Another quick post today. This month has been very hectic. Lots of travel. All good. Vacation. Time for friends and family. Absolutely love it. But still, it has been difficult to keep on my morning workout routine because I’ve only been home for a total of about 10 days.
On top of that, this month I have had to prioritize a few intellectual projects in the early morning hours, when I would usually be doing my workout routine. I find that I can’t do my intellectual projects after work or at night because they amp my brain up too much and then I can’t get enough good, high quality sleep even with meditation.
The next morning I’m completely exhausted and I’m not able to workout at 5am and then go to work and function professionally to the standard that I demand of myself.
I don’t know if changes in location, environment, company, and priorities throws you off… but the changes I’ve had to make this month are causing the number and quality of my workouts to go down drastically. Plus, the quality of my diet has suffered a lot too. I think I may have to temporarily adjust my workout routine from the early morning to either lunch time or after work. I haven’t worked out in a week! Ugh, it’s starting to get to me!
Time to hit the reset button!! Look at my schedule for the next couple of weeks, and readjust my routine to ensure that I get to the gym as soon and as much as possible. Wish me luck.
In August I set out to create an early morning workout routine that I could make a permanent part of my everyday life. Over the 31 days of August I followed a daily routine and created a set of habits to ensure that waking up at 5am and getting in a good workout became integrated as part of my morning ritual. I worked out pretty much every single day that month. Even on my rest days (i.e. weekends), I stayed pretty active.
What were my results? And what can I share with others hoping to create their own workout routine, new healthy habits, or a daily ritual for self-improvement? I’m going to share all that with you. But let me start at the beginning.
Like many people, I gained a lot of weight during the COVID lockdown. Not just because of the lockdown, but also because I had gotten several repetitive stress injuries. I had tendonitis (or carpal tunnel syndrome, not sure which) in my wrist from typing, severe hip and ankle tightness-pain from sitting for extended periods of time, and rotator cuff pain in my shoulder. All those injuries kept me from working out. The pain was so bad, I couldn’t even do push ups or a slow jog. My only exercise was walking my dog.
At the beginning of July, I decided that enough was enough. I was tired of being out of shape. I was tired of being tired all the time. I wanted my clothes to fit again. I came up with two goals for myself: 1) I wanted to get in good shape, 2) I wanted to be healthy.
But, I had to start by rehabbing all my injuries using exercises that I’d learned before from physical therapy or that I noticed made the pain go away through trial and error. I made rehab the fourth thing I did after waking up, drinking a glass of water, and using the restroom. I did that religiously, every day. After a few weeks all my pains were gone. I was able to do a few push ups and jog slowly without pain.
In the meantime, I wrote down several lagging or lag measures, which would signal that I’m in good shape and healthy. First, I wanted to drop to 170 lbs. Second, I wanted to be able to run a mile in under 7 minutes. Third, I wanted to be able to keep that pace up for about 15 miles. Fourth, I wanted to get my six pack abs back. Fifth, I wanted to be able to do 60 push ups non-stop.
I didn’t jump right in to try to accomplish my lag measures. Lagging measures are hard to focus on because they are long-term outcomes. Instead, I identified and focused on my lead measures. Lead measures are short-term activities that lead to the outcome we want. In other words, daily repetition of lead behaviors/activities predict success for achieving our lag measures and ultimately our goals.
As July came to an end I formulated my plan. I wrote out the small things that I would have to repeat on a daily basis over and over again in order to accomplish my goals (i.e., going to the gym, lift weights, run, sit-ups, core-abs, rehab, and stretching). These are my lead measures, because if I did them repeatedly their compound effect would lead to the outcome that I wanted.
If I was going to get serious about working out early in the morning, I would have to be up really early to be able to get to work by 8am. My goal was get up at 4:30 or 5am so that I could get to the gym by 5 or 530am. So the first thing I had to do was figure out a way to wake up that early and not just go back to sleep.
I knew that drinking water, washing my face, putting on workout clothes, and drinking coffee were all effective ways of boosting my energy that early in the morning. If I did those 4 things, the probability that I would go to the gym was really high. I also told myself that If I did those things and still wanted to go back to sleep then I could. For whatever reason, knowing that and saying that to myself helped me get up, especially on the really tough days. But most important of all, I found that I need at least 7 hours of sleep per night to function optimally. So I made going to sleep early the night before a top priority.
That became my routine.
Once I got to the gym I would alternate between doing cardio (elliptical machine, stationary bike, and treadmill) and strength training (i.e., weight lifting, resistance bands), and core work (sit ups and planks). Usually an hour of cardio and an hour of weight lifting. It didn’t start out that much, but slowly and surely over time it kept increasing. I did that 5 days per week, and rested on Sat. and Sunday.
So what were my results…
Well, I hit almost all of my lead behaviors. I did cardio, strength and resistance band training, sit ups, and planks pretty much every day. I was very consistent about the habits I had stacked together to help me wake up early and it worked for me. It wasn’t easy. A lot of days it was tough. But by the second half of the month my morning routine was pretty much a morning ritual that I run through even on the days that I don’t go to the gym.
As you can see from my before and after picture, I also had good results physically. I dropped from 220 lbs at the start of the month to 201 lbs, on Aug 31. I was able to run a mile in under 10 minutes. But, I can only keep that pace up for about half an hour. I still don’t have washboard abs, but I don’t have a keg anymore either.
So even though I’m not close to my running goal and still got a long way to go to reach my lag measures, I’m proud of all that I was able to accomplish in 31 days. Plus, I have a new morning ritual that has become easy to do. As long as I keep it up I should be able to reach my goals by the end of the year!
DONE!! One month of creating a new morning routine. Thirty-one days of repeating a set of habits over and over again that allowed me to consistently get up early to workout and start my day right!
Over the next few days I’ll share more about my results. I’ll also share what I learned, and some thoughts on what may be helpful to others. But today I’m going to finish off this set of posts by running through my routine (and specifically what I did today).
So I have to be honest, I got a little bit of a late start today. Yesterday, we had a huge win for one of our clients! Afterwards I went with a few colleagues to celebrate. It was low key but it definitely kept me up past my bedtime. I was really tired when my alarm went off and I gave in to that little voice of weakness and hit the snooze button. Twice. Ugh! Tough to admit but yeah that’s the truth.
Finally, got up at 5:30am. Ran through my routine. Turned off the alarm. Wanted to snooze it again, but thankfully found the strength and determination to power through. Sat up. Turned on the lights. Put on my slides. Walked to the kitchen Opened the fridge and pulled out cold water. Poured it into a 16 oz glass. Poured a teaspoon of apple-cider vinegar into it. Checked the electric kettle. It was full. Turned it on. Grabbed a coffee filter. Put it into the pour over cone (sieve). Here’s a picture of what I’m talking about…
Put a tablespoon of decaf coffee and a tablespoon of regular coffee. This morning I needed a little bit of caffeine. I’ve been pretty good at not needing it all month.
Drank my cold water. Walked to the restroom. Washed my face. Gently splashed water into my eyes. Dried my face. Walked back to the kitchen. The water had finished boiling. I poured the hot water over the coffee and just waited to breathe in the rich aroma of the coffee. Mmmmm, so delicious!
Went back to my room to put on workout clothes. Did a set of sit ups. Came back for my coffee. Today it just tasted a little bit more delicious. Or maybe I just appreciated it a little bit more.
Grabbed my keys, phone, and ID. Headed out the door. Usually when I walk into the gym it’s still pitch dark out. But today I got to the gym at about 5:57. Unlike most of the previous days this month, the sun almost caught me. I’ll take it though, because my reward for these 31 days was that I got to see the beginnings of a beautiful sunrise…
Easy workout today. Elastic band rehab to start. Shoulder rehab next. Then jumped onto the elliptical for 30 minutes. Then hit weights. Chest and shoulders. In between each exercise I did 1 or 2 sets of sit ups. I’ll be back in the gym for lunch to put in a more serious weight session.
Walked back home. Drank another big glass of water to make sure I don’t get dehydrated. Shaved. Showered. Got dressed for work. Now writing this and it’s time to go.
Have a great day or night depending on when you read this!! 🙂
I hope you’ve enjoyed the series. Either way, please let me know what you’ve thought about my Early Morning Workout Routine series in the comments section below.
Quick entry today. Got to be at work early. Ran through my morning routine like usual. [Side note: The sheer repetition of doing my routine over and over again for 30 days makes it almost automatic. I end up doing it even on my rest days just out of habit now.] Walked to the gym. Still dark outide.
Good workout! Shorter than usual. 5:30am to 6:40am. Mostly cardio. Elastic band rehab to warm up. Five minutes on the bike. Then twenty minutes on the elliptical machine.
Then 1 mile on the treadmill. Twelve minute mile. Nice and easy, not really pushing too hard. Definitely not huffing and puffing. But a good run. Had a good sweat going by the end.
In between each exercise I did two sets of 40 sit ups. I think I’m going to incorporate that into my routine from now on. I feel as though I end up doing way more sit ups this way, than when I try to do them all at once at the beginning or end of my workout.
Tomorrow is the last day of my one month challenge to create this early morning workout routine and create new healthy habits. Time to look at my results and what I’ve learned from this process.
5am start today! Yes, I’m back on it! Woke up and ran through my routine. Alarm goes off. A little sleepy but not too bad. Immediately turn off the alarm and sit up. Put my feet into my slides (slippers). Turn on the lights. Put on my headset and start listening to inspiring music or motivational speeches. Walk to the kitchen. Check the electric kettle, it’s full. Turn it on. Open the fridge and pull out the cold water. Pour a big glass about 16-18 ozs. Add a heaping teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into the water. Put coffee (decaf) into the pour over filter.
Exit the kitchen. Walk to the restroom. Wash my face with cool water. Splash the water gently into my eyes. Dry my face. By now I’m starting to feel awake. Walk back to the kitchen. Drink my water. Pour the boiling water over the coffee. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the room. Walk back to my room. Put on my workout clothes. I always leave my workout clothes out the night before. They are always the easiest thing to put on. Do a set of sit ups.
Go back to the kitchen. My coffee has cooled just enough to take a drink. Even though it’s decaf, the delicious smell and taste instantly wake me up just a little bit more. Now I’m ready to go. Grab my keys, phone, and ID badge. Walk to the gym. I get to the gym by 5:30am.
Cardio day today. But first I start with a little rehab for my shoulder. 2 sets of sit ups. Then 10 minutes of biking. 2 sets of sit ups. Finally, 20 minutes of treadmill. End with 2 more sets of sit ups and finally stretching hamstrings and quads. Need to start doing more stretching when I finish my cardio.
Walked back home. Made my lunch. Wrote this post. Now I have to shave, shower, and get dressed. Then I’m off to work. [Side note: Started using my fitness tracker today. I’m already at about 9500 steps! But interestingly I only got 5:53 minutes of sleep. Got to work on that.]
Still I’m feeling good! Whatever virus it was that I was dealing with last week is out of my system.
Chill day today. It’s a rest day. Woke up at 8am. Meditated. Ran through my routine, minus going to the gym.
Instead, I drank coffee sitting at my desk and worked on my project. Glad I got it done! Have a big week ahead at work!! Have to be fully rested and ready to go.
Later in the morning I went for a 3 mile walk. Very relaxing. It wasn’t too hot.
Treated myself… decided to buy a fitness tracker!
Made a quick trip to the store to pick it up. Got back home, charged it and set it up. Looking forward to using it to track my activity, water, sleep, heart, etc.
Okay, tomorrow I”m back on the early morning grind. I’ve been consistently feeling better for two days. Hoping that means I’m done with whatever bug I was dealing with last week. Shooting for a 5am start tomorrow.
On that note I better get to sleep.
Have a great night or day (depending on when you read this, lol)!
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.
Another rough day. I still felt sick. So even though I slept over 8 hours last night, I decided not to go workout at 5am. My alarm went off. I ran through my routine, but I just didn’t feel good. Went back to sleep and woke up at 7am. I forced myself to get ready for work. The good thing is that at lunch I felt well enough to hit the gym. I mean something was still off, but I thought I might feel better after working out.
Ran 2 miles. Not too fast. But definitely had a good sweat going. Did some core, legs, and a little bit of upper body strength training. Not a hard workout. Just something to get blood flowing and break a sweat. I think it helped a little.
But the important thing is that I got it done! That plus. I’ve been consistent about working out. And when I weighed myself, I was pretty surprised that I’m down to 202. Bye bye 205 plateau!
Sharing the difficulties and hardships of this journey to create my new morning routine is one of the things that I wanted to be real about. I didn’t only want to share the good, when I was feeling strong, but also the tough days, when I’m feeling really crappy. But that’s the truth in life. We always have highs and lows as we move forward. That’s just the nature of the process. The key is to keep going, persevere, keep trying to do better, and eventually you accomplish your goal.
Tomorrow’s Friday. All I have to do is one strong early morning workout and I can earn my rest days.
I started feeling sick yesterday and came home from work early. Grabbed my laptop so I could work from home. My morning workout yesterday was SO hard even though it was half the routine that I usually do. I guess now it makes sense. My body was already fighting whatever bug I got. I felt really dehydrated. I hardly ate. Drank a ton of water. And went to sleep super early. Slept almost 12 hours.
Today, I woke up feeling like I have a cold. Not like a flu and not as bad as I felt yesterday. But still stuffy nose, headache, brain fog, and lethargy. Took a COVID test just in case. Luckily it was negative.
Alarm went off and I knew that I shouldn’t workout today. I think it’s important to know our body. Listen to our body. This morning I wasn’t tired. I wasn’t sleepy. I wasn’t being lazy. My muscles weren’t sore, stiff, or exhausted. I just knew that my body needed to rest so that I can fight off whatever virus I have.
Feeling a little better this evening. Hopefully, I’ll be ready to get back in the gym tomorrow and get back to work too. I really like the morning workout routine and healthy eating habits that I’ve set up for myself.
They really help my mood, mental health, and especially help me keep stress levels manageable. I have so much more energy, focus, and stamina to deal with the demands of work, family, and life.
Plus, I can literally feel my body getting leaner. I’ve got more muscle and less fat in such a short period time just by the consistent exercise and healthier eating habits I’ve been practicing. I’m to the point where I’ve had to buy new shirts and will probably have to buy new pants soon.
Hopefully, I can get back on it tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted. 🙂
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!
Hector Perla.com 