Workout Wednesday: Can You Work Out at Lunch?

This was a topic that we have wanted to write about for some time. For one, we know quite a few people that work out during their lunch hour (and not just men) and we've always been impressed by their ability to do so. We also know that working out in the morning either is your thing or it isn't (for us it really isn't, as much as we try). And getting your sweat on after work can be difficult either because you end up working late, or you have to get dinner on the table (or, let's be honest, you just want to have a cocktail instead).

We starting asking ourselves if we could possibly get in a workout on our lunch break, so *we decided to try it. (*The Katies. Elizabeth chose not to participate. We will explain below.) Why are we trying it? Because we like The Try Guys. Oh, and because we are #dedicated to answering all your questions that we make up ourselves because you don't really ask us any. (We know you're out there! We see the page views!!)

We've mentioned before that we have memberships to the bougy Equinox gym near our office. We figured it was the best place to try our experiment because:

1. Close to the office= minimal commute time
2. There is a locker room that has a lot of the stuff we need, so packing is minimal
3. There are good classes during the lunch period
4. We like classes, so we don't have to think about what exercises to do.

We tried this experiment twice, taking a different class each day. On Monday, we took Barre Burn, "a powerful, off-the-wall Barre class perfect for lengthening stretching, and serious total-body sculpting." On Tuesday, we went to Definitions, "an intense total body workout designed to define and tone every muscle in every way and improve muscular strength and endurance." Each class was 45 minutes long.

We chose Monday's class specifically because we both were attending an event in the evening where we wanted to look put together. We've both taken barre classes before, and while they are a great workout, we liked the idea of not being drenched in sweat when we were finished because we were on a schedule to get back to the office. Oops! We were much sweatier than anticipated when we were done. But in all, Katie 2 was showered and ready to be out the door in about 25 minutes (and that included having to wait for a shower and a blow dryer). Both Katies ended up showering but not washing their hair. We blow dried the sweat from our hair using a round brush and our normal styling process, including flat iron touch ups.

On Tuesday, we were sweaty. Katie 2 actually had to wash her hair and dry it completely. Surprisingly, she was still ready to go in 25 minutes.

Our conclusions? We thought it was going to be a lot worse, but honestly working out at lunch wasn't so bad. Truth: the time thing was a little concerning, but probably for us more than our work. Katie 1's manager didn't even notice we were gone (when we told him what we did, he looked pretty surprised). Katie 2 would most likely try it again, but really wishes the gym would offer some 30 minute classes during lunch. (Katie 1 seconds this!) Added bonus? The days seemed to go by SUPER fast! 

If you want to make working out at lunch work, here is what we recommend:

1. Schedule the workout on your work calendar, and be sure to include commuting time. That way you won't have any meeting you have to rush back to, or you won't get stuck on the phone when you're trying to get out the door.
2. Do it on a day when you don't have anything in the afternoon or evening that you want to go "all out" for. (The after work special chat with the President and CEO of our company on the Monday we tried this was not a good idea. But good-bye drinks with a colleague wasn't so bad.)
3. Be mindful about lunch. If you can skip it all together, or have a protein shake or some sort of bar, good for you. The Katies are lunch fans (we are also fans of breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, dinner, and supper) so skipping it altogether was not an option. We probably should have packed a lunch at home, making sure not to bring anything that took time to assemble or heat. (Katie 2 has worked at more than one company that had a big problem with people eating at their desk/taking their lunch hour to run errands/go to the gym/whatever and then come back and eat on the clock. If this is your company, come up with another plan. Fortunately, our company doesn't seem to care.) 
4. Pick the right class. We agree that we wish our gym offered more 30 minute classes during the lunch hour. 45 minutes was just a bit long when you're on a time crunch. Not into classes? Use your lunch hour to hit the weights. You generally sweat less than a full cardio session, and you can absolutely do an impactful workout with 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercises. 
5. Cut down your routine to the bare essentials. Maybe take some tricks from this tutorial on doing your makeup in 60 seconds. (Disclosure: we stole the video from one of our favorite bloggers who hasn't jumped the shark.) Elizabeth thinks her full face of makeup is essential and is not willing to cut any steps. That is why she has decided not to join us. "Lunch workouts aren't doable with THIS face!" You can absolutely cut corners on your hair. Dry the sweat out, touch it up with a curling or flat iron and be on your way. Or, just put your hair up and be done with it.
6. Pick the right clothes. Both Katies agree that putting on tights in general is a slow process. Add in the fact that your body is still a bit damp from a quick shower and dry off and it was struggle city. Go with pants.
7. Don't worry too much about how you look after. A) You will have a great post workout glow which makes you look great (Katie 1 calls bullshit). B) You think they will, but really no one will notice that your hair is now in a bun when before it was down. And if someone says something like "what happened to your make up?", you will look super impressive when you tell them that you did a workout over lunch.