WEBVTT - Yes, you can exercise at night

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to try using evenings to fit exercise

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<v Speaker 1>into a full schedule. You don't need to worry that

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<v Speaker 1>evening exercise will keep you up all night. Instead, it

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<v Speaker 1>might make life feel more doable. I know that many

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<v Speaker 1>people listening to a podcast called Before Breakfast are well

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<v Speaker 1>morning people. I get lots of letters from people who

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<v Speaker 1>listen to these episodes while grabbing coffee on route to

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<v Speaker 1>the gym. I'm a big fan of morning exercise, and

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<v Speaker 1>for many people, this is the time of day that

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<v Speaker 1>works best. But that isn't the case for everyone. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you start work at six am and the bedtime required

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<v Speaker 1>for your five am wake up is already pushing the

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<v Speaker 1>limits of what you consider normal. Maybe your kids wake

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<v Speaker 1>up unpredictably. There's little more frustrating than setting an alarm

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<v Speaker 1>for five am, only to have your kids here that

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<v Speaker 1>alarm too. Maybe you've got your morning routine down to

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<v Speaker 1>a science and you don't want to rock the boat

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<v Speaker 1>by adding something else. That's fine. Evenings can actually be

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<v Speaker 1>a great alternative. The old assumption was that evening exercise

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<v Speaker 1>was a bad idea because it would keep you awake.

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<v Speaker 1>New research has revealed that this assumption is false. People

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<v Speaker 1>who exercise sleep better than people who don't exercise full stop.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't really matter when the exercise happens. That said,

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<v Speaker 1>if you've had a tough day at work and then

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<v Speaker 1>have battled to get your kids to bed, you might

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<v Speaker 1>not be highly motivated to do much in terms of

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<v Speaker 1>a hard workout. Maybe there are logistical barriers. You're the

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<v Speaker 1>only adult at home, for instance, so leaving your sleeping

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<v Speaker 1>little ones to go to the gym isn't an option.

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<v Speaker 1>But there are ways around all of this. First, you

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to exercise daily. Maybe start by aiming for

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<v Speaker 1>two evenings during the work week. Choose these evenings ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of time so you can shepherd your energy during the day.

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<v Speaker 1>Knowing that exercises in your plan for the evening can

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<v Speaker 1>make it slightly more likely to happen. Second, choose something accessible.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have a treadmill, stationary bike, or a weight

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<v Speaker 1>set at home awesome if you don't. Search on YouTube

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<v Speaker 1>for exercise videos that use body weight, or try a

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<v Speaker 1>service such as open fit that streams fitness classes as

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<v Speaker 1>part of that accessibility. Think short. You don't need to

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<v Speaker 1>exercise for an hour as you're starting out. Thirty minutes

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<v Speaker 1>is fine, and if that seems daunting, go for twenty

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<v Speaker 1>or fifteen. Even small amounts of activity turn out to matter.

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<v Speaker 1>If you live somewhere safe with lots of sidewalks and

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<v Speaker 1>street lights, and you wear reflective clothing, you could walk

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<v Speaker 1>or run outside, but I know that's not feasible for

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<v Speaker 1>many people, and even if it is, sometimes the weather

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't cooperate, so it's good to have backup options. Third,

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<v Speaker 1>and most important, when you've chosen a time, just do

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<v Speaker 1>it before you do anything else. Once you collapse on

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<v Speaker 1>the couch, you probably won't get up again. So don't

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<v Speaker 1>put yourself in that position of having to exert extraordinary willpower.

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<v Speaker 1>As soon as you've gotten home or after you've tucked

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<v Speaker 1>the kids into bed, get to it. Don't worry if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't feel like it. We can do plenty of

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<v Speaker 1>things we don't feel like, especially if we know it

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<v Speaker 1>will be over soon. Promise yourself you'll stick with it

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<v Speaker 1>for ten minutes and then you can quit. I'm willing

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<v Speaker 1>to bet that by ten minutes in you'll be feeling

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<v Speaker 1>more motivated, and you'll be willing to go to twenty.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're looking for extra motivation, try watching a favorite

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<v Speaker 1>show or listening to a favorite album while you're doing

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<v Speaker 1>your workout. The upside of exercising from say eight thirty

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<v Speaker 1>to nine pm is that it happens, and then you

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<v Speaker 1>still have an hour or so to veg out before

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<v Speaker 1>you need to go to bed. This can be plenty

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<v Speaker 1>of time to wind down, crack open that beer, read

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<v Speaker 1>a book, hang out with your partner, or whatever it

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<v Speaker 1>is you do. Especially if you're only aiming for two

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<v Speaker 1>evenings a week. This doesn't need to be a huge sacrifice,

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<v Speaker 1>and now you're the sort of person who exercises with

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<v Speaker 1>all the upsides that come with that. If you're an

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<v Speaker 1>evening exerciser, I'd love to hear about it. You can

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<v Speaker 1>let me know at Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. M Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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