Author Topic: Exercise in the dark  (Read 6283 times)

Asdfg

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Exercise in the dark
« on: November 18, 2015, 12:34:44 AM »
I live in a place where it is really dark when I get home from work (around 5 pm). In the summer time I do a lot of exercising on the bike and hiking in the forest, but now that it's literally pitch black when I get home, these are not so doable. I mean, they are doable but needs a lot more preparation than in the summer.

I'm looking for some ideas how to get out of breath at least once a week. I'm going to the gym twice a week, but I would like to do some cardio as well. Any suggestions?

shuffler

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2015, 01:08:31 AM »
I run in the woods in the dark.
A headlamp, and an extra light in one hand.  No problem.

matchewed

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2015, 05:53:47 AM »
Hiking in the dark requires just the headlamp. What makes it not so doable?

Apocalyptica602

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2015, 08:20:52 AM »
Make sure you have proper safety gear, lights, reflective vest or whatever else, as well as follow all rules of the road if you're biking, ESPECIALLY at night.

We had an unseasonably warm day where it was a beautiful 70 degrees, yet is nearly completely dark at 5pm.

The result was EVERYONE was out and about to grab the 'last bits of autumn'.

As a driver I need to be aware, but it's more stressful than necessary when there's 3x the number of cyclists, wearing stuff like dark hoodies, without lights or reflectors, riding on the sidewalk and rolling through stop signs.

Not saying this is you or cyclists in general, but figured this was worth mentioning in a topic about biking / running at night.

taking fire

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2015, 08:26:55 AM »
Are you mountain biking? Try night riding. Get yourself a decent helmet light and a backup flashlight in case the helmet light dies. It is a lot of fun.

bortman

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2015, 09:21:23 AM »
Assuming you live in a place where you get enough snow, cross country skiing is really great cardio, and doable at night. Snowshoeing too.

I find that, once I get away from unnatural light (bike lights, car headlights) and into the forest, my eyes adjust and I can see well enough to navigate trails without a headlamp. The combination of moonlight, leaf-free trees,  and snow on the ground to reflecting light makes it work for me. Of course, on dark and cloudy nights, or in snow storms, visibility is poor.

honeybbq

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2015, 09:28:44 AM »
If your goal is to just get exercise, you can mount your bike inside on a bike trainer and spin to your heart's content.

A basic trainer new from Amazon is ~$100 but you can often find them at resale shops for less.

mm1970

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2015, 09:52:21 AM »
House, apartment?

I would recommend some at home workouts, if that's your thing.  Lots of cardio you can do.  But maybe not if you have downstairs neighbors.

Even just 15 minutes of intervals -  burpees, jumping jacks, high knees, mountain climbers

jorjor

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2015, 10:01:35 AM »
I second the headlamp for biking/hiking outside, or a bike trainer to attach your bike to. If your only bike is a mountain bike or something with knobby tires, you might consider finding a cheap smooth tire to mount on your back wheel because the knobby tires on a trainer are annoying.

ruthiegirl

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2015, 10:11:47 AM »
Just took a run in the dark last night.  Reflective vest and a headlamp and I was fine.  It was nice actually -- quiet and peaceful and I felt perfectly safe as I could see cars coming from a long distance. 

The doing of it was easy, getting going took a herculean effort.  My body would like to hibernate and eat buttered bread all winter. 

The_path_less_taken

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #10 on: November 18, 2015, 10:23:07 AM »
I guess when I think of 'beautiful' bodies I think of dancers. Ballet dancers and theatre dancers in NYC exercise in a room with maybe a bar to stretch on....so if you utilize all of your muscle groups and elevate your heart rate, you'll be fine.

There's also the Rocky solution, although indoors: find a building that's at least two stories tall, and run stairs. By law stairways are always lit.

You could also volunteer at an adaptive riding school: I guarantee bucking some hay bales will make you sweat.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2015, 10:58:37 AM »
I tend to walk more than bike in the cold months, but I definitely still ride to do errands, so I have all of the gear to ride safely at night and in the cold/snow. I'm saving up for a trainer so I can get cardio more regularly without either dragging the kids out or losing out on limited time with my wife when she's home.

Weightlifting or other resistance work is also great any time of year.

Bobberth

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2015, 11:43:40 AM »
For me, I greatly prefer http://www.knucklelights.com/ to a headlamp. The headlamp goes where I am looking but having a light in each hand I can shine one off to the side and keep one in front of me. With the light on your hands, it's in a great position to see the ground right in front of you and, because of the light movement, cars nearly stop for me on my runs as I'm sure they are thinking "WTF is making that light move like that?".

Just be careful blowing your nose as you can easily blind yourself.

FLBiker

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #13 on: November 18, 2015, 11:58:46 AM »
I like running with a headlamp, but those knuckle lights seem very cool!

James

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2015, 12:13:53 PM »
Find a partner to get "out of breath" with in the dark?... :D


I would second the suggestion of just using a light and going about other sports in the dark. They can be totally different and totally fun in the dark!

astvilla

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2015, 01:34:31 PM »
No one has said "jump rope"?

Bettis

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #16 on: November 18, 2015, 01:40:51 PM »
Why not just do cardio in the gym since you already go there twice a week?  If your main idea is to do the cardio outdoors, you could jump rope, do plyometric exercises, or lay out a mat and try some power yoga.  If you've got a backyard you can use, just keep the floodlight on.

Asdfg

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #17 on: November 18, 2015, 11:14:22 PM »
Hiking in the dark requires just the headlamp. What makes it not so doable?

We live in the country side, there are no paths in the forest, so I couldn't hike even at grandma walking speed. This will make me sweat though, which is my goal, so it is definitely doable. I'm just looking for other ideas, too :) Like rope jumping, so simple yet so effective. Thanks!

The gym I go to is free and thus really basic. Can't do cardio there. Well I guess I could just take small weights and do my own bodypump routine, but yeah...

There are also no cars in a 3 km radius which means also no street lights. So safety is not an issue. There are no mountains in my country :) I guess my main issue with jogging is that we live at the end of a private road. So I would have to take the same route every time. Also there are no neighbours let alone staircases to run.

Cross country skiing is definitely on my list once we get the snow. Same goes with tour skating.

Thanks alot everyone, great ideas!

Schaefer Light

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Re: Exercise in the dark
« Reply #18 on: November 19, 2015, 08:00:09 AM »
It's not what some would consider "exercise", but golfing in the dark is rather difficult.  I hate this time of year.  Go to work in the dark, come home in the dark.  I think it would be much more bearable if I didn't have to work and could be outside during the daylight hours.