Fit Bite: How to Adjust to Morning Workouts

Hi Busies!  

With a fresh start in 2018, it’s time to get rolling on those New Year’s Resolutions.  Mine this year are:

• Visit one place you’ve never been (this is one for me every year – and this year that place is Thailand!)
• Eat one meatless dinner a week (and sadly this doesn’t mean pizza – it means more veggies!)

I’ll post updates related to my resolutions this year, but I know for a lot of people, New Year’s Resolutions means hitting the gym more regularly, so I want to share one of my past resolutions, which I started after college.  I had just moved to Charlotte, NC, to start my career as an accountant.  I had done everything right to prepare:  bought a new wardrobe of professional clothes, found a studio apartment, and made some big new furniture purchases.  But, after the flexibility of college and 5 months of summer before starting full-time, the sudden 9-5 (which was really more like 9-7:30 or even later), threw me for a loop.  I wasn’t working out or eating healthy, and I was starting to feel sluggish and depressed.

I knew that if I wanted to stay on track with my workouts, I had to figure out a way to get them done in the morning. I know this sounds impossible (and it seemed that way to me at the time), but don’t stop reading! I promise there’s a way to make your fitness plan work for your schedule!

Morning view from my Charlotte apartment – waking up to this view definitely helped!

Basically, I love working out when that’s the only thing I have to accomplish for the day (which happens approximately never).  If I had it my way, I’d lounge around all day, reading/watching TV/Pinteresting, eating a delicious breakfast and lunch, probably take a nap to recover from all that hard work…and then around 3 or 4, I’d get my butt off the couch for a quick workout so I can feel less guilty about spending the rest of the day being a sloth.  In college, it was easy to fit in this late afternoon workout…but in the real world, not so much.

The sad, post-grad truth is, regardless of what makes your life busy, it can be close to impossible to carve out time for a workout.  You’re always going to be giving something up, whether it’s sleep, time for chores/errands, or time with friends/family/your significant other.  For me, it’s sleep.  Although I love nothing more than staying curled up in my warm bed, I know that if I wait until after work, I’ll make a million excuses and never get to the gym.  There are tons of articles that boast about whether it’s better to work out in the morning or at night, but in reality, it’s better to figure out what time of day you’re the most likely to stick to, and stick to it!  

Here are a few tips I use to keep myself motivated.  Please share yours in the comments below!

• State your intentions:  write it in your journal, or tell a friend or your significant other.  Putting your plan on paper, or saying it out loud, will automatically help you hold yourself accountable.  For me, I’m constantly babbling to Drew about my workout plans.  This is especially helpful on Saturdays and Sundays, when weekend plans pop up and I procrastinate until it’s too late.  A quick “I’m going to go for a run at 3:00 today” in the morning will hold me accountable, and I’m more likely to follow through.
•  Plan in advance:  when I have a morning workout planned, I will set out my workout outfit the night before.  Getting out of bed is hard enough, if I have to think about what to wear and dig through my drawers to find it – forget it!  Another great tip for winter is to sleep in your workout clothes, if they’re comfy, or just pull them under the covers with you.  It’s much easier to face a cold morning in warm clothes.  
• Set a schedule:  Write down a plan of what you’ll do for each workout for the first month.  For me, this means writing down every set of weights I’ll lift, including how much, how many reps per set, and how many sets of each exercise.  This way, my still sleepy brain won’t let me cheat or forget anything.  Also, I alternate cardio and strength days, because on strength days I can skip washing my hair, which saves me a ton of time in the mornings while getting ready for work.
• Alternate days:  I like to alternate strength and cardio days.  On strength days, I can use dry shampoo and skip washing my hair, which saves a ton of time in the mornings!
• Find 15 minutes:  If all else fails, keep yourself on track with a 15 minute or less HIIT workout.  These combine strength and cardio and supercharge your heart and metabolism for the day.  A huge win!  Check out Chris Tye Walker on BodyRock for some of my favorite HIIT videos.

First workout of 2018 ✓✓✓

In another post, I’ll share what my daily routine looks like!  Until then, good luck making those resolutions stick!  Hold yourself accountable by posting your resolution in the comments below – let’s support each other!