I be up in the gym just working on my fitness
October 15, 2010 2:44 PM   Subscribe

Help me hack my lunch-time post-workout routine so I still look professional back at the office! Others do it, why can't I? Is the trick to not get sweaty? Or do I just take an inordinate amount of time getting ready post-workout?

I'd like to keep my gym-time to an hour and a half or less, including the 10 minute round-trip walk. The friend I usually take classes with can do this easily, or faster; an hour for the class, a brief rinse-off in the shower (she doesn't appear to wash her hair), and out the door--ten minutes post-workout, max. However, she follows a more low-maintenance look than I.

It is taking me considerably more time than my friend to look put-back-together after our classes. Is the trick to reduce your workout, thereby sweating as little as possible so that minimal 'restoration' work is necessary? Or is there some gym hack that I'm missing?

My current routine: the class I like the best leaves me needing a rinse-off. Then I usually towel my hair with the damp shower towel, blow-dry to 'reanimate' and not feel gross, and do makeup again. This whole thing from shower to door is taking about 30 minutes, which just seems too long. And I'm not even doing a full face or prom hair! Somehow it takes me longer to get re-ready at the gym than if I start completely over (i.e., shower, wash hair, do hair, do makeup) at home. if I work out after work, run home, and have to get ready to be somewhere afterward, I can usually get ready in 20 minutes. What gives, and where am I losing that ten minutes, when I'm doing less?
posted by stellaluna to Health & Fitness (8 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: To your last question: My guess for the 10 minute disparity is that it's always faster to get ready in your own bathroom. Everything you need is somewhere convenient, it's easier to get dressed, you don't have to pull things out of a locker or walk across the room or work around other people etc.
posted by Kimberly at 2:48 PM on October 15, 2010


Can you use a shower cap?
posted by halogen at 2:57 PM on October 15, 2010


Can you experiment with hair styles that don't require the rinse and blow dry? And with minimalist make-up?
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:13 PM on October 15, 2010 [1 favorite]


My time constraints are the same as yours. Typically, after working outI take a shower but don't wash my hair. I wear my hair up and back so if it is sweaty, no one notices. I don't wear a lot of make-up so can usually touch up with powder and mascara.

Other than having things completely at your fingertips to minimize the back and forth, I think you'll have to decide which is more important: working out hard and having a less put together look or cutting your workout short and maintaining your current regime. Maybe you could add in an extra workout once a week to make up for your abbreviated daily workouts if you decide the latter?
posted by notcomputersavvy06 at 3:17 PM on October 15, 2010


you might be able to speed up your hair/makeup time if you have a really well-organized makeup kit, so that everything you need is in the same place every time. Also, can you streamline the makeup process? like, if you use lip liner and lipstick, find a lipstick that wears well without liner, stuff like that. Could you find a hairstyle that doesn't need blow-drying? I never dry mine, I just let it dry naturally - that means that I often show up at work with wet hair, and really, no-one notices. I work nights, so I'm showing up at the office at 5 with wet hair - it's dry in half and hour, and saves me so much time.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 4:45 PM on October 15, 2010


Is the trick to reduce your workout, thereby sweating as little as possible so that minimal 'restoration' work is necessary?

Just want to point out that this is rather counter-productive. If anything, I would suggest the opposite: try to optimize your workout to completely destroy yourself in half-an-hour so you have plenty of time on either end.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:59 PM on October 15, 2010 [3 favorites]


Pay attention next time you do your routine, and watch for inefficiencies. Are you doing lots of back-and-forth walking? Are you spending time fumbling with things? Are you lingering in the shower? What movements are you making that you don't need to be making? What movements are you repeating? How can you consolidate?

Consider allowing a more minimal look in the afternoon. For hair, find styles - maybe updos - that allow for mostly-dried hair. For makeup, consider what you really need to look put-together. Most women look great with well-groomed brows, blush, mascara, and gloss. It takes me threeish minutes to do my makeup in the morning. I'm quick and minimalist, but I look fresh, not unmade or frumpy.

I also tend to agree with Civil_Disobedient. It sounds like you're locked into hour-long classes, but I'd personally go with 30-45 minutes in a good, strong work-out.
posted by moira at 7:33 PM on October 15, 2010


Response by poster: Phew! I'm relieved to know there's not some sort of magic trick to getting ready which everyone but me is aware of. I'm already doing several things which you all suggested, which I suppose I should have mentioned--makeup after workout just consists of really bright gloss and mascara, and I'm just OCD enough that I can't bear to go back to work with sweaty/wet hair, hence the blow-drying. However, I did try to pay attention more today to how much time I waste walking back and forth, rummaging in my gym bag, etc--and it adds up fast.

Frankly, I hate working out at lunch, but I do it because the hour-long classes are a nice supplement to my usual after-work workouts, where I can get as grody as I want in however much time I want/have. Guess I'll just have to just better evaluate the frustration cost/health benefit of continuing the classes :) Thanks again for all your thoughtful suggestions!
posted by stellaluna at 12:15 PM on October 18, 2010


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