Cursing early-morning workouts

When I started working out with Todd, my personal trainer, I was completely psyched to go every time. Now, after a few months, I’ve lost that spark. I think it definitely comes from not seeing the weight loss happen as quickly as I had been hoping for (but that’s a whole other post on really committing to the food part of my goals) but this lack of enthusiasm lately is also because my new workout time is 6 a.m

I’m a morning person, so getting up at 5:45 a.m. to do the mad rush to get there shouldn’t be a problem. And the reality is that I get up at 6 a.m. every day of the week just to get ready for work and get the kids off to school, so what’s the problem on this one day of the week? I think it has to do with the idea that I’m not waking up slowly on my own terms and taking my time to become fully conscious. There’s a big difference between heading off to a stationary bike and supersets of cable rows, walking lunges and planks and heading into the soothing comfort of a hot shower

Today was one of those days when I woke up feeling groggy and hating that I was doing this to myself. At 5:45 a.m. it felt like working out was a punishment I had put on myself! And because I have my four-year-old in bed with me at some point on most nights (I know, I know, it’s my own fault for not having the heart to make my child sleep in his own bed) and he regularly flails his razor-clawed hands and boney feet (at least that’s what they feel like at 2 a.m.) in my direction as I try to sleep, it can really make me wake up feeling less than refreshed

But as I drove there today I kept saying to myself, "The key is that I’m doing it." Even though I feel resentful at that moment, I’m still making myself do it. Knowing someone has woken up early to keep an appointment with me helps give me incentive to get off my butt and just go. Once I’m there it takes me a little while to get into it, but by the time I’m done I feel like a million bucks. And when I hop in the shower after my workout it feels like I’ve really earned it, my clothes seem to fit better that day and I notice that I stand up straighter and feel stronger. Today I realized that’s what I have to focus on when I start making excuses in my head for why I shouldn’t go work out.

Now, if I can just put mindless snacking in perspective then I’ll be all set.

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