look, I know, waking up before 5 am is not pleasant. but sometimes you gotta make sacrifices and lose some sleep to get it in. and sometimes it is really rough (if you follow my insta stories there are many pre-5am stories about being tired)

but waking up before the rest of the world getting a whole workout in before most people are even awake feels so good. i fully believe it is the best way to start the day.

when I first started my working out i would wake up at 4:10 am Monday - Friday. and i did it with no caffeine (crazy I know) but I would stumble out of bed, put on my workout clothes and walk down to the treadmill and start walking on it all before i was even all the way awake. i would be part way into my warm up before i would even realize i was working out. and by that point i was already there, so i may as well finish.

now i wake up at about 4:40, toss on some workout clothes, ingest some form of caffeine (sometimes preworkout, but i did just switch back to coffee) and i'm off to the gym before 5am. I definitely need caffeine more now than i did originally because i'm weight lifting and being groggy during that is asking for disaster.

anyway... here are my main tips for getting an AM workout in:

be prepared!
1. that means having your workout clothes laid out, having your workout plan ready to go, and whatever else you may need ready to go (headphones, coffee, car keys, etc)
ease into it
1. i didn't start off working out at 4 in the morning straight out of the gate. i started off waking up 20 mins earlier than usual to go walk on the treadmill, then i went 30 mins, and so on, until i was getting almost a full hour workout in.
make it routine
1. waking up early is not always easy. (trust me, i have had some ROUGH mornings) but if you keep making that effort to wake up evantually you'll do it and start moving without even thinking about it. i swear, most mornings i am up and dressed and drinking coffee before i even realize i woke up.
make it something to look forward to
1. waking up before the sun is so much more difficult if its for something that you don't want to do at all. for me, the energy i get from exercise and the fun i have playing with kettlebells or hitting PRs drives me to go to the gym. find what makes you want to get up and go and make that your AM workout session.
go to sleep at a decent hour!
1. i know this one is pretty obvious, but seriously. if you stay up late, waking up early is so much harder. go to sleep at a decent time and set yourself up for success.
plan some sort of reward for yourself
1. could be during your run you get to listen to that new playlist you created or that post-workout snack. whatever motivates you, make it happen.
if you fail, don't quit
1. look, waking up early won't always happen. that's part of life. however, don't let that be an excuse for the rest of the week's workouts. so you skipped the gym on tuesday, just reset that alarm for wednesday and get it done!

i know, these are all pretty straight forward but this is what i've been doing for 2.5 years and i'm still going strong.

my morning workouts are genuinely what get me out of bed every morning and what keep my energy up throughout the day.

i promise, you'll never regret finishing your early morning workout, but you may regret skipping one.

being healthy can be hard.

when i started out on this journey back in april 2015, i thought that i was making healthy choices.

i was running and counting calories and losing weight.. and i thought that that was it. didn't matter what those calories were made up of, didn't matter how fast i was losing weight, and it didn't matter that was running myself to death.

i started my health journey on my fitness pal. i tracked... and lowered calories... and tracked... and lowered calories... and on and on until i was eating 1200 calories according to mfp... but in reality, i was probably eating less than 1000 calories most days. definitely not enough food for anyone, especially not someone who was running 4-8 miles a day.

Sept 2015/ about to go running even though i was over training to the point i injured my knee

i was working out 7 days a week and if i missed a day i would feel terrible and try to eat even less. my "rest" days usually consisted of strenuous hikes up steep hills for miles... but since i wasn't running i didn't count it as "real" day.

i was working out to "earn" calories. for way too long in my fitness journey i felt like i had to constantly restrict myself. i felt like i had to burn calories, otherwise i shouldn't really be eating.

after time and a nice reality check from my partner, i started to recognize the issue and started focusing on balance. taking rest days and eating more and eating better.

now i workout 5-7 days a week. not because i feel like i have to but because i genuinely enjoy working out. some days are hardcore hiit or heavy lifting and some days are just long walks or slow jogs and some days i don't do ANYTHING. and all of that is totally awesome.

june 2 2016 - june 3 2017 / more food and less cardio, bigger muscles and a way bigger smile

breakfast on sunday, june 4. bagel breakfast sandwiches with ham, cheese, and eggs. lots of fruit and champagne. all on a rest day!

and now i EAT. i worked my way up to eating about 2000 calories a day again. instead of counting calories, i focus on macro-nutrients (macros). this helps me find balance and focus more on eating foods that make me feel good instead of crap that's low calorie. but also now i get to enjoy all the food and drinks that i really like to eat.

some days, all the great progress i've made goes out the window. i am far from perfect. bad days happen. some days you wake up and feel terrible and start thinking about cutting calories or carbs or adding all the cardio, but now I have the experience and the ability to step back and realize that bodies fluctuate and if i give it a couple days i will more than likely feel good again. '

it's all a process.

but i am so glad that i have figured out what balance looks like and feels like for me.

HOW TO: become a morning workout person

beginnings & balance

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