Very excited to figure this out. I lift four days a week during the work week, so I rarely have time to myself. Once I get home at 11:00pm (sometimes 11:30pm) I have to rush to shower, eat, get my things ready for the next day, make my bed, and fall asleep by 12:20am to get my 8 hours. Rarely happens.
I'm planning on buying a bike and going to work with it. The commute will be shorter, plus I can go straight to the gym after work since I can do that quickly with a bike. I won't feel the need to relax at home. In addition I'll save money not taking the train all the time.
Current schedule:
9:00am - leave for work (walking and training it)
9:30am - start work
6:30pm - end work, leave for home (training and walking it)
7:00pm - get home, eat my first meal, relax, etc
8:00pm - leave for gym (walk)
8:45pm - Get to gym. Start warming up and lifting.
10:15pm - workout usually ends by now, I walk home
11:00pm - get home
Total commute: 2.5 hours (30min to work, 30min to home, 45min to gym, 45min to home)
New schedule will hopefully be:
9:10am - leave for work (bike)
9:30am - start work
6:30pm - leave for the gym (bike)
6:50pm - get to gym, start warming up and lifting
8:20pm - leave gym and go home (bike)
8:40pm - get home
Total commute: 1 hour (20min to work, 20min to gym, 20min to home).
That's an ideal scenario though. It'll take me a while to get into the swing of things. I used google maps to figure out the fastest bike paths to work/gym/home. They're more like 17-18min and not 20min, but I gave myself the extra time. However, I think I'll be riding fast as fuck since I love riding bikes. So maybe that ideal scenario is quite realistic. But hey, even if I get home at 9:00pm every day, that's far better than 11:00pm or later like I'm used to!
I'll also have to bring a protein shake with me so that I can eat before lifting. Or maybe wait until after lifting and eat fasted. I'll see how it goes. This is going to make such a huge difference. I'm going to feel far less stressed and pressed for time in my daily life. I'll enjoy the hell out of riding a bike (I hope... its NYC after all) and I'll save money on trains. YES!