How I manage a morning exercise regimen.
September 5, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments
Prying myself from bed to squeeze in an A.M. workout is beyond burdensome.
Obviously, I’m Patrick Bateman level insane to be among the smaller percentage of people doing it… right?
(“This rain jacket should probably be a straitjacket…”)
Fortunately, those of us who are actually sane all realize that that’s opposite of true. But, I guess I can see how waking up early to work out seems slightly psychotic to someone who’s used to hitting the snooze button ’til the last possible second – especially if they’re accustomed to tardy slumbers after eating processed slop. That combo alone makes you next-level sluggish and unmotivated. In fact, my own early workouts didn’t happen ’til I started eating green and sleeping earlier. But once you notice the effects of a decent, energizing, morning workout and how it positively sets the tone for the remainder of the day, it’s not the early workout that seems insane. It’s skipping that A.M. aerobic sesh that seems insane.
Having trouble wrapping your head around that? Well, ask yourself this: is it insane to wake up early for work? No. Someone’s holding you accountable and you don’t get paid if you fail to grace your place o’ business with your presence. So, the key to motivating yourself is to hold yourself accountable. How? Take note of how much better you feel on those days you give your snooze button the finger and hit the gym. Then, think about how shizzy you feel (and how much harder work is) when you skip your sweat sesh.
However, that’s just one tip that’s helped me stick with my wakeup workouts. ‘
I wouldn’t be able to rise ‘n shine with the glimmer of hard earned perspiration without also employing the following physiological tweaks (which I kinda hinted at above already). Aside from playing brain games with yourself, I’ve found it’s also imperative to get a full sleep and steadily ingest stellar sustenance. (I’m talking green, healthy, whole foods.) And , by calling it a day not long after dusk, it allowed me to get a good, uninterrupted snooze – and for my body to be ending its sleep cycle by an earlier hour.
When that happens, the desire to slap the “five more minutes” button diminishes significantly.
(Um, let’s not get carried away.
We’re not talking Cinderella mornings, complete with a dream team of woodland creatures.
Just an easier wakeup so you can go work out…)
And why’s that second thing – eating better – matter? Because, per scientific studies recently performed, deleterious diets don’t just make you fat because of the way they eff up your metabolic function and make you store fat. They also make you lazy on a literal level. Like, we’re talking about a willpower killer to the point where feel-good hormones are minimal, making inspiration to workout even less than usual. This is why (instead’ve burying my jaw in a Taco Bell burrito), I typically eat squeaky clean (save for the occasional refined sugary concoction, compliments of Starbucks #notperfect). But it wasn’t always this way. Trust – when I used to load up on meat, dairy, and chemically manufactured crap, I woke up with headaches and a sense of general malaise. (Which is just a fancy way of saying “WTF is the point in being alive? Much less waking up for a run?”) I wasn’t sorry to see that mindset go. But, it did eventually, as I tweaked my eating and sleeping habits.
These days, between my punctual slumbers, plant snacks, and matcha tea, all day I’m on some Mario power up shiz. I’m making hay while the sun shines and ready to hit the hay when it sets. (Versus the insomnia caused by the shizzy lifestyle choices I once made not terribly long ago.) And that’s how I can throw in the towel tonight and wake up tomorrow morning – ready to use it to mop up the sweat from my early o’clock run.