I am not a morning person. When my alarm goes off at 7:30 a.m., I like to hit snooze at least once or twice. Even when I finally give in and open my eyes, I will lie in bed in protest for up to 15 minutes before I even move my body or get up. But just because I'm up and moving, don't expect me to actually TALK to you. I need a good hour before I feel like speaking a single word to anyone, so I'll get by with gestures or grunts as long as possible until I’m forced to speak actual words—it just takes too much energy. If sleeping counts as a hobby, it's one of mine for sure. What can I say? I like my sleep…and my bed, which is the most comfortable thing on the planet.

Sometimes I feel like I have no excuses for being this tired in the morning. I don't have any kids to care for. I don't lead a very stressful life. I take good care of myself and usually sleep for 7-8 hours each night. Most of my co-workers juggle work, family life and childcare while also exercising, training for marathons and volunteering. Coach Tanya, for example, is up at the crack of dawn (well, it might as well be) to hit the gym before she has to get her kids off to school in the morning and goes to work. Honestly, I don't know how she does it. What excuse do I have to feel too lazy or tired to walk down the hall to the bathroom?

Fitness experts say that morning exercisers are more likely to stick with an exercise routine than evening exercisers, and I can understand why. (How often do other obligations arise at that hour that would prevent you from working out?) But I am not a morning person and I don't know that I could ever wake up even earlier—especially to exercise.

This has led me to wonder: Are you a morning exerciser?

When I was 18, I was living at home and didn't have a job or a car. So I'd wake up to drive my mom to work (5 minutes away) early each morning so that I could use her car during the day. She worked in the offices of an auto plant, so she had to be at work before 7 a.m. each day. I got into a routine of sleeping in my workout clothes (a great tip by the way, if you are a morning exerciser), dropping her off at work, and then exercising across the street at the company wellness center to start my day. Somehow I managed to do this five days a week, without fail, for several months, and this is what first got me interested in exercise—and eventually led me to a career in fitness that I adore.

But these days, you couldn't pay me to wake up that early to work out. (Seriously, you can't. I get lots of offers to sub or teach early morning fitness classes that I turn down!) I'm an evening workout person for the most part, mainly because I teach fitness classes in the evening after my workday at SparkPeople is over. (And let's not forget the "I'm not a morning person" part, which surely contributes.) Occasionally, I'll leave the office for a midday workout around noon, which I love and would do more often if I didn't feel like it interfered with my workdays so much. If work weren't an issue, I'd probably exercise around the middle of the day all the time, because I'm awake, energized and ready to move at this time. On a rare day, I'll be up before my alarm and head outside for a refreshing morning run or I'll ride my bike to work, but these days are few and far between.

While I love that morning exercise energizes me and lets me check exercise off of my daily to-do list, I feel kind of helpless to stick with a morning exercise routine like I did in the past. After all, there are no pressing reasons that require me to exercise in the morning. But I'm sure that life circumstances will change over the years and, like Tanya and so many others, early morning workouts might be my only option for squeezing in exercise. But for now, I'm going to enjoy hitting snooze while I can and stick with my nighttime workouts.

How about you: Are you a morning, midday or evening exerciser? Why? If work, family life or other obligations weren't an issue, what time of day would be ideal for you to work out?