Morning workouts
Yes, my friends. I have, for two consecutive days, gotten up early in the morning (5:30am to be exact), got my coffee, spent time with God, and then... before going into the office... hit the gym.
Now, I know that this is a normal schedule for some people, but it hasn't been for me. I like my sleep. I won't lie. I have always been a lunchtime or an after-work workout person and honestly I liked my schedule and enjoy the de-stress time I get when I head to the gym after a day of work. I tend to see people I know and if I do these gym sessions can go long not because I'm really working out (except for my "jaw muscle").
So why the morning workout? Yesterday, I had made plans that evening and was planning to actually do a run during lunch. However, when chatting with a friend Tuesday night I mentioned wanting to get up early and go to the gym before work and dared her to put in a wake-up call... and guess what? She thought I was serious! (Okay, I was... sort of, but didn't think she'd take me seriously) So when I got that 5:30am wakeup call I was stuck... accountability is a powerful thing so I went, ran for 40 minutes on the treadmill, and did 4 light strength training exercises. You know what? It felt good! I got to work that morning and was energized.
So much so, that I decided to do it again this morning. This time without the wakeup call. Again, I felt much more energized. I think I'm going to make this a habit.
There's another side effect of this morning workout routine that I'm starting to realize that I can enjoy too, which is honestly the reason I went to the gym early yesterday. I can see that starting this new habit will do a lot to create a lot more margin in my after-work times, which has been long-consumed by competing priorities. It was great last night getting to go see a movie without trading a workout that I know I should do, knowing that I got the work done earlier that day and was then free to kick back and enjoy myself. I'm sure this happens to you... but sometimes in busy social or work weeks, workouts get squeezed in or pushed back when a lot of stuff is going on in the evenings. This is so much better for discipline... the only thing I'm competing with is the bag monster. That's probably a better recipe for a social person like me anyways, don't you think?
The other benefit? Not too many people beat the bag monster. The equipment is all available... no waits for weights either :-). Not so much at 6PM.
Okay peeps. I have another 5:30 wakeup call tomorrow. I got a beach to look good for and a race to train for :-)
Now, I know that this is a normal schedule for some people, but it hasn't been for me. I like my sleep. I won't lie. I have always been a lunchtime or an after-work workout person and honestly I liked my schedule and enjoy the de-stress time I get when I head to the gym after a day of work. I tend to see people I know and if I do these gym sessions can go long not because I'm really working out (except for my "jaw muscle").
So why the morning workout? Yesterday, I had made plans that evening and was planning to actually do a run during lunch. However, when chatting with a friend Tuesday night I mentioned wanting to get up early and go to the gym before work and dared her to put in a wake-up call... and guess what? She thought I was serious! (Okay, I was... sort of, but didn't think she'd take me seriously) So when I got that 5:30am wakeup call I was stuck... accountability is a powerful thing so I went, ran for 40 minutes on the treadmill, and did 4 light strength training exercises. You know what? It felt good! I got to work that morning and was energized.
So much so, that I decided to do it again this morning. This time without the wakeup call. Again, I felt much more energized. I think I'm going to make this a habit.
There's another side effect of this morning workout routine that I'm starting to realize that I can enjoy too, which is honestly the reason I went to the gym early yesterday. I can see that starting this new habit will do a lot to create a lot more margin in my after-work times, which has been long-consumed by competing priorities. It was great last night getting to go see a movie without trading a workout that I know I should do, knowing that I got the work done earlier that day and was then free to kick back and enjoy myself. I'm sure this happens to you... but sometimes in busy social or work weeks, workouts get squeezed in or pushed back when a lot of stuff is going on in the evenings. This is so much better for discipline... the only thing I'm competing with is the bag monster. That's probably a better recipe for a social person like me anyways, don't you think?
The other benefit? Not too many people beat the bag monster. The equipment is all available... no waits for weights either :-). Not so much at 6PM.
Okay peeps. I have another 5:30 wakeup call tomorrow. I got a beach to look good for and a race to train for :-)
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