Morning workouts - prep, routine and everything else

[c6craig]

@charlieparker For AM workouts, I wake up at 5am to fit in a 40-60min workout, shower, and usual pre-work routine before leaving the house at 7:30am. That does leave a pretty comfortable margin and i could probably eke out an extra 20 minutes of sleep by hustling a little more and doing more prep the night before: picking out workout and work clothes, making breakfast and lunch ahead of time, etc.

As far as advice, I do recommend prepping stuff the night before, or at least thinking through what you're going to eat or wear. My breakfasts are pretty simple (smoothie, or eggs and toast and fruit) and lunches are usually a sandwich or leftovers--basically throw the container in my lunchbox with an ice pack and it's ready. Basically, minimize the amount of decisions amd problem solving you have to do early in the morning.

 

[elvin]

@charlieparker I commute, but less than 10 min. I start work at 7:30 this time of year (tax accountant) and 8:30 the rest of the year. So times below are adjusted forward an hour for may-Dec

Wake up, dress, brush teeth, feed kitties and scoop litter boxes: 4:30a-5:00/5:10ish
Workout: start time -6a (if finish early I add extra stretching)
Shower/Get ready: 6a-6:50/7:10 (depending on hair routine that day)

I eat breakfast at my desk at work and only consume pre workout when I first wake up and a bcaa drink when I’m done. Personally for me, while I def start feeling hunger pangs when I get to work, I don’t notice an impact on performance because I’m so conditioned to the routine at this point.

For me the extra 30m to wake up while doing light chores was key. I want to cry if I have to wake up and immediately go down in the gym. But with a little caffeine and 30m I’m more than ready to go.

I forgot…I also usually do 1h10m to 1h30m when it’s not tax season but that’s just cuz I love working out. No one has to do that much to stay fit. But this time of year it’s max an hour and usually 40m of actual workout.

I am also doing Caroline girvan right now and just do some general movement during her intros as a warmup (square, jog in place, inchworms, etc) and my cooldown depends on time left but I hit all the major body parts for 10-20sec and will foam roll if extra time.

And for planning, I usually follow stronger by the day (just don’t have time for it atm) and know that takes me 1-1.5 hrs so I always keep 1.5 hrs as the slot in my morning routine and Wednesdays are cardio, Sundays mobility. Each Sunday I pick out a cardio workout and make sure my sleep and “workout calendar” match the plan. I don’t switch it up too much these days as SBTD really works for me and I alternate between Sydney Cummings, Caroline girvan, cathe Friedrich and Kaisa Kiernan for cardio and mobility. So my calendar is more or less set and very very routine.

 

[charlieparker]

@elvin Thank you for sharing! That sounds like a good idea to throw in a wake-up activity like doing chores.

 

[lisadaisy]

@charlieparker Start by gradually shifting your waking time earlier. You can try waking up 15 minutes earlier each day until you reach your desired wake-up time.

 

[anditsnotmybirthday]

@charlieparker I work in a large corporate office with a 20 minutes commute. This is the schedule I’ve followed for the last 2 years.. at this point I have it down to a science & could provide you times down to the exact minute if you wanted lol

4:30 - wake up & get ready

4:50 - leave for the gym

5:00 - workout

6:20 - drive home from gym

6:30 - take out dog

6:40 - get ready for work, feed the pup, etc. (lunch packed the night before)

7:25 - leave for work

7:45 - get to work

Hope this helps!

 

[margarets70]

@anditsnotmybirthday What time do you go to bed?

 

[anditsnotmybirthday]

@margarets70 I try to get in bed at 9 so probably am asleep by 9:30 ish!

The reason I started going in the morning is because I always felt I had no time to do anything after work except go to the gym.. the trade off of waking up early is worth it to me to have the world as my oyster once 5pm hits! The gym being much less busy in the morning is a also a plus

 

[christian2011]

@margarets70 I have a similar routine and aim for 8:30pm, usually 9:00pm. (My partner keeps an early schedule and I don't have many local friends which helps in some ways.)

 

[mechillemybell64]

@charlieparker I work in an office, but my commute is only five miles and about 13-20 minutes depending on if school is in session. We are a casual professional office, quite small, so I don't have to wear makeup/heels/professional clothes unless I want to.

I get up at 5am, get dressed for fitness, go through my physical therapy routine (hips/deep core/low back), drink water, and be out for my run no later than 5:45. Run for a little bit less than an hour, get home, make my breakfast and lunch, shower, dress, out the door for the office by 7:25 (no later than 7:30). This is Monday-Wednesday-Friday.

Tuesday-Thursday is up by 5:30am, PT routine plus extra core work my PT gave me to do three days a week. The rest is the same, and Saturdays is just PT plus core, then breakfast/shower. These days, I'm back in the office around 9am on Saturdays, plus some work from home on Sundays. Yay.

I usually work until 5:45pm then come home, and it's a fast-paced and stressful job (full service CPA office, and it's tax season so longer hours now), so when I get home the last thing I want to do is run or exercise or something.

I still do my evening PT routine every evening after dinner, while we're figuring out what to watch on TV/start watching whatever it is we're watching, but I don't like it.

 

[eveandrews]

@charlieparker Wake up 6:15. Change into workout clothes; head downstairs and put on shoes. Start workout by 6:30. Done with workout by 7:15. Shower and get ready (20 minute if not a hair wash day; 30 minutes if it is). Drive to work and make a big cup of tea there; or, brew a mug at home and mosey upstairs to be at my desk by 8:15/30. Drink lots of water and more tea until lunch at noon.

 

[98clru]

@charlieparker So my BFF is a nurse & somehow she convinced me to meet her at the gym in the morning despite me being a remote tech worker who doesn’t have to be at work at 7. This was my schedule:

Night before: prep everything

*Gym bag packed with tomorrow’s outfit

*Check makeup to make sure what I have will match what I’m wearing

*Triple check I’ve packed a bra & underwear

• Gym clothes are folded & placed near toilet

*Protein shaker is in fridge with chocolate milk

*Fill water bottle

*Shower & wash hair if I need to.

Morning:

*4:20: Alarm goes off. I get one snooze to pet cats who are now hounding me for breakfast and think about how I don’t want to get up.

*4:29: Get up & go to bathroom. Kick off pajamas & get dressed while sitting on toilet, then brush teeth.

4:40: Feed cats who are now on phone with ASPCA because I’ve been up for 11 minutes & they might die of hunger.

4:55: Add protein to shake, gather up stuff

5:00: Leave for gym, drink shake en route

5:15: Arrive at gym, put stuff in locker, meet BFF & complain about how she’s making me do this and/or be obnoxiously cheerful to annoy her

5:25: start workout, takes about an hour between warm up, actual workout, then cool down

6:20: shower, get dressed, head home, usually online at work a little before 7.

 

[charlieparker]

@98clru This made me laugh, especially the part about the cats calling the ASPCA thank you for sharing!

 

[waterwalker4]

@98clru Wow, I literally think this is incredibly funny. My kitties want to unalive me as well. From stalking me, staring at me (you ever have that feeling of being stared at...they do it...its unnerving) they jump on the bed, walk on my head. Who needs an alarm when you have attack kitties in the morning
And no I'm not a "cat lady" I only have 2 and they are very persistent when hungry. Their schedule is 5am/5pm feeding lol

 

[praises4god]

@charlieparker 6am - alarm goes off, team no snooze, get up and putter around, make coffee and eat breakfast (or at least a snack, journal, take meds

7am - workout

8am - go outside and get some sunshine on my face/skin, look at the flower beds and see if anything is growing

8:15 - quick shower

I’m usually at my desk between 8:30-9am, depending on how quickly I’m moving and if I wash my hair or put on makeup etc. I hate rushing around in the mornings so I take my time and putter. It makes me happy

 

[allthingsarebecomenew]

@charlieparker I also work from home.

5:50 am alarm goes off

6:15 am I am out the door having eaten a small breakfast, changed into my gym clothes and filled my water bottle.

6:30 arrive at gym. Commence work out

7:30 am workout is complete

7:45 am arrive at home. Wash face etc. make coffee

8:00 sit down to work from home.

9:00 make a quick breakfast

12:00 (lunch break) take shower

I like that working from home makes it flexible enough for me to shower at lunch. I usually don’t wash my hair at this shower, just my body, so that If I need to get on camera (I rarely do but just in case) my hair isn’t wet. Change clothes obviously.

Also some days my workout doesn’t take a full hour so I am able to shower before 8:00 am.

 

[atheistlogic]

@charlieparker I cook all of my chicken, breakfast carb, and cook and portion my lunch carb on Sundays. My husband sets up our coffee the night before to brew when he wakes up. I'm in bed at 8 every night, lights out at 8:30, and I fall asleep fast.

My alarm goes off at 4:15. I throw on my clothes, grab my water, and I'm at the gym by 4:40. I do 15 minutes of intervals on the bike, then either the 5 am class (it's a crossfit-ish gym) or whatever I'm training on (usually a competition). Leave the gym by 6.

Home by 6:12, slam a protein shake. Shower. In the kitchen by 6:30. Throw my eggs in the microwave (two eggs, 3 egg whites, takes about 2 minutes). While the eggs are cooking, I pack my lunch (5.5 ounces of chicken, 1/2 cup of rice, frozen veggie steamer bag) and breakfast carb. I mix my coffee (coffee, MCT oil, collagen). I throw my eggs in with the breakfast carb, then go finish getting dressed. Some days I have 10 minutes to stare at the wall, some days I make my daughter's lunch and/or breakfast.

Out the door by 7:30, drop my daughter at school at 8:12, at my desk by 8:35. I drink my coffee on the drive. I eat my breakfast at 9, after getting through the first emails of the day. I own my business, so I pretty much do what I want once I'm at work. Lol!

 

[hannanahmad]

@charlieparker I have two kids and work from home, I follow Meg Squats SBTD (4 days lifting). I’m hoping to start group cycling though 2x a week in May and then lift 3x a week.

• 6:15 - alarm goes off - snooze for 10
• 6:30 - actually out of bed, dressed, face/teeth, brew coffee and make my kids lunches.
• 6:50 - drive to gym
• 7:10 - 10 min warm up, 50 min lifting
• 8:10 - drive home
• 8:20 - get my kids dressed, they eat cereal while I shower and put my WFH clothes on (slightly nicer than my gym clothes)
• 8:45 - walk kids to school
• 9:00 - More coffee and at my desk

I normally put make up on and do my hair at some point before my first meeting.

 

[cassieshannon]

@charlieparker I wake up at 5.25am to get to my gym at opening time (6am). I've been doing it for 5 weeks now and haven't been an early riser (or a workout person) in the past.
What worked for me, to get started:
1. A gym buddy who would also show up at 6am and workout alongside me. The drive to avoid being a no-show is very powerful especially if you believe the other person won't flake. In your case, you could find a workout buddy who's equally motivated, and who you do a quick video call with at a fixed time every morning just before you start your workout.
2. Visualization: During the first few days, I took the time to sit and do a detailed visualization + verbal walk through of what the next morning would look like. Just mentally going through every small action I would take between 5.25am until I walked out the front door at 5.50 something. I also ran through that visual sequence as my last thought in bed. The reason it worked for me is that there were zero decisions (or choices) to be made in the morning. I knew exactly what I had to do and no sliver of uncertainty that would induce second guessing.
3. Small wins: Find small but tangible victories you can strive for and celebrate everyday. Obviously this only works if you are competitive by nature. Mine is wanting to be one of the first people to walk through the gym doors when they open. And the first person to walk into the women's locker room that morning. During the winter when it was still dark outside or first light was just breaking, it was "can I get out and about before the sun does". And I celebrated beating the sun out the front door those days!

Other small things that help to fully wake up after you get out of bed: Drink a bottle of water (I drink about 500ml), create an action in your routine you look forward to (i stand on the scale after I brush and am always curious about what it will show), put on soft fuzzy headphones (UGGs has an amazingly warm pair) and play your favorite motivating music while you do whatever you need to do until you hit play on your workout. Basically don't leave any window of doubt or decision making or idleness where you would be tempted to rethink whether today is the day.

Good luck to you! I'm finally at the point where I wake up in the cold and dark to workout every morning because I mentally need to / crave to, not because I have to - stick with it for 2 weeks (max) and you'll be there as well!

EDIT: Should also mention that I sleep in my workout clothes (this is a game changer for me - I change before bed, as I hate getting out of warm clothes and into cold ones in the morning. Having put in the effort to change clothes the previous night, I hate the idea of wasting the effort, so I get up and out of bed in the am even if I'm not feeling it), and workout fasted.

 

[charlieparker]

@cassieshannon Thank you so much for your detailed answer, that's so helpful!

 

[georges09]

@cassieshannon Love all of this and wanted to add - I hate putting on cold clothes as well but I also hate wearing clothes to bed so I used to put my clothes for tomorrow under the covers with me, haha.