby (5 AM), I used to ride 10 miles, bus 45 to Hillingdon and ride the last 7. Did this 1-2 days per week for a few years (until work became too busy), and rowed in a gym up to 50km per week at lunchtimes. Never got the journey below 2hrs each way, mind. And I’m a morning person.

I now commute 7 miles each way and look for ways to get more miles in.