I planned to wake up and go for a run this morning, but I decided that I am much too sore for that type of workout. I took a tough yoga class on Tuesday and Body Pump yesterday, so I knew my body just didn’t want to run today. I think a nice, easy Yoga Flow class would better suit me, which is my new plan for today.
I haven’t run since Sunday, so I considered just a short run in preparation for my upcoming 5K race this Sunday, but I decided rest was much more important. Plus, I didn’t want to have another run like I did in Medford when I felt crappy and needed to quit midway through.
In the past, I’ve called it quits during a number of runs, but for good reason:
- I was sick.
- I felt a potential injury coming on.
- I felt serious pain.
- I felt lousy and never got into a groove.
What causes you to call it quits during a workout?
Breakfast
Once again, I craved peanut butter when I woke up this morning, so I made a Bagel Thin with peanut butter and banana slices. I also drank an iced coffee with soy milk. This is such a go-to breakfast for me.
My Morning Motivation
Check out my guest post on the Thomas Bagel Thins Facebook page!
A lot of my race training occurs first thing in the day because I am such a morning person. As soon as I wake up, I think: carpe diem. Just the thought of seizing the day (and, of course, eating breakfast) gets me right out of bed and ready to exercise. For me, it’s important to start my day off on the right foot, so this post talks about how I start my mornings with race training in mind.
Question of the Day
There are two Questions of the Day today! Feel free to take a stab at both!
What causes you to call it quits during a workout?
If you’re a morning exerciser, what motivates you to get out of bed?
P.S. I’m hosting a peanut butter giveaway over on Trading Up Downtown!
112 Comments
Totally on the same page about the morning workouts – if I wait until later in the day to run, it ends up being so forced, my stomach feels off, and I just don’t have the energy to do it. I’m fine to do weight lifting or yoga later in the day, but not running. Sounds like you definitely had a good reason to call it quits today for the run – your muscles needed a break!
I’m still catching up on your last few posts, so I wanted to say great job on Sunday at Black Cat, and I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet you! Maybe at another race soon š
I call it quits when all I can think about is how much I don’t want to workout.
I used to be able to get up early to exercise, but not this year. Maybe that will be my 2012 New Year Resolution
If I’m in the middle of a workout, I almost never call it quits unless I feel nauseous or I have to go to the bathroom badly. Otherwise, if it’s just a general overall crappy feeling, I might dial it down a notch or do something a little less strenuous, but if I’m already AT the gym, I’m putting my time in no matter what!
I call it quits whenever I have a bad stomach ache- there is seriously no way to run with a stomach ache in my opinion.
What motivates me to get out of bed is knowing that since I definitely want to get in a workout, the best time for me to do it is in the morning because I always feel better the rest of the day AND I know it will be out of the way first thing.
I love getting my workout done in the mornings! I am a morning person, so as soon as that alarm goes off I am up! I know I have a breakfast to eat, and I just remember the feeling I get after I am done working out! Then you dont have to think about it the rest of the day… plus you never miss anything in the morning so might as well work out š
i love morning workouts, but for me to do that and get to work in time, that means 4 a.m. what i’ve found out is that NOTHING good comes out of getting up at 4 a.m. to work out, because by the end of the week, i’m exhausted and working out is the LAST thing i want to do.
The only time i’ve gone to the gym and called it quits was when i had hired a personal trainer. She had unknowningly overtrained me and i was so tired. I’m sure she wanted to make her money, so we did part of a workout, but I just told her i was done, mid-workout. it was too much!
I call it quits during a workout when I can tell that I’m just not into it. There are days when I feel like working out is a chore, and I never want it to feel that way, so I just stop because I want to enjoy what I’m doing, not dread it.
I’m really stubborn and usually don’t quit in a workout…I’m sure there has been some times when I should have and didn’t and probably made an injury worse though. š
Definitely a morning exerciser and my motivation is just knowing that if I don’t get up and get my workout in that I’m going to have to get all the way through my day and then workout when I’m tired and ready to unwind. Plus working out in the morning gives me energy for the day!
The best part of a morning workout is that all day I get to feel accomplished, my body feels good, and I know I kickstarted my metabolism. If I wait until later in the day, I usually feel dread at some point in the day, even if only for a moment. AND… life tends not to “happen” or get in the way that early in the morning. I am pretty sure life doesn’t wake up that early. Or, maybe it is scared of the type of person who is willing to get up that early to sweat.
I’m totally a morning workout person because I know I’ll find an excuse not to if I put it off til the afternoon. I leave my getting-ready-for-work stuff at the gym so I HAVE to go in the morning! Otherwise, I’d be rolling to work in pajamas!
IT band pain, booo, and just not being able to get into a groove.
I think the only times I’ve quit during a workout is pain/injury. Even if I’m not feeling it, I try to keep going and finish what I started.
I like to workout in the morning whenever possible. The later in the day it gets, the more tired I feel and the more excuses I can come up with not to do it.
I’m a morning workout’er (is that a word?) and I am a visualizer. More than likely, I don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, but I think about what I will feel like if I do work out and what I will feel like if I don’t work out. Usually working out WINS!
I run on my lunch breaks, usually about 6 miles 2-3 times a week (I’m a single mom of two and lunch is literally the ONLY time I ever have to workout). I was super pumped about my run on Monday, but not even a mile into it I knew it just wasn’t going to happen. The wind was blowing like mad and I had to beg my legs to keep going. Awful! There are times when I can push through and make it to the end even when I really don’t want to, but there are also those times where no amount of chanting “just keep running” (think Dory) can keep me going.
My dogs! I love to run & love having it checked off my list first thing in the AM….but my two GSPs love, love, LOVE to run. So they are whining and prancing at their leash box ready to go each morning!
Enjoy your rest!
Rain has made me quit in the middle of a workout. Otherwise if I start to feel bad I just back off a little and finish.
What keeps me exercising at 5am is that 3 days a week I meet up with someone and 3 other days I meet up with 4-5 people. Just knowing they will all be loking for me keeps me going. I have not had much success with working out after work – I’m just to tired and can find a million excuses NOT to go.
I’m a morning workout person. I treat it like going work – something that is part of of my routine and something that I shouldn’t be late for. If I’m feeling run down or too tired for the gym, I make the decision to take a day off the night before. That way, my sleep isn’t interrupted by my gym alarm and I can truly rest up for the next day. But if its a workout day – when the alarm goes off in the morning, if I’m feeling like snoozing, I just say to myself, you weren’t too tired last night…get up and get moving!
I’ve been working out in the early morning for almost 3 years now and it’s STILL such a struggle for me some days. I guess the main thing that motivates me is knowing that after work, my evening will be open to just about anything- slow-cooked meals at home, shopping, TV or spur-of-the moment social outings.
It’s tough crawling out of bed at 5 am for a workout, but my mornings are more energized and the rest of my day is less stressful, knowing that I don’t have to make plans around an evening sweat session.
I call it quits when I feel an injury coming on. This is really hard for me because I hate giving up, but I don’t want to hurt myself even further!
I love the feeling of a good workout- so out of bed I come! I call it quits when I really feel no mojo toward running…I actually wrote a post about it this morning š : http://www.enjoyyourhealthylife.com/2011/03/10/how-much-is-too-much-thankful-thursday/ and included a really interesting article about running/exercising too much and how it could harm the body if you don’t actually listen up to what your body says. Fascinating stuff.
I’m definitely a morning exerciser. It can be really tough to get out of bed some mornings but I just think how great I will feel having my workout done before I even go to work. Lately I have been taking my dog on a portion of my morning runs and I know he looks forward to it so much. Not letting him down gives me extra motivation.
I am actually an evening work out person, after work and before I go home – for me its a great way to unwind from the day.
Today I am in a similar debate – Race on Sunday so I want to get a run in but my IT bands were killing me after my run yesterday and still sore this morning also no way to really fit it in tomorrow.
I usually would “fight through the pain” if I started to feel something wrong during a run. However, doing that caused me to develop a shin splint which sidelined me from running for a month. I am now rebuilding (I am up to 2.5 miles without stopping when I could run a half marathon 2 months ago :/), but I now know that I need to call it quits when I feel physical PAIN!
I’ll call it quits if I’m just not feeling it. There are some days where I’m just not mentally prepared and I will cut my workout short and then cut myself some slack. I figure it’s better to take a mental health day from working out and attack the next one with vigor!
As for morning workouts, they don’t happen often for me, but when they do it’s usually the motivation that I will have the night free when I get home from work and can spend it exactly how I want, even if that means sitting on the couch and just watching TV.
I work out in the morning for a few reasons. It helps to set my body clock and wake me up, which results in better sleep at night. If I exercise in the evening after work, I have a hard time sleeping. Also, I’m kind of a zombie in the morning, so I just set myself on auto pilot. I already have my workout clothes laid out, and a change of clothes packed. The workout is over before I know it and I have my whole day ahead of me. I used to workout after work a few years ago, and now I have no idea how I found the energy!
I call it quits when I find that I’m really hungry suddenly, or I experience any pain that doesn’t go away after a few minutes.
I actually thought the same thing! Woke up late this morning and just decided to take a day of rest — which I rarely do. I decided that hey — today my body needs a hug, not a kick in the butt!
I called it quits before I even started this morning. I pulled a muscle in my leg yesterday- no point in making it worse š
I’m really stubborn so for me stop in the middle of a run I have to be in quite a bit of pain…which is probably not a good thing.
I’m NOT a morning workouter haha.
I call it quits when my body just isn’t responding. Within 10 minutes I can tell if I should truly be working out or not, and if it seems I need to stop I do – no questions asked.
I get up to work out in the morning because it starts my day off right…I know that I’ve put my exercise time in, and that helps me stay less anxious throughout the day. I call it quits in a workout when I feel it, my body needs a recovery day, and I take it!
I’m motivated for my morning swims knowing that there’s someone else at the pool waiting for me, and I get a much better workout when I swim with someone else!
NOT an AM person. I’ve tried to make the switch but just can’t.
There have been a few times where I realized I was just too sore to workout. It’s okay to switch my Rest Days up with I need to. I don’t stress about it much.
Good for you for listening to your body! I think that’s seriously one of the most important parts of training. (Oh, and I mean the pb craving just as much as the yoga) š
Stomach issues definitely cause me to call it quits on a workout – not worth it! Also, really bad weather – not always, but sometimes.
I’m definitely a morning exerciser because it’s when I have the most energy! There’s no way I could make it to the gym after a long day of standing on my feet at work, I’m just too tired.
Pain is usually the #1 reason I call it quits during a workout – good thing that doesn’t happen too often. #2 would be a serious lack of motivation – if I’m truly not feeling it, I might just stop. That doesn’t usually happen too often either š
Loved your guest post!
What get’s me up in the morning to workout:
Boston, Boston, Boston, Boston:)
breakfast looks good , fav combo
I am SUCH a morning exerciser…what motivates me is how I know I will feel afterwards…and the idea of having my workout over and done with and out of the way for the day…knowing that after work I am free to do whatever I choose!
I’m a total morning exerciser, if it doesn’t happen first thing in the AM, it’s just not going to happen!
i quit a workout when I don’t feel well or if I am extremely tired to the point of passing out… I love morning workouts, I always feel so productive for the rest of the day.. although, sometimes when i workout super early in the morning, I tend to crash at work in the afternoon… I get super tired..
man, nothing gets me out of bed, i’m a sleeper. The only thing that motivates me to workout is the way I feel after a workout. it is a relief, else I waste the entire day feeling bad that i didn’t workout. I only do it 3 days a week and that works for me. š
What motivates me to get out of bed is knowing that if I don’t work out in the morning, it’s probably not going to happen. I’m a stay-at-home Mom so it’s my only free time during the day. If I don’t get up right away and work out I will find a million and one excuses to not do it later. So I basically have an argument with myself when I first wake up and then talk myself into working out :).
I call it quits if my body is just too sore from working out (then I’ll usually resort to a relaxing yoga class). I can’t run when I’m in a “funk”. It’s just won’t be affective. I love morning workouts because it sets a great tone for the rest of the day. What motivates me to get out of bed early am (hello 4:30am!) is signing up for my first marathon. I know that if I do not run, I’m only hurting myself come race day.
I call it quits when my body is feeling sore. Yesterday I got to the gym, changed into my workout gear, and went all the way to the cardio room before I realized I was too achey. So I just turned right around and left. š But it was for the better because I had a killer workout today!
If I feel like I want to skip a workout, I always ask myself which would make me feel worse: working out or not working out? because a lot of times working out helps whatever feels wrong! I just listen to my body and take it easy as I please š
I love your blog by the way and I’m a new follower. I used to be a morning work-out person but the winter is really hard for me. My plan is to transition back. But, my motivation is how good I feel when I complete it! I usually quit or don’t do a workout if something hurts or if I’m overly exhausted. I hate skipping though but sometimes if you’re not mentally in it, it’s better to!
I am a morning exerciser and my husband waits until after work. Whenever we compare workout notes in the evening it’s amazing the number of “things” that come up to prevent hubby from working out. I hardly ever have that issue at 4:30 a.m.
I am just naturally not a morning person, so trying to work out in the morning makes me feel more sluggish and like I can’t give it my all AT ALL. Afternoon exercising really gets me pumped! š
Knowing that my stress level will be in check for the rest of the day gets me to the gym in the early hours. A great lift session or butt kicking spin class always helps me relax and approach the day with a level head. š
And I mostly wrap up a workout when I feel an injury coming on or am not feeling well.