Today was a rest day. I chilled and worked on personal projects. No exercise, stretching, yoga or even meditation. I got up around 6:30am. Inevitably walked through my routine. It’s really a habit now. I even put on shorts and a workout shirt, but instead of hitting the gym, I sat at my desk and started typing away on some work related projects that I wanted to get ahead. Sipped on my coffee 🙂
Then at about 10 am I had breakfast. Afterwards just vegged out watching non-sensical things on YouTube, Netflix, etc. Did a few air squats every time I remembered to do them. Just to get blood flowing. Then I cleaned up a little bit around the house.
This evening I went shopping. I always walk to the grocery store. Take my own bags and my backpack. That way I only buy as much as I can carry. It forces me to prioritize only what I need. And it also gives me a good workout. It’s between a half-mile to a mile away. So approximately 1-2 miles roundtrip.
When I first started doing this walk I used to get really tired. I would end up huffing and puffing on the way back. When I would get back to the apartment I’d be sweating like crazy.
But today I was really surprised that I wasn’t even breathing hard at any point of the trip, despite having a full backpack and one full bag in each hand. I thought to myself how much easier it seemed today. It felt good to literally feel the improvement.
I did think about stopping and buying fast food as a “treat” for myself. But something stopped me and I decided to keep walking back to my place. Instead I decided to cook dinner at home. Now I’m going to relax for a while before I call it a night.
Still feeling a little sick this morning. But I ran through my morning routine. As I’ve been telling myself all along. Run through your routine and if you still don’t want to workout after your ready to hit the gym then you can go back to bed.
Got up at 5:30am when the alarm went off. Put on slippers. Walked to the kitchen. Turned on the electric kettle. Poured a cold glass of water and added vinegar. Put (decaf) coffee into the filter. Went to the restroom. Washed my face. Dried my face. Drank cold water. Poured boiling water over the coffee.
Here I would have usually gone to put on my workout clothes and gotten ready to head out the door. Physically I just didn’t feel right.
I decided to hit the reset button. I knew I was going to workout at lunch today anyway. Got back in bed and slept for another 1.5 hours. Slept for a total of 10 hours. That’s way more than I ever need to sleep. It also tells me my body was fighting off some virus and needed the extra rest.
Got up and ran through my routine again. But this time after drinking my coffee (it was pretty cold by then), I went to the restroom to shave and shower. Got dressed for work and headed out the door.
Then at lunch time I went down to the gym. The lunch sessions are always a little shorter, only an hour. So did 15 minutes on the elliptical for cardio. Then did a quick upper body session. Worked arms, chest, shoulders, and back. Didn’t go heavy or too intense. Just a nice and easy session to get the blood flowing and get a good sweat.
After my workout session I felt so much better. Went back to work and finished the day off strong!
Not exactly the hard week of early morning workouts that I had envisioned. Even though I didn’t get to the gym until noon, I kept running through my early morning routine most days and I still only missed one day of exercise.
On top of that, I finally broke through the 205 plateau I had been stuck on for 2 weeks. Weighed in today at 202 lbs. Looking forward to seeing if next week sees me dropping below 200 lbs for the first time in about 2–3 years.
Back on it! 5am wake up. Feeling a little tired and sluggish. But I think to myself, “Just run through my routine and everything else will take care of itself.” That helps me get moving. Then it’s the actual process of running through my steps that wakes me up.
So what are the steps? Easy. Here you go…
Alarm goes off and I silence it. Turn on the lights. Sit up and put my feet into my slippers (I find that helps trigger my brain to wake up. I think it’s because I can’t get back in bed without taking them off, plus it’s a life-long cue that the day has started).
Walk to the kitchen. Turn on the lights. Pour a cold glass of water, about 16 oz. Add at least a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to it. Check the electric kettle for water. Fill it and/or turn it on. Grab a coffee filter. Put it in the pour-over thing. Grab the coffee, almost always decaf (except on those days I absolutely need the caffeine). I usually use two tablespoons because I like the strong bitter taste. A sprinkle of cinnamon.
Drink my water.
Walk to and use the restroom. Wash my hands. Then wash my face. I make sure to gently splash nice cold water into my eyes. I find that refreshing. Dry my face. If I’m still tired, I wash and dry my face again. Usually that’s enough to wake me up even on the toughest days. I’ve only had one day when I’ve needed a third face wash, lol.
Walk back to the kitchen. Hot water has boiled by then. I pour the hot water over the coffee. Fill it all the way to the top so that I get a nice full cup of fresh coffee. The smell alone triggers me to wake up a little more. But it’s way too hot to drink right away.
So I walk back to my room and get dressed. (Side note: Always, always have your workout clothes out. Make it so that’s the easiest thing to put on.) Once I have my workout clothes on it’s game over for sleepiness. (Side note: Yesterday, was the only day I missed since I started this routine. That was the one difference. I put on jeans and a t-shirt instead of workout clothes, so I couldn’t go straight to the gym.)
Here’s where my routine gets hard for me and I’ve struggled. I’m supposed to do at least one set of sit ups right after putting on my workout clothes. More times than not I’ve missed on this step. But I’m still trying. I won’t give up on it. By the time I’m done with my sit ups my coffee has cooled just enough to drink. Lately, I haven’t even been drinking the coffee. I just head out to the gym and I drink it when I get back.
Once I drink my coffee or decide I can do without it, I grab my keys, phone, and ID. Walk out the door and head to the gym.
That’s pretty much it. I’ve done some version of this over and over again now for a few months (since June). But I’ve been doing it as an early morning (4 am or 5 am) and writing about it 22 days straight. I find that writing it out explicitly reinforces it and systematizes it. It helps make the process closer to automatic.
The only exception is that I always take Sat & Sun as my rest days. I think that’s important for recovery. That doesn’t mean that I don’t work out those days. I just try to switch things up or at least be more flexible with myself. If I’m tired, I sleep in. If I want to lay around until noon, no problem.
That way when Monday comes back around I want to get back on my routine. And I’m consistent from Monday through Friday. By Friday, my body is tired and it’s asking for a recovery. Finishing that last Friday workout feels GOOD!
So that’s my early morning wake up routine.
Once I’m at the gym I alternate and combine cardio exercise (Treadmill, elliptical, bike) with strength and resistance training (free weights, body weight, resistance bands). Yoga (trying to do more of this) and walking or hiking on weekends.
Today I ran 30 minutes on treadmill, 20 minutes on the elliptical, and rode 10 minutes on the bike. That’s all. I barely got through it. It was a tough session.
Think I might have been a bit dehydrated. That’s another thing I’ve learned staying hydrated gives you more energy. Being dehydrated zaps your energy like nothing else and makes you lethargic.
Gonna drink a big glass of water and get ready for work. Shave. Shower. Get dressed and head back out the door. Ready to fight for justice. I love working in Public Defense!
So today was the first day since I started my new routine that I actually didn’t follow through on my early morning workout. I was just too tired. I didn’t go to sleep until past 11pm yesterday.
But I still woke up at 4am and went through my morning routine. Except… I had to move my car. I ended up finding parking about a mile away. So at least I got a good mile walk. But I knew I needed at least 2 more hours of sleep to be functional at work.
So that’s what I did. I came back and fell asleep for a couple more hours. Then got ready and went to work.
But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t work out. I just made it up at lunch. Cardio day today. Ten minutes on the bike. Started a nice sweat. Twenty minutes on the elliptical. Then 30 minutes on the treadmill. About 4.5 mph the whole time. Got it done.
Rest day. A break from the usual routine. Up at 6:30am. Went for a long hike at a mountain lake with a friend and her son. 4000+ foot elevation. I’d estimate it to be about a 3 to 4 mile hike. Sunny and hot. Picnic afterwards. Picked a few delicious apples growing by the edge of the lake. Sweet.
Great way to get some active recovery and a few extra hours of sleep. 🙂
Day 19 Done! 💪🏽 4:30am start. Followed my usual routine except didn’t even make or drink coffee until after I came back from working out. I was at the gym by 5am. Weights and cardio today.
I am really looking forward to two days of rest to let my body and brain recover. Pushed myself hard this week. Both working out and at work. I’m pretty tired but it’s been a very productive week.
Hope you also had a great week and wish you a great weekend! 🙂
Today I woke up at 4:00am. I wasn’t sleepy or tired. But I wasn’t high energy either. I end up laying in bed and looking at apps on my phone for about 30 minutes. Ugh! Definitely not part of my routine. But this happens every once in a while. Just got to keep it to a minimum. Finally, realize that I’m just mindlessly scrolling through random info that doesn’t help me, and I check myself. Force myself to get out of bed and be purposeful.
Run through my daily routine. Poured cold water into a glass and added a teaspoon of vinegar. I do this to make sure that I’m not dehydrated and because I found that it gives me a boost of energy.
Then I checked the electric kettle to make sure it had water. It did. So I turned it on. Next I pour a teaspoon of decaf coffee and one of regular coffee into my cup. Probably should’ve stuck with the decaf because I don’t want to start relying on caffeine to jumpstart my energy for the day again. I find that caffeine is really addictive. Not sure if you feel the same way. But I love coffee, regular coffee and I don’t want to end up drinking too much of it daily or becoming dependent on it. That’s why I do the decaf.
Go to the bathroom, wash my face. Dry my face. Come back to the kitchen and drink my glass of water. Pour the hot water over the coffee and go get dressed. I put on my gym clothes and drink a little bit of my coffee. And head out the door. Again when I run late, I don’t do my sit ups, argh! Even though I know I’ll do them in the gym, it bothers me to skip them. Especially because I know this is the weak link in my routine.
Weights first. My legs are sore from yesterday’s squats and lunges. Today I focus on arms and lats, with sets of sit ups in between sets. Not too hard because I’m lifting again at noon. Cardio next. 10 hard minutes on the bike. Got a decent sweat going. Then 30 minutes on the elliptical. Now I’m really sweating. Finish up with 12 minutes on the treadmill, at incline. I run at about 4.5 to 6.1 mph. By the time I get off the machine, I’m drenched. Good workout.
Weigh myself. Today is the first day that I’m under 205 lbs, yes! I weighed 204. One pound less than yesterday, lol. Got to keep pushing. I know that today it’s probably just water weight. But over time my real weight keeps dropping. I know I’ve been keeping a weekly log (I’ll post that in a later blog). Even better my clothes tell me. My shirts are fitting a lot looser and my belt is down a notch, pushing a second one.
See it’s a simple and easy process. It’s just hard to do.
I’m glad I made the decision to do take on this challenge. Hopefully, this will inspire others seeking to get healthier, build daily exercise habits, strong morning routines, change body composition, or lose weight.
Quick post today. Have to get to work soon. Got up at 4am. Meditated for 15 minutes. Ran through my routine. Water. Coffee. Restroom. Wash face. Put on workout clothes. Drink coffee. But needed to work on a pending project. Did that for about 45 minutes. Out the door. Still dark outside.
Hit the gym at about 5:15am. Band work for rehab. Sit ups. Weights. Then cardio. 30 minutes on the treadmill at about 4.5 to 5mph. I was drenched. Then 10 minutes on the elliptical. Completely soaked in sweat now. Change tank top for T-shirt. Stretch. Walk back. Shave. Shower. Get dressed. Wrote this up. Now I’m out the door.
Sorry this was a short post. In a hurry but didn’t want to end my streak. I’m on a roll!
4:45am start today. Earlier than usual. But not as early as I had planned. I set my alarm for 4:15am. But for the first time since I started my routine, I consciously hit the snooze button. 2x. So not happy with myself for that. Still I know why and I know how to overcome that. I went to sleep too late. Tonight I will go to sleep on time and tomorrow no excuses I’ll be up at 4am.
The good thing is that at 4:45am I ran through my routine. Cold water with vinegar. Boil water in the electric kettle. Pour coffee (decaf) in the filter. Drink my water. Go to the restroom. Wash my face. Get dressed. And grab my stuff to head out the door. I didn’t even pour the hot water over the coffee. I just left it there and took off.
Got to the gym by 5:02am. My earliest start so far! Today was supposed to be a lifting day. It kinda was. I ran through shoulder rehab. Then ran through about 40 minutes of sets for my chest, shoulders, lats, and legs. With sets of sit ups and side bends in between to rest.
Finished off with cardio. 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. It was still pretty dark outside as I looked out the window (the elliptical machine and treadmills face out the window). Then a mile on the treadmill. Easy pace about 4.5mph to about 5mph. Got a light sweat. Definitely not drenched like yesterday. Took me about 12 minutes to finish the mile. And done. Not too worried that it was a light workout, because I’m planning to workout again at lunch.
Decided to jog back home. Not really decided. Just started jogging and kept doing it. That got me sweating a little bit more. Sit ups. Shave. Shower. Get dressed.
Now it’s time to drink my coffee and finish writing my daily blog post. 🙂
I’m ready! Up at 5:12am. Alarm was set to go off at 5:15am. Woke up straight from a dream. I love waking up like that because I find that my mind feels refreshed when something in the dream makes me wake up. Must be something about the sleep cycle. If anyone knows please share it with me in the comments.
Run through my early morning wake up routine. Although in honesty, I find myself running through this routine even on my rest days (Sat & Sun). Today first thing I did was dismiss the alarm so it wouldn’t go off unnecessarily. Get up. Walk to the kitchen. Pour a glass of cold water. Put a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in it. Make sure the electric kettle has water in it. Turn it on. Drink my water. Go to the restroom.
Wash my face with cold water. Dry it. On days when I’m really tired I repeat this process once or twice more. Until my eyes feel at least semi-“normal.” Today, no need to repeat. I went to sleep early and slept well.
Walk back to the kitchen. Pull out a coffee filter. Put coffee in the filter (always decaf), two teaspoons. Only on rare days when I’m really exhausted to I substitute a teaspoon of regular for one of the decaf. I think the decaf does the trick by itself most days because it has a placebo effect. Next, I pour the hot water over the coffee. Enough to make one cup. I like it strong and bitter. Something about that taste helps me wake up. But I don’t drink it right away. It’s too hot.
Instead I go put on my gym clothes. Most days I do a few sets of sit ups. This has been the hardest and least consistent part of my routine, doing these sit ups. It’s easy to skip and think I’ll just do them in the gym and when I get back. And it’s true. I do them in the gym and when I get back. But that’s not the point. It’s part of the routine and I’m supposed to do them. In any case, there you go… that’s been my biggest stumbling block in the routine.
Then I drink my coffee. It’s cooled down just enough. Usually I only drink half the cup and then I’m out the door. I usually drink the other half when I get back. I just boil some more water and pour that in to reheat it. That’s what I did today.
Out the door at about 5:25am. Got to the gym about 5:40am. About ten minutes later than I had hoped. But still way better than I was doing before I started this routine! Sometimes I used to stroll into the gym around 7am when my target was 6am.
Did my band work for rehab on the hips. Rehab strengthening for the shoulders. A set of squats, one of deadlifts. Preacher curls. Decline bench press. Leg kicks. And now I’m warmed up.
Today is a cardio day. I decide to start on the treadmill. Nice and slow. 4.5 mph pace. My arms and shoulders are tight from the lifting. Try to shake them out and relax into the run. My goal is to run 2 miles today. A nice and easy “foundation” or “recovery” run. I like to steadily increase my pace as I get deeper into the run. I end up running at about a 5 mph pace. Takes me about 25 minutes to run my 2 miles.
Then a half hour on the elliptical machine at level 10. Again not huffing and puffing. But decent pace that gets me sweating profusely. My the time I get off the machine, I’m drenched. I take off the wet tank top and put on my clean T-shirt to weigh myself, 205. Basically the same that I weighed last week. I didn’t lose any weight last week.
I’m going to try something this week. I’m going to reverse what I have been doing the last week. I’m going to go heavier on the cardio and lighter on the weights. By that I mean MWF will be cardio days and TTH will be lift days this week. Let’s see what happens with my weight. I’ll keep you posted on what I find.
Hector Perla.com 