I’m training for a run. Because I’m a realist, my run is only 10K (for someone who isn’t really into running, and hasn’t really practised it up until now, I think this is decent). I’m also a pretty busy person because I like people. The thing is, I have a job (this, this is my job, in case any of you were curious), and this job requires 40 hours of my week at minimum. So the only time I’m able to hang out with people is in the evening, after work. I also need to do ordinary things like clean my apartment (my roommate does most of it – sorry Ann!), do my laundry etc., and all this means that mornings are the most realistic time for me to work out because it’s rare that anything comes up or that people want to meet up pre-7am.
So I’ve been running in the mornings, and I am NOT a morning person. By any means. All that being said, I’ve been doing it for about a month now, and I’m getting used to it. Here are my tips for how to workout in the morning when you’re not a morning person, like moi.
Start Backwards
My number one rule for working out in the morning is this – if I haven’t slept well, I’m not doing it. Now I’m not sure if everyone agrees with me on that, but personally, I know a tired Femi is not a Femi that performs well. So I start prepping the night before. I know how much sleep is necessary for me, and I know roughly how long it takes me to wind down for bed. So I count backwards. I try to be in bed by 9pm the night before a workout, (that’s early I know- I’m a grandma), but I usually don’t fall asleep until around 10pm (reading books/blogs, watching Youtube videos), and then I wake up by about 5 or 5.30am to head out for my run.
Make It The First Thing You Do
On a workout morning this is what I do:
1. Snooze my alarm for 10 minutes
2. Use the bathroom
3. Put on my workout gear
4. Leave the house
Basically, resist the urge to go into the kitchen, and whatever you do don’t sit down (you might not get up again).
Eat a Mighty Fine Breakfast to Reward Yourself
I am a breakfast fan (wait, isn’t everyone? If you’re not a breakfast fan you should get that checked out). So after my morning workout, a nice shower and an amazing breakfast are my way of rewarding myself. I go all out. This morning I had pancakes. On a weekday. PANCAKES PEOPLE (healthy ones, it’s actually a super lazy recipe – I do oats with water in the microwave for a leeetle longer than recommended, take 3 big dollops of oatmeal, flatten them out into pancake shapes, fry them in coconut oil, and top them with honey, turkish yogurt and banana). But basically what I’m trying to say here is TREAT YO FINE SELF. If you worked hard, reward yourself. You earned it.
That’s it friends. There is no magic serum, I don’t drink coffee or take pre-workout, I just try and put everything in place so that it’s possible for me to workout in the morning. If the girl who hates working out (can I still call myself that by the way?) can do it, you can too.
– Femi, The Girl Who Hates Working Out
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