Having problems with sleep schedule and training....

[jerkbox]

Maybe I'm just a lazy shit, but here's my issue:

I've never been able to go to bed early, and I hate getting up early in the morning. I have always gone to bed around 1 or 2 am since my highschool days. Through college that was ok, because I could sleep in or take naps mid day or whatever and still have a good workout, but now that I have worked a 9 to 5 for the last 4 years, my sleeping schedule has taken it's toll on my training.

What happens a lot of times, is after work I'll come home and tell myself I'm gonna hit the gym later in the evening. But instead I end up crashing on the couch and waking up at 9:30 or something. Then of course I am up all night, and the cycle starts all over again....

I've tried different things to get out of this rut, like taking a thermogenic mid-afternoon so i'm not tired at the end of the work day, quick naps after work, coffee....all kinds of stuff.

What really sucks is that I sit in front of a computer all day, and one would think this would leave me well rested, but it just seems to make me feel more lethargic.

I don't know if it's possible to get myself trained to go to bed early.

Anyone have a similar problem? Any suggestions?

 

[circusgirl]

Maybe I'm just a lazy shit, but here's my issue:

I've never been able to go to bed early, and I hate getting up early in the morning. I have always gone to bed around 1 or 2 am since my highschool days. Through college that was ok, because I could sleep in or take naps mid day or whatever and still have a good workout, but now that I have worked a 9 to 5 for the last 4 years, my sleeping schedule has taken it's toll on my training.

What happens a lot of times, is after work I'll come home and tell myself I'm gonna hit the gym later in the evening. But instead I end up crashing on the couch and waking up at 9:30 or something. Then of course I am up all night, and the cycle starts all over again....

I've tried different things to get out of this rut, like taking a thermogenic mid-afternoon so i'm not tired at the end of the work day, quick naps after work, coffee....all kinds of stuff.

What really sucks is that I sit in front of a computer all day, and one would think this would leave me well rested, but it just seems to make me feel more lethargic.

OK, I have this problem too. The important thing to remember is the reason you are lethargic and tired in front of your computer is that your muscles get stuck in the same position all day. I'm not going to say stretch every 30 mins etc coz no-one ever does that - although if you can work that in, it's good for you generally.

I notice that once I hit the gym, the lethargy goes away as soon as I hit the warmup and my muscles loosen up. And I feel GREAT after working out. I'd suggest also eating some carbs about an hour beforehand - spatts recommends oatmeal on the women's board, to increase energy. Avoid caffeine, it causes blood sugar drops in large quantities, and caffeine has a fairly flat dose response rate afaik. The thing to do is FOCUS on how GOOD you will feel once you hit the gym. Don't sit down and sleep - just hit the gym, you will sleep REALLY well afterwards, trust me .

If you still feel ultra lethargic, a soak in a hot bath BEFORE working out gets the blood flowing in your upper body and eases the tension in the back of the neck that we all get from staring at a screen when tired. You'll feel a LOT more awake after the bath (10 mins soaking is more than enough) and ready to hit the iron - do this in the evening instead of crashing out. If you haven't got a bath, use the sauna at your gym, if they have one.

Another possibility is working out at lunchtime, if you can, this also prevents your muscles from cramping up so much so you feel less shitty - maybe 20 mins of light cardio at lunchtime so you can hit the weights later?

 

[bishonen]

I know it's obvious, but change your sleeping schedule. If you're getting up at 8 in the morning, try and be asleep by midnight. You can do this at one time by waking up very early one morning, and staying awake all the next day, and finally going to bed at the time you're shooting for. Or, you can try doing it by small increments.

This is seriously important. I just had a friend wreck his truck because he fell asleep on the highway. He has the same problem as you, not enough sleep. Something like 3 hours a day and he doesn't want to go to bed even though he KNOWS he has to get up bright and early.

I know how it feels, I'm the same way. My 'natural' cycle is something like 10:00AM - 2:00AM with sleep from 2:00AM-10:00AM. That didn't jibe well with high school, having to be in class at 7:25. Yeah, I fell asleep in class a lot.

However, I now work a job where I have to get out of bed at 3:00AM, which took a complete flip-flopping of my schedule. It wasn't too hard, and I haven't had any problems. ( after the first week or so. )

Try finding a training partner who you can set up a gym schedule with. It's the absolute best motivation, in my opinion. If you don't show, you're messing up their workout in addition to yours. Especially if you're doing lifts that require spotting.

Good luck with that, it will take some work, but you can undoubtedly do it.

 

[jerkbox]

Thanks for your input guys, the hot tub/sauna sounds like a great idea....never would have thought of that, but I'll give it a shot. Ideally I'd like to get myself into a regular schedule of getting to bed early, and waking up earlier and not feeling like crap at the end of the work day because I'm so tired....

As for lifting partners, hehe, everybody i know who lifts as regularly as I do goes at 5:30 in the morning, which just isn't gonna happen.

Thanks again for the advice

 

[nikkita]

well, why are you sleeping by 1 or 2 am? what do you do to get you so late?? sometimes when your sleeping schedule is messed up you end up doing tiny things that may be irrelevant to work or other stuff so then we sleep late (i.e., reading, cleaning, watching tv, answering mails) Is there anything so important that can't wait till the next day??

If there isn't then force your self to go to bed early gradually... you need to sleep... lack of sleep may affect not only gym performance but other activities as well... at first you may find it hard but put a goal to turn off lights, tv, cell phones, etc by a specific time... say 11:30... gradually this will make you recover. Another thing is that at weekends, if you have the chance try sleeping as much as you can so that you can recover from lost sleeping time.

 

[gymtime]

I've gone through the exact same thing you have and I only found one way around it. You have to force yourself not to nap after work. And that will really suck, especially for the first week or so while your body adapts, but it's the only thing that works. If you can do that, you will get to sleep earlier.

 

[pittbull2]

Take a little trazodone 50 mgs 20 minutes before bed just until your body clock adjusts say 2 weeks and you will be good to go NO NAP after work, once you start reg you will be getting pumped everyday and looking forward to going hit the weights. BTW that hot bath stuff wouldnt do it for me until after the workout .

 

[T-800]

I've gone through the exact same thing you have and I only found one way around it. You have to force yourself not to nap after work. And that will really suck, especially for the first week or so while your body adapts, but it's the only thing that works. If you can do that, you will get to sleep earlier.

yes.. i'm usually up til at least 2am most nights. if your sleep gets screwed up, you must suck it up one day and stay up or the cycle will repeat.