Exercising daily to the rising sun
Goal: be in better shape at 50 than I was at 20
I’m sure this goal is a futile attempt to hold some remanence of youth. To keep up with my teenage kids. To hold at bay the health issues that seem to silently invade people’s lives after 50. And importantly, to help me manage my blood sugar levels as an insulin dependent diabetic.
I turn 50 in less than one year.
When I was 20 I was a student at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. I rode my green 10-speed bicycle many kilometres most days, travelling back and forward between the campus and my flat. While Palmerston North is conveniently flat, it always seemed to deliver a firm head-wind, regardless of which way I was riding.
While today I am also a somewhat regular exerciser, I felt the need to raise the bar in 2021 to ensure I meet my goal.
Downfall of the evening exerciser
For the last 15 years I’ve exercised in the evenings, often around 8:30pm. The habit came about when my kids were younger. 8:30pm was the first time I could get some ‘me time’.
There’s a couple of problems I found with evening exercise:
Motivation tends to wane when you’re full from dinner and a comfortable bed is calling
The exercise window is often hijacked by work, events, homework help, chores and TV
The result was evening exercise resulted in irregular and often half-hearted exercise. Hardly the programme I needed for achieving ‘better shape at 50 than at 20’.
I’ve also recently found that evening exercise can disrupt sleep and circadian rhythms, heating your body up at a time when your body is naturally cooling down in preparation for sleep.
Exercising to the rising sun
For the last three weeks I have been getting up at 6am, exercising daily, wherever possible outside. Here’s what I’m finding:
By getting up while others are still sleeping the time is mine and won’t be hijacked
Exercising in the morning is more in tune with circadian rhythms, exercise warms you up at a time when your body is naturally warming up to activate your body for the day
Exercise releases a cocktail of neurotransmitters including endorphins, dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, and at least for me this seems to give me a great feeling in the morning after exercise, something I noticed less with evening exercise
My brain and body feel awake after exercise, ready to take on my other morning activities
Stanford University Professor of Neurobiology Andrew Huberman in his podcast ‘Huberman Lab’ discusses the need to get natural sunlight in the mornings and in the evenings to help synchronise circadian rhythms. When I exercise at 6am the sun is just starting to rise providing early morning light (noting New Zealand where I live is heading towards shorter days, so this benefit will fade as the year progresses, at least until next Spring when the days start to get longer again).
Making daily exercise a habit
I recently read James Clear’s book ‘Atomic Habits’. Great book. I’ve used some of his techniques to make the exercise habit ‘easy’ and ‘satisfying’ (a couple of Clear’s phrases):
In parallel, I’ve formed the habit of getting to bed before 9:30pm so I’m not tired when the alarm jolts me awake at 6am
I have my exercise clothes laid out from the night before (make it easy)
I exercise at home, I just have to step outside the door (make it easy)
I actually only exercise (intensely) for about 15 minutes, i.e. I don’t make it too daunting (make it easy) - I may increase this over time
I have a wall chart where daily I tick off my exercise achievement and my other new habits, each tick delivering a dopamine shot to help motivate me towards achieving my goal (make it satisfying).
Approaching 50
The age 50 and beyond should be as thrilling and exciting as any other age. My intent is to step into it fitter and healthier than I’ve been before so that I can get stuck into life with energy, health and drive.
Today my 16 year old daughter ran a 21 Kilometer half-marathon. Maybe I should have joined her. Maybe next year I will.
