I like to think of Daylight Saving Time changes, both in the spring and in the fall, as a time to switch up your workout, much in the same way that many people switch their smoke alarm batteries.
The "Fall Back" is an especially opportune time to add or change a morning exercise plan because you will surely wake up, maybe like me, thinking "Wow, I'm not late" starting tomorrow. It's the only time of year I wake up BEFORE my alarm and feel refreshed and unruffled. Everyone's lunch's get packed, no one misses the bus for sure and I may even get to sit down for breakfast, although my body does somehow recalibrate and I will still arrive the same seven minutes late for church that I always do, which is a disappointment. Ah, the body clock is wise but the mental clock is wiser!
At our gym, I'm encouraging my 6 a.m. class takers to bring a friend to the early classes this week because getting in the car to go work out (when it is light) is so much easier than when it is dark.
Consider adding a morning walk or even just push-ups and crunches. Your dog loves this part.
Commit for just this coming week and see if you can utilize your extra hour and jump start your fitness regime.
If exercise were a pill, we'd all be addicted. It'd be the oxycontin for everything. We'd wreck our lives to get a refill. Insurance would not cover it because we'd put them out of business by fixing most age-related illnesses that keep those companies rolling in the money.
Also, exercise is an especially effective medicine to give yourself in the morning. You will have more energy, be more awake, productive and your day will go better.
Did I mention that exercise is FREE?
So, If anyone in your family asks you what you are doing on the living room floor doing P90X, as they step over you on their way to the coffee pot, tell them you are trying to become an addict.
Maybe you can get them hooked, too.