Warm-up and morning sessions questions

I have two not related questions.

1) I am interested in general opinion on morning training. Especially among 40+ population. I find myself being extremely stiff in the morning. To the point that I think it is just useless to do any GB during 1st hour after waking up. But with my current time constraints I think it would be the best time to train. Should I give it a try? Do you think it will it get better over time?

2) As I progress through GB I find that warm-up time increased substantially. Especially for elements which fall under F2, but even some F1 elements require sometime significantly longer warm-up time than the exercise itself. Each exercise including warm-up takes about 30 min on average. Is it too much? Should I be looking for ways to reduce it or that is normal and expected.

Thanks!

I'm only 37, so don't exactly hit the 40+ mark  

1) I too find myself pretty stiff in the morning but with a good warmup and limbering, my flexibility comes back quickly.  Start your workout actually trying to get warm -- throw on an extra layer and jog, cycle, HS wall runs.  This can be done in 5 minutes.

Then run through a basic limbering routine in 5 minutes.  This isn't weighted mobility, just running your joints lightly through range of motion.  Start from the top down loosening up your joints -- neck (nod yes, no, side-to-side, circles), shoulders (german swings, front/back circles), spine (unweighted JC, mini back bend, side to side, elbow bounces), hips (trunk circles, swivel hips, hip flexor), legs (hurdler, quad, pike, straddle pancake), bridge (or wherever you're at in FL>iM sequence).

2) That seems excessive to me.  After my jog & limbering, I do 1 easier PE & iM from each exercise I'm going to do in that workout.  I'm on FL/PE4, so warm up with a few reps of PE2.  For HBP, I do a few PPP and PE10 since they work different planes...but there's no need to do 3 different kinds of pushups.

I am in the 40+ demographic and then some. I feel like I have been hit by a bus most mornings but I do train mostly first thing. I find having a hot shower helps but I don't generally have one unless I feel really bad like after playing football the evening before but then I get up have a coffee generally move around doing bits and pieces for 20-30 mins. I think the key is to gently move into an active state before I start.

With regard to warm ups, I don't really do any but I am on PE2 on 3 elements and PE1 on the rest. I have recently switched to doing F7 and found my training takes about 50 mins, I don't have any breaks except maybe a quick sip of water or trying to get the stupid metronome going on my phone.

I'm 45 and I love my morning workouts! I have way more energy in the morning than in the evening. I do a four day foundation split with two HS days. My workout days are Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On the weekends I do morning workouts and because of my work schedule, I workout in the evening during the week. I find I have way more energy on the weekends. Have a real small breakfast, a cup of coffee and go for it!

47 here and training twice a day, first one at 6.30am an hour after an oat/banana/blueberry/milk shake. I don't feel stiff in the mornings (maybe I'm not training hard enough  ) though I do more warm-up exs in the morning than at lunchtime.

Having a hot shower/bath may help you. Your warm up sounds a little long - maybe focus it more for the exercise to come and do any stretching stuff throughout the day?

Thanks a lot! That sounds encouraging. I will try x2 a day split. Probably more vigorous warm-up in the morning for now. If that does not help I will add a shower.

I am sure if I was doing just GB and some cardio I would not be so stiff, but weitlifting and Crossfit keep me constantly fatigued.

From another thread:

Coach Sommer said:

A short 10 min foam rolling session is an excellent way to get the body ready for morning training.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Also, do you stretch after every weightlifting/Crossfit workout? I get really stiff the day after playing basketball if I don't stretch afterwards.

I like morning training when I can do it, but work and gym schedule doesn't currently allow for it.

Warmup for an individual element shouldn't take more than a few minutes. When I do F7+H1, I do a giant warmup set with 1-2 PE's and iM's per each exercise. Generally takes 15-20 minutes to warm up *everything*. (Note that before this, I usually take 10-20 minutes for some light cardio and stretching/limbering in order to become physically warm). 

RF_Guy said:

Thanks a lot! That sounds encouraging. I will try x2 a day split. Probably more vigorous warm-up in the morning for now. If that does not help I will add a shower.
I am sure if I was doing just GB and some cardio I would not be so stiff, but weitlifting and Crossfit keep me constantly fatigued.

One thing that may work for you is to do your GST in the morning, and weightlifting/crossfit in the evenings. That way you'll always have some rest days during which you can limber up.