Gym? Before or after dinner?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go before dinner. Once we get home we aren’t as likely to go back out. And we really don’t like to work out after a meal. We also don’t stay for 1.5 hours. That’s a huge commitment.

I used to be a morning person but job and life changes changed that too.

I factored in drive time. I’m curious, are you doing cardio and weightlifting? How does it not take you at least an hour?

DP. Split the time in half. Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. How many days a week are you going?

That would be 15 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of weightlifting. That’s sort of pointless.

Gee, are you doing that now? No? So it's not pointless. The problem with newbs is that you come in all fast and furious, burn yourselves out, and then give up.

This. I work out 5-6 days a week at home before work (weekends are also morning). Some days it is 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes or weights/strength stuff but some days it is 20 minutes or even 15 minutes of each. But I have been consistently working out a minimum of 5 days per week for over five years because I don't take an all or nothing approach. If I have an early meeting, I may even just do 15 minutes on the treadmill and 5 minutes of push-ups and sit-ups and that is absolutely better than nothing. I can always fit in 20 minutes but I cannot always fit in an hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go before dinner. Once we get home we aren’t as likely to go back out. And we really don’t like to work out after a meal. We also don’t stay for 1.5 hours. That’s a huge commitment.

I used to be a morning person but job and life changes changed that too.

I factored in drive time. I’m curious, are you doing cardio and weightlifting? How does it not take you at least an hour?

DP. Split the time in half. Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. How many days a week are you going?

That would be 15 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of weightlifting. That’s sort of pointless.

Gee, are you doing that now? No? So it's not pointless. The problem with newbs is that you come in all fast and furious, burn yourselves out, and then give up.

This. I work out 5-6 days a week at home before work (weekends are also morning). Some days it is 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes or weights/strength stuff but some days it is 20 minutes or even 15 minutes of each. But I have been consistently working out a minimum of 5 days per week for over five years because I don't take an all or nothing approach. If I have an early meeting, I may even just do 15 minutes on the treadmill and 5 minutes of push-ups and sit-ups and that is absolutely better than nothing. I can always fit in 20 minutes but I cannot always fit in an hour.

OP here. Point taken. I still need to figure out when, though. The more I think of it, the less I want to be fixing dinner and cleaning up dinner near 7pm, so I guess there’s my answer.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s interesting everyone is saying not to work out after eating dinner. Are you all gorging yourselves at dinner? Because if not, how is it any different from working out after breakfast? Or are you all working out fasted?

If it were me, OP, I’d work out after dinner. I don’t feel particularly full to the point of uncomfortable after dinner, so it wouldn’t be any different than working out after breakfast for me.

[Anonymous]

Since you get home an hour before your husband, why don’t you do most of the dinner prep then? And then if your teens are there, maybe they can finish preparing the meal while you’re at the gym? Or give one night to each teen? It’s an important life skill and they’re helping keep their parents healthy.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the gym and how crowded it is. For my gym I would go at 6:30 because 5pm is HS bro lifting hour and I don't want to deal with waiting for weights.

We also prefer to eat dinner earlier. I can't imagine starting to cook dinner at 6:30.

[Anonymous]

Before dinner. Either have dinner mostly ready to go before you leave for the gym or have the kids start it while you are there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go before dinner. Once we get home we aren’t as likely to go back out. And we really don’t like to work out after a meal. We also don’t stay for 1.5 hours. That’s a huge commitment.

I used to be a morning person but job and life changes changed that too.

I factored in drive time. I’m curious, are you doing cardio and weightlifting? How does it not take you at least an hour?

DP. Split the time in half. Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. How many days a week are you going?

That would be 15 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of weightlifting. That’s sort of pointless.

Gee, are you doing that now? No? So it's not pointless. The problem with newbs is that you come in all fast and furious, burn yourselves out, and then give up.

Yes, I do work out from home but I’d like more variety. I’m far from a “noob”.

It’s wild to me that you think an hour of exercise, twice a week is too much. For this reason alone, I don’t think I need or want your advice. But thank you!

An hour of exercise twice a week is not too much, but shitting on someone else's workout schedule as "pointless" when apparently you aren't in optimal fitness is risible.

You are imagining your own narrative. I have been working out consistently for years. I’m just trying to decide on a routine that will work best for family life. I in no way, shape, or form, suggested that I’ve never worked out on my own before. But I question someone who thinks you can get in a solid and effective cardio/weightlifting routine in just 15 minutes.

Dude, you are crowd sourcing how to fit in a workout. We don’t believe you that are experienced and fit.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you try each option for a week and see which works better. No need to 100% commit to one or other be flexible.

[Anonymous]

I work out 2x per week before dinner. I do scheduled 6 pm classes (body pump) and do 15 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical before the class. One of the night I do a prepared meal (something I prepared on Sunday or something I froze form an earlier meal). I get my 12 year-old child to do any require prep such as putting it in or taking it out the oven. The other night (mid week), I pick up takeout on my way home. On those nights, we eat around 7:15. I do my third workout on the weekend, and I take an evening walk every night after dinner.

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher and morning workouts don’t work for me.

I get home around 4:20 and we eat at 6:00. I workout around 615/6:30 either at home or the gym and then have a small protein snack afterwards.

[Anonymous]

I'm still struggling with the context. This is only 2 days a week? Why does it have to be so rigid? Can you do one time before dinner and one time after dinner, and in a few weeks, decide which you prefer?

It's also a little strange that you insist on doing this as a pair. Why? What are your kids doing?

[Anonymous]

After

[Anonymous]

I would meet there. Neither of you should come home first. And I would do shorter, more frequent workouts. So 30 mins of cardio OR weights, then home for dinner, 4 days a week. You’d prob be home by 5pm.

Do workouts together on the weekends.

[Anonymous]

I got to the gym before dinner.

DH makes dinner, usually timed so that it is ready pretty much right away when I get home.

Then he goes to the gym right after dinner, and I do the clean up.

It works well for us because it splits dinner responsibilities, I don't have to work out right after eating which I don't like, and not having to cleanup gives him incentive to get out the door (one time he was waffling about going to the gym, and I said 'oh, so you can help with kitchen cleanup' and he said ok, I'll go).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go before dinner. Once we get home we aren’t as likely to go back out. And we really don’t like to work out after a meal. We also don’t stay for 1.5 hours. That’s a huge commitment.

I used to be a morning person but job and life changes changed that too.

I factored in drive time. I’m curious, are you doing cardio and weightlifting? How does it not take you at least an hour?

DP. Split the time in half. Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. How many days a week are you going?

That would be 15 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of weightlifting. That’s sort of pointless.

Gee, are you doing that now? No? So it's not pointless. The problem with newbs is that you come in all fast and furious, burn yourselves out, and then give up.

Yes, I do work out from home but I’d like more variety. I’m far from a “noob”.

It’s wild to me that you think an hour of exercise, twice a week is too much. For this reason alone, I don’t think I need or want your advice. But thank you!

An hour of exercise twice a week is not too much, but shitting on someone else's workout schedule as "pointless" when apparently you aren't in optimal fitness is risible.

You are imagining your own narrative. I have been working out consistently for years. I’m just trying to decide on a routine that will work best for family life. I in no way, shape, or form, suggested that I’ve never worked out on my own before. But I question someone who thinks you can get in a solid and effective cardio/weightlifting routine in just 15 minutes.

Dude, you are crowd sourcing how to fit in a workout. We don’t believe you that are experienced and fit.

+1.