Why I LOVE my Morning Workouts + StylishlyFit Week 8

Becoming a Morning Person

I always thought I was a night owl. I used to hate waking up early, and I figured I got my best work done at night. The older I get, the more I needed to do, from my business, this blog, working out, continuous learning, traveling, etc. I knew staying up until midnight, 1 or even 2 am was not going to work for me anymore. I had to transition from late nights to early mornings. One day, I made the decision to become a morning person. Now, this didn’t just come out of nowhere, believe me; I LOVE sleeping. But I knew I must to make a personal change to get where I wanted to be in life and to hit my ever climbing goals year after year.

One day while I was driving and I was listening to a podcast by Pat Flynn where he interviewed Hal Elrod. Hal spoke about developing an early morning routine, check it out here if you’re interested. Hal Elrod is the author of the book; The Miracle Morning. I quickly bought the book after listening to the podcast and devoured it in a week (it’s a quick read). The aim of the book is to help you develop a morning routine that encompasses: silence, affirmations, visualization, scribing, reading and exercise. It can be as long or as short as you like. The method of this daily morning routine promises that you’ll be able to achieve more, be more productive, more successful and happier overall. I know, it seems like a lofty promise.

I developed my morning routine, and I do my best to follow it. Though I haven’t always followed it to a T, I work hard to stay disciplined, and I’m aware that I will always be working at it. It’s not easy. It is a daily decision of where best to put my energy.

My Morning Routine

Every morning I wake up at 5 am (even on the weekends), this is the toughest part of the whole morning routine. It was difficult for me to wake up when I first started and still is today.

My entire morning routine is about 2 hours which includes a morning workout. I wake up, make coffee and have a banana. Research shows that eating a meal within 30 minutes of waking will help increase the rate of our metabolism. Then, I take about 30 minutes to do my miracle morning which includes the 5 topics listed above and at about 5:40 am I get my workout clothes on, and we drive to our CrossFit gym. Our gym is only 5 minutes away, very convenient. We complete our morning workout, which is an hour, go back home, eat breakfast and finally get dressed for the day.

I follow this morning routine almost every day, except on Saturday where we don’t do a morning workout. On Sunday’s, we usually run on the track.
Morning Workout

I love the morning workouts as opposed to an afternoon or late night because it gets me ready for my day. Keep in mind that everyone is different so find a workout time that works for you.

I’ve experienced many benefits from morning workouts; I’m less likely to miss or skip a workout, I have more energy during the morning workout as opposed to the end of the day, I am more productive in my day, I am very focused on the workout because there is nothing from the day on my mind and I get more done in the day since I don’t have to stop working to go workout. I start my morning workout at 6 am and end at 7 am, there is nothing else I would be doing that early besides sleeping, so I can’t use the excuse that I don’t have time because it’s not taking time away from anything else.

Morning Workout Tips

Here are a few things that I do to help me wake up early and make sure I get in a morning workout.

Get a morning routine down! This is essential because you need to know what you’re going to do as soon as you wake up. If not, you’ll waste time, and the morning will fly by, and you won’t fit in your early morning workout.

Know your morning workout the day before. This is easy for me because I just go to CrossFit and do the workout of the day. But, if you’re going to workout at home make sure you know what workout you’re going to do.

Go to sleep at a time that makes waking up easier. I fall to sleep before 10 pm. I know I won’t wake up at 5 am if I’m not asleep by 10 pm, so I try to be in bed by 9:30 pm every night. I want to get 7 hours of sleep, which is perfect for me.

Place your alarm across the room. Important for me lol, if I have my phone on my nightstand I’ll turn it off and go back to sleep. But if I have to get out of bed and walk across my room then I won’t get back into bed.

Know why you’re waking up early. This is not just about getting in a morning workout but much more. I read the book NLP The Essential Guide by Tom Hoobyar and Tom Dotz and in the chapter Living in “The Zone” the author explains that in order to improve his focus and productivity he asks himself 5 questions every morning.

What am I looking forward to today?
Longer term, what am I looking forward to?
Am I doing things that lead directly to my goals?
Am I being my best friend and supporter?
Am I in my body and enjoying the gift of being alive?

These questions get you in the right mindset, and you will jump out of bed if you have something you’re looking forward to.

Eat before your morning workout. I eat something small, a banana within 30 minutes of waking up. I eat a full breakfast after my morning workout.

Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program or making changes to your lifestyle. This general information is not intended to recommend any program or to replace your healthcare professional.

Below are the workouts I did this week.

October 3 – October 9, 2016 Fitness

MONDAY 10.03.16 CROSSFIT + KAYLA LEGS WEEK 19

WARM UP
A: 4x100m run
in between perform:
10 burpees
10 jumping jacks
10 windmills
10 air squats
10 arm circles
10 side bends

STRENGTH
A: Back Squats-
20-20-15-15-10-10
40-45-50-55-60-65%
In between sets perform:
10 double Unders, then rest 30 seconds and go
B:
5 minutes to establish a 3 RM Hang Power Clean
Then perform 1 max effort set of 75% of established 3RM
C:
Perform:
20 Burpees to a 6″ above reach target

CONDITIONING
15 Push Press
30 Box Jump overs
10 Push Press
20 Box Jump Overs
5 Push Press
10 Box Jump Overs

Cash out:
800 m run

TUESDAY 10.04.16 – CROSSFIT + 2.5 MILE WALK

WARM UP
A: 4×250 m row
in between:
10 pull-ups
10 push-ups
10 squats
10 dips

STRENGTH
A: 5 rounds:
Goal is 15 Deadlifts per round
10 box jump in between
Weights:
30-40-50-60-70% of 1 RM
Rest period is little to none
Then:
7-7-5-5-3-3
50-60-70-80-85-90%
Push Press

CONDITIONING
15 minute AMRAP
15 Toes to Bar
10 Med Ball over Shoulder toss
200 m run

WEDNESDAY 10.05.16 – REST

THURSDAY 10.06.16 – CROSSFIT + KAYLA ARMS WEEK 19

WARM UP
A: Push Press with bar
Door overhead squats for mobility
B: 2×10 each of
Single arm KB Press
Single Arm KB Swing
Wall Ball shoulder toss
Hip mobility
50 side to side leg swings
50 back to front leg swings

STRENGTH
20-20-15-15-10-10
Overhead Squats
In between each set perform-
1 Rope Climb
or 3 Muscle Ups
40-45-50-55-60-65%

B: Establish a 5RM Bench Press within 6 minutes
Then perform
2 minutes max effort Bench Press at 50% 5RM

CONDITIONING
5 rounds for time:
20 Double Unders
14 SDHP
8 HSPU

FRIDAY 10.07.16 – CROSSFIT + 3 MILE WALK

WARM UP
A: 800 m run
Side shuffles
Toy Soldiers
Hip Circles
3×10 of OHS with PVC
3×10 of shoulder circles

STRENGTH
EMOTM for 18 minutes:
Minute 1: 5 Pause Front Squat
Minute 2: 10 Wall Ball
Minute 3: 20 Double Unders
L1-60, L2-65, L3-70, L4-75%

CONDITIONING
21-15-9
Power Clean
Burpee
Wall Balls

SATURDAY 10.08.16 – REST

SUNDAY 10.02.16 – TRACK SESSION
6x800m, 3 min rest
Each 800 should be broken into 4×200 with varying speeds
First 200m just slower than 1-Mile pace
Second 200 at 1 Mile pace
Third 200 at just faster than 1-Mile pace
Second 200 at 1-mile pace