Hello friends! Question: are September Resolutions a thing? I feel like they are, but in a secret way. Like, every year, after Labor Day, I think “well, summer play time is over and now I need to lock it down and stop having ice cream for dinner.” You?
Remember about a month ago when I set myself on the path of becoming a morning person? You may be wondering, “hey Jess, how is it going??”
Overall, I am happy to report that it has been trending successful. High five!! Go me!! But alas, I am human, so I have made some… improvements? Changes? Compromises?? Let me explain:
First of all, I have to say that I found I really enjoy getting my workout out of the way first thing in the morning. Even though I might be dragging myself to the gym, potentially with crusty eyes, unbrushed teeth, and amazing morning hair, but I am looking forward to getting my workout in and done for the day. It used to be so stressful to think about where (if??) I could wedge it in to my schedule. Bonus: the gym is delightfully empty this time of day, so I don’t have to fight for a squat rack. Plus, it feels really good to get my body warmed up (the first thing I do at the gym is roll out on a foam roller and crack my back- yay!), knock the rust off, and have the “fitness” box checked off my daily to-do’s. 10/10 would recommend.
That being said, morning, in the broad sense, is still a challenge. My initial goal was to get up at 6:30. For about a week, I totally did it! Then I started rationalizing (when my alarm went off, of course), that I really didn’t need to be up so early, that I could push it back a bit and still have lots of time to get a load of laundry done or whatever. So, I’ve been playing with that to see what feels best. It seems like a 7ish wake up is feeling better, but I would still like shoot for a little earlier, since I was enjoying having lots of time to myself in the morning to catch up on TV shows, read a little, go for a walk, go grocery shopping in a quiet store… mornings are pretty neat.
The weather has also been a bit of a wrench- it cooled off quite a bit for a few weeks, and man, snuggling under the covers with snoozy kittens in the morning is haaaaard to tear yourself away from!!
Another thing I discovered (even though I *knew* it already) is that planning is key. I skipped one Friday morning workout along the way, simply because I hadn’t planned for it. I didn’t have my gym bag packed (Friday is the one day I have to shower/get ready/go to work right away from the gym), didn’t have my workout planned, didn’t have a lunch packed. So now I know that, no, I will not get up 5 minutes earlier to do that in the morning, but if it’s ready to go the night before, I can pull my shit together.
Also, coffee. COFFEE!!! The pre-workout of the gods. I have gotten my night-before coffee prep on point, and it is THE BEST to hear that little “coffee’s ready!” beep, which can usually convince me to roll out of bed. The caffeine usually kicks in right as I’m getting going with my main lifts, which is super helpful. I’ve also been preparing a second cup in a travel mug so that I still have a hot cup of coffee to look forward to relaxing with when I get home. Aces!
Overall, I haven’t been perfect- I’ve given myself a few outs based on the aforementioned un-planning, a wicked migraine, my body just needing a break. But I would say that I have a 90% success rate in this challenge, and I feel pretty proud of myself!
xo
Do you have any September resolutions? What goals are you working on?? Am I actually sleep walking at the gym? Maybe!
I’m totally the same about working out, ie. running. I have to do it in the morning when I’m still sleeping. I have basically compromised with 6:45am as my running wakeup time–which I try to do at least twice a week–and then 7am for all the others. BUT! That GO TO BED iphone app has been a huge help in reminding me it’s time to sleep. So that was a great suggestion! And I’m happy to hear you’re still killing it. No. Doubts!