Advice for the early riser etc

ronano

I get a bus at 7.20 spend the next 140 minutes and then am on the go til i get home at usually 8pm. I feel very tired and i'm wondering is there any advice/tips you can give be it herbal tea or whatever. I'm willing to spend a max of 15 mins on excercise on the morning if it will help me out and however long at the weekends.

thanks

Genghis

It might seem counter-intuitive, but doing a small bit of exercise either before or after you work should actually give you more energy. I do a similar day to yourself (though it begins at 6:30 and ends at 8:00pm) and I fit in between 90 mins and 120 mins of exercise per day. And I never feel tired.

You asked for some tips; I am assuming that you, like me, commute from some commuter town 40-50 miles from Dublin, which I assume is where you work:

1. Can you take a train instead of a bus? Iarnrod Eireann offer secure bike parking at Connolly and Heuston, so if you can cycle the last leg of your journey (station to work and back again), then it is an easy way to get a little exercise in on both commutes. If that isn't appropriate, what about walking the last couple of miles of your bus journey?

2. At this time of year your options for exercising outside before 7am are fairly limted by darkness, frost, etc. Have you got anything at home you could train on - example, I have a 'bike trainer' that allows me to cycle my bike indoors - a 30 minute spinning session certainly wakes you up!

3. Is there any opportunity for you to exercise during the day? Instead of sitting at your desk for lunch, try to go for a run / walk for 30-40 mins, though you do need to have access to a shower for this to make sense.

4. In the evening time you could consider joining a gym that is either in your way home, or is near to work. If it is near to work you might actually save time by exercising during rush hour - as you probably know, the (say 6:00 bus very often arrives at its destination only a few minutes before the 7:30 or 8:00 bus that avoids traffic). If you go for nearer home make sure you head in there en route - it is too easy not to leave home again when you reach the house! Look for a training programme or select classes that make your training regular and less 'optional'.

5. What about joining a football team - even five a side, or some other sport - squash, etc. Again these are evening activities and there might be something in Dublin near your work.

Last point - remember to eat properly with this training ideas above - especially try to have something substantial before doing any training in the evening - it is a long time since lunch and you won't be home til late to have dinner.

BrianD3

I also work long hours and have a long commute. I do around 20-30 mins of weight training most evenings with more at weekends. I have never had as much energy as I have now. Eating well probably plays a big part too.

I find that lifting relatively heavy weights for low (1-5) reps leaves me feeling relaxed and contented. I might do some lifting at around 9:00, finish at 9:30, take a protein shake, have a nice hot shower then sit back and chill in front of the TV till 11:00 when I go to bed. Since I started my routine I find myself getting to sleep much more quickly, sleeping better (but spending less time sleeping) and waking up feeling fresh the next morning.

I don't do any cardio work in the evenings. It leaves me feeling jumpy and affects my sleeping, resulting in fatigue the next day.

BrianD3

adjodlo

My tip, you get home at 8 so you should go to bed early, wake up early and workout then get the bus. It's not like it will knacker you for the whole day or anything, if anything it will give you a boost.