Early Gym Sesh

Practice the 5 P's: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Peformance.

For me, that means laying out my gym clothes the night before, making my pre-workout the night before, and getting to bed at a reasonable time. I am not sure I have ever gotten used to waking up at 4am, but it has become a habit.

I usually moan, and groan until my mind is just awake enough to accept the fact that I'll have to make up for it later if I don't get it done now.

Then, I trudge out the door like a grumpy schoolchild. I usually don't accept my early morning fate, and actually get into it until I'm about halfway through.

haha lazy !

But it's the worst waking up to your alarm and knowing you gotta be active right now when all you wanna do is sleep

My work schedule is currently Mon - Fri 10a-7p, so I have to get out the door by 6:30am if I either want to eat breakfast after, or get home before 10pm. Thankfully, I'm still a huge slug regardless of my fitness level, and prefer to go to bed before 11pm (even on non-gym days) in order to get a huge amount of sleep, so getting to bed isn't a problem. Also, I prefer working out fasted because I feel extraordinarily sluggish if my stomach has any food in it during a workout.

Every gym morning, I make a deal with myself that I need to give it an extra day to rest because this hurts, or that's sore, and I'll just make up for it by changing up my schedule for the next week. After that thought, I roll over to go back to sleep, and feel so guilty that I couldn't sleep if I tried. If I went to the gym seven days per week, the first fifteen minutes of my morning would be a scene out of Groundhog Day.

At 6:15am, the only part of my being which wants to work at all is my sense of guilt.

I'm up at 5:10 or 5:15 on workout days. I'm a morning person and hate snooze buttons so I just set the alarm and get up when I hear it. I usually set out my clothes the night before. I usually workout at home so that's about all the prep I need. If I am going to the gym, I pack my bag, breakfast, and lunch the night before. Gym opens at 6 so I leave home around 5:40 or so.

I sort my breakfast and lunch out the night before, so I don't need to worry about that. Have my running gear ready. Try not to think too much when my alarm goes off, but just get dressed on autopilot. I don't worry if I put my running tights on back to front (as I did yesterday) as hardly anyone is going to see me any way. Then leave the house, yawning my head off.

Snooze button is your enemy.

I put my workout clothes in the bathroom, but getting up at 4am is easier as I get older, even after a late night. I do catch up on my sleep on the weekends, though.