It is often said that change is hard. I somewhat disagree, especially if it is for the better. I recently made what I would consider a significant change which is making a HUGE difference in my health and fitness life.
In the past, I would train from 6a-12p, clean up the gym and then workout myself. This has worked for many years but recently it has become more difficult. Between various calls/appointments being added to my day as well as all that comes with trying to open a second location I am beat at the end of the shift. It had often become much easier to push my workout to the side and go home to eat and take a nap. I started feeling so unproductive that I needed a solution.
The solution: I decided to do what I once thought was crazy and have started waking up at 2:00a on Mondays and Wednesdays. I cook breakfast and head to the gym to workout BEFORE clients begin arriving to the gym.
A few things make this work for me:
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- I get my workout done early and have freed up my post shift time to get other things done without feeling like I am skipping my workouts. It also removes the dread of knowing that I need to workout even though I may be tired
- I go to bed a little earlier on Sunday and Tuesday nights to make getting up not such a chore
- I also realized that I only have to get up this early twice a week…which makes getting up at my normal 3:30a feel like sleeping in
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The result:
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- I am so much more consistent with my workouts since they are done first thing in the morning
- I actually have more energy while training because my body is warmed up and properly fueled from the protein shake and breakfast that I consume after working out
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None of this would have happened if I didn’t have an honest conversation with myself with the goal of making real change and become consistent again. Although we all want more hours in a day it just isn’t happening so I found a way to make my hours much more productive. I’m creating a new positive habit that actually simplifies my life while enhancing it at the same time…win-win!
