Is it Morning Already?!

I am not a morning person. Never have been. It is just too darn hard to unravel myself from the covers and get out of my warm bed when the alarm goes off! Up until about three weeks ago, it was best to avoid me before 9:30am.

Now, we are officially three weeks into the “get up at 5am and exercise” initiative and I figured I've stuck with it long enough to talk about. I also figure if I talk about it, I will be accountable for sticking to it!

Now that it’s part of my routine, I really do like exercising first thing in the morning. It’s a great way to start the day. I am usually still asleep during my warm-up jog, but by the time I finish my workout, I am wide awake and my energy is flowing! I have had a much more productive first hour these last three weeks. Like I said, I’m not normally functioning until 9:30. Not anymore! I’m all - Hello 8am, I've been waiting for you!

 Here are a few of my helpful hints for waking up early to get your exercise on:

1. Lay out your workout clothes the night before and put your running shoes where you can see them
2. Choose an obnoxious alarm sound and put your phone (or your alarm clock if you still use one J) far enough away that you have to get out of bed to turn it off
3. Time it so your workout ends half way through your favorite TV show so you are eager to get up and finish the episode (Grey’s Anatomy for me!)
4. Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up. Not only is it cold & refreshing, your body is dehydrated from sleeping for the past 6 hours (or more if you’re luckier than me)!
5. Get enough sleep & eat breakfast!!! … I’m still working on these two…

I wish I had time to make/eat breakfast in the mornings, but since I don’t think I can possibly convince myself to wake up any earlier, I keep it simple. After my workout, I drink a cup of coffee while I’m getting ready. Then I make an awesome smoothie to take to work with me so I’m not starving by 10am. I make all of my smoothies with greek yogurt, Naked juice, and some combination of fruit. It’s delicious and has 17 grams of protein so it fills me up!   

Do you workout in the morning, afternoon, or evening?

How many hours of sleep do you usually get?

Do you eat breakfast every morning?