Say What You Need To Say: How I Wake Up to Work Out

I get many questions on how I am able to work out first thing in the morning.

I know I've touched on this before, but since I've had a few more questions, I thought I would revisit the subject.

Okay, let me first preface this conversation by saying that I ACTUALLY LIKE waking up early. Even on the days when I don't work out first thing, I would so much rather be up early than sleep in.

My early; however, is a bit unusually early for most, but for me, it's perfect. Monday - Friday, I wake up at 4:25am. This gives me 5 min to get out of bed, pee, lace up my sneakers and make my way downstairs to my home gym. I start running by 4:30am. During this time, I watch trashy TV and love every single second. I work out for about an hour, shower, get ready and then spend another 30-45 min making/eating breakfast and finish by taking my time to get out the door. I hate being rushed, so waking up early to get this all done before 7am is important to me.

Am I tired when I wake up? Not really. Some days are worse than others, sure, but for the most part, my body is so use to this time of day that it doesn't take long to get moving. I wish I could tell you I had a handful of tips and tricks of the trade that allow me to do this, but the truth is, I think I've just been doing it for so long that it is now ingrained into my daily routine. I can't imagine starting my day any other way in fact.

The one thing I can share with you is that I do go to bed early!!! I'm in bed every night no later than 9pm. If I waited any longer, I'm sure it would be harder for me to rise at that hour. Also, since I can't eat anything so early in the morning before I workout, I choose to eat my fuel before bed, usually in the form of fruit or cereal or both.

I've been doing this routine every day for the past 5 years. Do I ever miss a day? Maybe, but not usually. Like I said, it's truly just so routine for me.

For those of you who are trying to making the morning workout work, I suggest take it slow. Try setting your alarm 20 min earlier a few times a week and build from there. It will take time. You will curse and hit the snooze the first few times, but I promise, if you stick with it, it will get easier, just like any other challenge you set for yourself. The key is knowing what is best for you and your body. I know I run 10000 x better in the morning so I make it work at this time. I also know I do better with strength training later in the day so I will do my weight workout in the evening. This schedule works for me so I stick with it.

Now, after a lovely 6 mile run, I sat down to this glorious bowl of cereal…..

Natures Path Banana Almond, Oatmeal Squares, Banana, Raspberries, 1/2 Banana Vita Top, Chia, Almond Milk

I always get sad when I cut open a grapefruit to find that it's white. Even though this was still tasty, the Ruby Red are my favorite.

Work was a whirlwind today. I had to be 9382759 places at once, all which were a great distance away. For some reason, I had a little appetite all day. I couldn't figure out what I wanted or if I was even hungry, but I decided I should put something in my stomach in between running around.

I stopped at a sandwich cafe and ordered a bowl of Lentil Soup.

The soup was very good and seemed to be just what I needed. The flat bread they served on the side was also lovely and great for sopping.

Later on, I had to be at another appointment that would last well into the end of the day. I had some extra time waiting for the class to start so I decided to much on an apple that I brought with me. Truth be told, I wasn't all that hungry, but more bored. At least my mindless eating is usually healthy mindless eating.

When I finally got home, I waited for Toly to get home to start dinner.

Again, still not really knowing if I was hungry or not, I deiced to start cooking anyways and hoped my appetite would be ignited by the sights and smells.

I put together a harvest salad of romaine, cucumber, tomato, pear, avocado, roasted Brussels sprouts and asparagus, feta and walnuts.

The dressing was a Poppyseed Balsamic with some additional balsamic glaze drizzled on top.

With my salad, I made a small batch of sweet potato fries.