As the days get shorter and darkness lingers past 6 AM, I find it harder and harder to motive out of bed and into the dark, chilly world outside.
I am a total creature of Circadian rhythm. I have the most energy during the day when there’s sunlight, and once the world gets dark, there’s 1-2 hours before I’m ready to crawl into bed for the night.
What does this mean for my exercise routine? Mostly it means that during the darkest weeks of the year, I don’t get out much. It’s a chore for me to get up at 5 AM and get to the pool for the 5:45 Master’s Swim. I should probably find a Master’s swim session that starts at 10 or 11 AM instead. Getting up at 6 AM is just barely better; either I go to the YMCA and do a (boring) gym workout, or I suck it up and run outside in the pre-dawn light.
I’m lucky if I work out five times a week; 2-3 is the norm in winter. In contrast, during the summer I have to force myself to take a day off. I totally understand the urge to hibernate, as it’s (obviously) my instinct.
I live in Colorado where we get 300 days of sunshine a year. I can’t imagine living farther north where the clouds rule the skies, or where the days are even shorter. I would never get outside at all, for all the time I would spend in bed sleeping!
During the shortest weeks of the year, how is YOUR exercise routine affected? Do you struggle through it, or are you one of those people that says “Yeah, it sucks, and I just wait until it’s light again.” I strive to be one of those people, but sometimes it doesn’t work.
I agree! It stinks. We are almost over the hump..the solstice is coming!
I agree! It stinks. We are almost over the hump..the solstice is coming!
I agree! It stinks. We are almost over the hump..the solstice is coming!
I really struggle NOT to hibernate during the winter. Not having the daylight totally messes me up. I have been working really hard at keeping a steady workout schedule so far this year, I hope I can keep it up (the winter solstice is on Monday – yay!!!).
I think at some point, we just have to submit to Mother Nature and go with it, ya know? Instead of trying to keep the same schedule in SPITE of our natural rhythm, why don’t we just go with the urge to slow down and rest? Oh yeah, cuz we’re athletes and we’ve trained ourselves out of listening to these cues. Hmmm. Not good, methinks.
We get a lot of sunny days here in Vegas, but my work schedule means I don’t see much daylight during the winter. The sun doesn’t come up until about 6:30, I start working at 7:00 AM and the sun is usually setting by 4:15, and I get off work at 4:00 PM. That makes it rough. And I definitely find it harder to get up super early to run in the winter. All summer I usually run at 4:30 AM just to beat the heat, but in the winter my body seems to just scream for more sleep!
I love running at night, but I HATE waking up in the dark (and cold) to go swimming! Feels so good after, but stripping down to a bathing suit and jumping in chilly water goes against every instinct my body has at 5:30 a.m.! No advice here, but lots of sympathy!
Yeah, there’s something about waking up in the dark to work out, and then when you’re done, it’s still dark out. I’ll DO it, sometimes, but I won’t like it a whole lot. Which means that maybe I need to start doing something I enjoy more!