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February 13, 2015

Morning or Evening Workouts? Also, Our Cat is Weird

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Happy Friday, guys!

This morning was a fun one for two reasons: 1) I got in a workout at Urban Athletic Club, and 2) Matt came with me! I didn’t get a photo of the two of us together (too busy sweating), but Graham (the instructor) snagged this shot of me on the monkey bars in the middle of class. SO FUN! Love that this was part of today’s workout – they always do a good job making the classes fun and varied. I was really proud to make it all the way across the bars – I think I have gotten stronger, because I remember monkey bars being really hard for me! Although, it may have just been that it was easier doing them without water/mud involved, like the recent times I’ve tried them at mud races. 😉

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This morning’s workout with Matt got me thinking about workout timing between couples. Long time readers will remember that Matt and I used to work out together during the week on a regular basis; back in 2012 and early 2013 we used to go to CrossFit together in the evenings a couple nights a week. Lol:

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But then Matt got really busy with various soccer teams (late evening games twice a week), we both got busier with work, and Matt wasn’t really sold on CrossFit anyway, so we started just doing our own thing.

I also, as you guys know, really prefer doing morning vs. evening workouts – not only because it makes me feel awesome for the rest of the day, but because I know it will actually happen. (The key is always having a friend/group to meet so I actually get out of bed!) I can do yoga at night, but for most other workouts I really lose motivation by evening, and I often have to meet AnneTheRD clients or wrap up work in the evenings, or want to meet friends for dinner or drinks, so it’s hard for me to be consistent about evening workouts. 

Matt, on the other hand, is completely an evening exerciser and not a morning person at all. His soccer games often aren’t until like 9 p.m., which would kill me! So yeah, this means that during the week we usually do our own thing and just do shorter workouts together on the weekends or when we travel together. That said, soccer is on winter hiatus right now, and I thought Matt would really like Urban Athletic Club, so I asked if he’d be up for trying it out with me this morning. Success – he was on board!

He really liked it, too! The class is basically the best of CrossFit and boot camps combined, because you’re doing weighted strength work and lots of HIIT and TRX boot camp-ish moves, but you don’t have the super competitive/bro-ish mentality that can sometimes be involved for guys going to CrossFit, which Matt wasn’t a huge fan of. There’s also no Olympic lifting; I always felt really hardcore doing that, but I’m fine sticking with kettlebells and heavy handweights instead. We even do wallballs and slams and stuff with the heavy balls, which I always really liked at CrossFit! (Old photo from the now defunct CrossFit Dupont.)

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Anyway, long story short – I miss working out with Matt and I think I can convince him to go with me to Urban Athletic Club once per week in the mornings, especially since I think we have now found a workout that both of us really enjoy. 🙂

So – if you have a significant other, do you work out together? And if so, what time? Is it always morning/evening or do you mix it up? Do both of you prefer that time or is one of you taking one for the team? I thought it would be interesting to hear how other couples balance this. I wish Matt and I were on the same awake-ness schedule, but we’re not, and evenings aren’t really an option with how busy we are (plus driving to Georgetown and parking for UAC during evening rush hour = disaster), so we gotta make do with what we can!

And now, for those of you that don’t care about workouts, let’s talk about cats! Specifically, this adorable ball of fluff, our little miss Zara.

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Speaking of morning workouts, Zara has been doing this funny thing every morning when I leave for an early workout and Matt is still in bed, and he just told me about it the other day. After I leave, Zara carries her favorite little felt toy in her mouth to the door of our bedroom, where Matt is still asleep, then starts meowing incessantly. The weird thing is that she doesn’t do this on the rare occasion that Matt leaves bed/the house before I get up, and she also doesn’t do it if we sleep in later on the weekends and get up around the same time. In general, she’s not super meow-y – I only really hear her meow if I’m holding a container of tuna. 😉

So – weird, right?! In my human heart, I’m like “Aww, she’s saying ‘I miss mom, where did she go?!’ ” But I know that it’s more likely something along the lines of: “That other large non-furry thing has left, and that means you must play with me. Get up!!” It’s just funny she only does it when I leave, not when Matt does!

Cat owners – what do you think? Does your cat do this too? Or do they have any other funny quirks you’d like to share? Cats are such characters. 🙂 Apparently she did it again yesterday morning, right on schedule, when I got up and headed out the door for my track workout at 6:30 a.m. It was a great one, by the way! I felt way more energized than I did on Tuesday. We did a “whistle fartlek” – basically the coaches had us start out fast, then when they blew the whistle, we dialed it back to recover, then when they blew it again we went fast again, etc! They had me do 20 minutes worth, and then we did some strides down the football field after, too. (A stride, I just learned, is starting slow and building speed until you’re basically sprinting at the end.) This time/pace/distance includes the whole fartlek and the strides, but not my initial warm up or final cool down. I did my fast fartlek sessions around a 7 minute flat or under, and the recovery sessions around 8 minutes I think. They told us there shouldn’t be too much of a gap between the two paces, so I tried to keep the recovery speedy, too.

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And now, I will end this random post. Looking forward to reading your comments, either in regards to working out with your significant other, or about your cats being silly! 😉

Have a great weekend! On the docket for me: a long run with the girls (gotta get ready for the DC Rock ‘n’ Roll half!), a Valentine’s dinner out with Matt, a yoga class with an old friend, and hosting that same friend and her fiancé at our place after for brunch! Active and full of good food – just how I like it. Until Monday, y’all!

p.s.:

  • Don’t forget to keep checking in once a day with how things are going over on my Week 3 Winter Shape Up Meal Plan and on Gina’s Week 3 Workout Page to be entered into the Sizzlefish giveaway! You have until Sunday to get in there and comment!
  • I have posted the Week 4 Meal Plan for those of you that will be shopping over the weekend. Can’t believe it’s the last week already! Happy shopping and eating, friends, and keep up the great work! 🙂 Here was my post-workout breakfast this morning – two sunny side up eggs with microwave-wilted spinach (put a big handful of fresh baby spinach on a plate, microwave 1 minute), toast, avocado, and some hidden Cabot sharp cheddar. Yum!

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- anne
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53 comments
  • Courtney February 13, 2015 · 12:07PM:
    I love going to cross fit in the morning and yoga in the evening. Cross fit gets me pumped for the day, whereas yoga leaves me feeling relaxed and ready to head to bed. My fiancé heads to cross fit with me in the morning - he would be fine with either time, but gets up early with me since he's not into yoga.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:47PM:
      That's awesome that he's flexible on timing!
      Reply
  • Amber Schumann February 13, 2015 · 12:28PM:
    That is so cute of your cat!!!! I totally think it's you... My cat gets super mopey when my husband is gone on his trips (he normally works from home where Charlie can nap in his lap all day while he is at his desk). Cats definitely share some of the same separation anxiety issues that dogs are known to have!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:46PM:
      Aw, well that makes me happy. :) It would make sense since I'm the one who's home with her most days!
      Reply
  • Jess @WanderlustRunning
    February 13, 2015 · 12:36PM:
    On the workout front, the past year (since I've moved and gotten a new job) I've becomea mid-day workout person. Our office has a sweet gym so I wait until about 3 o'clock (after lunch digests and I'm going stir crazy in a cube) to go workout. My husband and I also joined a local gym recently (work= 45 min commute) and we've been doing BodyPump or running a few nights a week. It's nice to have company sometimes, but since I'm marathon training there's still a lot of solo runs, which I also love. So I think it's an even balance...workout at various times, solo and with Dave. (Today I was up at 4:30 to run before work...that was definitely a solo mission!) As far as cats...I'm a dog person, so I have no help to offer. :) Have a great weekend!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:46PM:
      That's awesome - I think my absolute ideal time in a perfect world to work out would be like 10 or 11 a.m. Before lunch, but allowing for sleeping in and a leisurely breakfast first. ;)
      Reply
  • Sarah @ Sarah's on the Run
    February 13, 2015 · 12:37PM:
    I was always an evening exerciser up until about 6 months ago. I started absolutely DREADING my run every afternoon so I decided to switch it up one day and do it at 6am instead. It was too early for me to dread it and I realized that it totally helped wake me up before work and I felt soooo much better! So now, I run in the mornings and do some strength training/HIIT in the afternoon!
    Reply
  • Cara
    February 13, 2015 · 12:47PM:
    I am an afternoon worker outer. I LOVE how I feel when I work out early in the morning, but I would have to get up at 4:45:/. And no, my hubby does NOT work out with me either, lol! My Maci is UBER obsessed with my daughters fish and will sit in front of her door and wait for someone to open it. If someone opens it, she races in there meowing the whole time as if to announce to the poor fish that she's there!
    Reply
  • Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday
    February 13, 2015 · 12:48PM:
    I'm definitely a morning exerciser! I prefer first thing in the morning, but I often do it after my first class, and I enjoy waking up to a workout so much more than exercising after I've already had a full day.
    Reply
  • Shel@PeachyPalate
    February 13, 2015 · 12:55PM:
    I like doing cardio in the morning and prefer weights and crossfit style workouts in the evening!
    Reply
  • Laura Swanson
    February 13, 2015 · 12:58PM:
    Do you sleep with Zara shut out of the room so she can't come in? It'd be fun if you left the door open one time to see if she joins Matt in bed. We are definitely not morning exercise people! All my workouts happen at night. My schedule is pretty set so I don't normally get too busy to make it happen. We tend to get in a bike ride together on the weekends or walk the dog together during the week but that's about it.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 2:09PM:
      Oh, zara totally sleeps with us! She usually sleeps on the bed at my feet, or in the crook of my knees of I'm on my side. :) And I leave the door open when I leave too - makes it even weirder how she acts, lol!
      Reply
  • Ann
    February 13, 2015 · 1:29PM:
    LOL! That is what my male cat does every night when I go to bed and every morning when I get up. When I go to bed he grabs his bear in his mouth and brings it into the bedroom with us (I thought he was pretending it was something he killed or his baby) and then in the AM he grabs it again and brings it back out into the living room (the whole time doing this deep and strange sounding meow). I keep trying to get it on video but keep missing it. I have not figured out if he thinks he killed it or he loves it!! LOL!!!! Cats rock and so does Cross Fit!!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:45PM:
      Zara is like that with this little stuffed mouse that she has! She alternates between holding it lovingly in her paws and licking it, and doing this weird butt wiggle on top of it/acting like she is trying to rip it apart. So weird!
      Reply
  • Erin @ Erin's Inside Job
    February 13, 2015 · 1:43PM:
    I am absolutely a morning workout person. There are so many things that can get in the way of a workout routine at night and also I like it done and out of the way so I can start my day. I think sometimes I have more energy at night, but that's not enough of a benefit for me to switch to doing it then. My husband is better in the evening, but I definitely work out more than he does because it's kind of my job :) We like different workouts too, so even if we go together we will do our own things. UAC sounds a lot like the place where I am teaching. There is always a different WOD, but the workouts are more circuit/HIIT/bootcamp and there is no Olympic lifting like in Crossfit. I liked it so much more this way instead of the intensity of CF.
    Reply
  • Sherilyn February 13, 2015 · 1:47PM:
    Hubby and I do not work out together. He doesn't run too often anymore and doesn't have as much endurance as I do, while I don't have his speed. We do like to go on long walks and hikes together though! My cat is extremely strange! Lately he has been poking hubby in the face around the time he wakes up, like "feed me now". He also likes to "pet" us on our faces or hair, sort of like we pet him. Those are his newest quirks. He also has a strange love of water and is fascinated by the shower and the toilet (just meowing at it, not going in it).
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:43PM:
      Lol! That's too funny about your cat petting you! Zara is super fascinated by the shower and toilet, too. She hops in the shower a lot after we get out and it's wet. So weird!
      Reply
  • Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment
    February 13, 2015 · 1:53PM:
    I met my boyfriend because he was my trainer back in the day! We sometimes work out together but it is often based on our schedules and whether we can make it happen. It's really wonderful to have the shared interest. So glad Matt went to the club with you!
    Reply
  • Carly February 13, 2015 · 1:54PM:
    I am a morning person too! I prefer yoga at night, but everything else before my day starts. I do not go to the gym with my boyfriend very often - we have different ideas of workouts/gym (ie I can't live without it, he can), and it drives me nuts! Any ideas out there for how to motivate a significant other? He likes to go, but doesn't make it a priority and then therefore does not go. I've tried a lot of things to help...but one I haven't is going with him in the evenings (he's not a morning person) sometimes...I might have to take one for the team!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:43PM:
      I think the best thing you can do to motivate is to go with them!
      Reply
  • Erin @ Her Heartland Soul
    February 13, 2015 · 2:08PM:
    Aww too cute! I love cats! Mine has so many odd quirks. He likes to push everything he can off of his favorite table so just he can rest there. He loves belly rubs and will roll on his back and meow until you pet him. He likes to sit on laptop keyboards so you give him attention instead of the computer. haha
    Reply
  • Aurora@Fitness is Sweet
    February 13, 2015 · 2:21PM:
    Cats are so funny! For some reason my cat loves getting up with me for early morning workouts-he won't sleep in my room but the second my alarm goes off, or even before, he is outside the door meowing!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:42PM:
      That's cute! Moral support!
      Reply
  • Amy February 13, 2015 · 2:59PM:
    I'm not super into running, but it's the one workout related activity my husband and I do together! Especially now that we're a family of three, the little one is easy to cart with us on runs too. He tried hot yoga with me once pre-baby and it was hilarious :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:42PM:
      Oh man. I definitely couldn't convince Matt to try hot yoga. :)
      Reply
  • Dana | fresh simple five
    February 13, 2015 · 3:20PM:
    My husband and I are on different workout schedules too. If general, I'm much more of a morning person and he's more a night owl. It's fun to go to the gym together sometimes, but we typically don't like the same workouts so we do our own thing anyway. We do enjoy things like hiking and bike riding together though, so I guess that's our together workout time.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:42PM:
      Yeah, we love the hiking/biking too. :)
      Reply
  • Kelly February 13, 2015 · 3:23PM:
    I recently convinced my husband to join my gym, its called Cross Kicks Fitness (in IL) and is a very similar format to UAC. We both love it and we keep each other motivated during the workout to push a little harder, which makes it fun. He's also a great running partner for me because he has a naturally faster pace, which forces me to keep up! Neither of us are morning people at all, so its always after work. It's a great way for us to release the stress of the day =) We also have a quirky, yet adorable, cat (Ruby) who will do anything it takes to get our attention and convince us to play with her. She will literally parkour off the furniture, its actually pretty impressive!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:41PM:
      Ha, Zara is a parkour fan as well! Too funny. :)
      Reply
  • Roadrunner February 13, 2015 · 3:27PM:
    Morning workouts are the ticket, Anne. And great that you can snag Matt into doing at least one a week with you. Well done on the speed work, too!
    Reply
  • Caryl Anne
    February 13, 2015 · 3:30PM:
    My husband and I workout together in the afternoon. He typically works out longer than I do; however, he gets off work an hour before me and heads straight to the gym. I join him an hour later, which gets our "schedules" synchronized. Working out together is always a ton of fun! Plus, he tends to keep me motivated better than any other workout partner I've had! :)
    Reply
  • Kirtley @ The Gist of Fit
    February 13, 2015 · 4:53PM:
    Used to be a morning workout junkie until my hub and I started rock climbing each day--now we do that at night or mid afternoon--it's a fun break up to our schedule!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 5:41PM:
      Oo, that is fun!
      Reply
  • Liz tate February 13, 2015 · 8:09PM:
    http://iconosquare.com/p/918225724141519477_27511327#/detail/918225724141519477_27511327 That link is a picture of my cat (since I can't just add it in a comment). I seriously think we have twin cats. They look THE SAME to me! My Fluff has always been more of a momma's girl than my boy cat. She's in the habit lately of having to drink water from the sink when I'm in the bathroom. So every morning she paws at my bathroom door till I open it and hops up on the sink. I let it drip water while I get dressed and then she sits right next to me in the same spot (always) and watches me get ready. At night, if I go in there and don't turn the sink on right away, she meows so loud and she normally has such a small meow. My Tom Cat like to cuddle in the middle of the night. He'll literally come sit on top of my face at 5am and he does it almost every night. Today I shoved him off and woke up and he was under the covers between my husband and me. My husband isn't big on working out at all, but I can sometimes get him to go on our days off. I've been wanting to go earlier in the day and he likes to go later on. But I'm really the one who pushes to be active, and he still rarely works out!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 9:02PM:
      Omg - our cats are totally twins! That's so funny! Beautiful :) Yours might be even fluffier than Zara! She loves the bathroom, too - she has to come in if I go in there and claws at the door if I leave her outside. Lol!
      Reply
  • Stephanie February 13, 2015 · 8:35PM:
    Luckily, I'm a morning exerciser and my husband is an evening exerciser. When you have three little kids you can't both be away at the same time. We are both runners and even though we never actually run together (I'm a 7:15 5ker and he's a sub 5:30 5ker) we still connect through running- we still run the same races (when grandma can spend the night:), vent about our aches and pains and encourage each other both to push harder and to take time off when it's the right thing to do.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 9:02PM:
      That's awesome. Sounds like a great balance!
      Reply
  • Laura February 13, 2015 · 8:52PM:
    I am definitely an early morning exerciser. I like getting it done first thing and I feel great all day. My husband and I rarely workout together but I think we both enjoy it when we do. Cats are so strange! We actually got our cat at the same shelter you got Zara after I read about it here. He likes to steal my hair ties and then keeps them in his water dish. I have no idea why.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2015 · 9:03PM:
      Aw yay! We loved that shelter - they're so nice and well organized. And Zara loves hair ties, too! They also end up in her water bowl a lot - she'll accidentally bat them in there!
      Reply
  • Laura February 14, 2015 · 7:45AM:
    My husband I don't work out at the same time. He is a cycler and if one of us is doing something sporty, the other one is watching the kids. I prefer to work out at night. My jog club is at night and if the other half if back shift I wait till he comes in then pop up to the gym for an hour. It's quieter then too. Loving your blog. Your cat is gorgeous btw. I used to have two like her. I can almost hear the purrrrr.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 14, 2015 · 9:23AM:
      Thanks for reading :) Zara says "hi"!
      Reply
  • Nikki February 14, 2015 · 8:48AM:
    My cat is very weird. Yes. We have an almost 8 month old and before he was born, this cat was spoiled. He never cared about toilets so we never kept the toilet seats down. Now we have to because I would be feeding the baby and the cat would jump in the toilet and start swimming in it. Attention hog!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 14, 2015 · 9:23AM:
      Lol! Zara sometimes sits on the toilet and her tail dips in by accident... ew!
      Reply
  • The Many Thoughts of a Reader
    February 14, 2015 · 9:30AM:
    In a perfect world I am a middle of the day or 2 hours of waking work out person. In reality I either have to do it in the morning or night. I can muster one early morning a week if needed two is sometimes okay but waking up before 530 twice in a week is just too much and I will hit the snooze. I have had great success in the last two months of working out at night. Right after my 3.5 year old goes to bed I've been hitting the basement and working out. My motivation is slowly dying but with it staying light later and later I'm hoping to get outside for family walks too. That breakfast looks amazing!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 14, 2015 · 1:29PM:
      Hang in there! I can't wait for more light in the evenings, too - helps so much!
      Reply
  • Emily
    February 14, 2015 · 10:12AM:
    It depends on what I'm doing or training for, because I like getting up early, but not to work out. That makes me sound super lazy. Well, I like an afternoon workout or a morning workout if I"m training for a long race. Our cat is funny. She'll come up and start meowing incessantly. However, when you've petted her for about 10 seconds, she decides she's had enough and moves on…
    Reply
  • Annie February 14, 2015 · 11:14AM:
    My husband and I get up early to workout together before work! We're trying to train for our first marathon - he's good support for me. :) It's also nice to have some time together before the day gets crazy, especially during tax season when he's super busy!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 14, 2015 · 1:28PM:
      That's awesome! Good luck to you both at the marathon! :)
      Reply
  • Amanda February 14, 2015 · 2:01PM:
    I like to start my day off with exercise...it just makes me feel good for the rest of the day. Besides evenings are when I'm winding down...cooking dinner, catching up with hubby, watching TV/reading, etc. During the week my husband does his own thing (he has a flexible schedule and goes to the gym late afternoon before dinner). He's not big on the things I like to do (spinning, running, yoga, bootcamp, etc). But Saturday mornings we do Pilates reformer classes together! Love your Zara story and also reading others' comments/stories above!
    Reply
  • Jojo @ Run Fast Eat Lots
    February 14, 2015 · 4:02PM:
    Have a wonderful Valentine's Day! I started mine with a session with a personal trainer and power yoga afterwards.
    Reply
  • Brenna Webster February 16, 2015 · 10:41AM:
    THANK YOU for giving me an excuse to talk about my cat, Richard. He is tiger-stripey like your Zara. I recently moved out of my parents house into an apartment, and his behavior has become so funny (and sometimes annoying). He used to sleep until 5:30 - when I get up - but now he wakes me up around 4 am EVERY MORNING crying for food or playing with his noisiest toys. He has also turned into a kleptomaniac: he will sometimes pull a blanket off of me, off of the bed, and into the other room while I am sleeping. Last night, he stole my face scrubber off the sink and was playing with it somewhere. It's probably under the couch now. This morning, he drug my towel off the sink and halfway out of the bathroom. He also refuses to sleep on my bed, and will only sleep in the sink. Cats are weird.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 16, 2015 · 3:00PM:
      Too funny! I'm impressed he can pull the blanket off of you - that is a seriously strong cat! :)
      Reply
  • Kris S February 25, 2015 · 10:38AM:
    hahaha love Matt's awesome muscle photobomb! ;)
    Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

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