Week 2

Today marks the start of Week 2 of getting up at 5am to workout and it's really working for me!

I was in bed reading by 8:30 last night and the lights were off by 9:15. I hopped right out of bed this morning when the alarm went off. Sometimes, I have trouble wrapping my head around the idea that by 8am, I've already been up for 3 hours!

I'll admit that towards the end of last week getting up wasn't as easy as at the beginning. I've had my alarm set to play music instead of its annoying beep and I was a little worried it wouldn't wake me because Chris' alarm doesn't wake me. Instead, the music gradually wakes me up instead of jolting me out of bed and it's been nice! Unfortunately, when the alarm went off on Thursday, the DJs were talking and Chris elbowed me to turn it off so I jolted awake like with a beeping alarm - not so nice. :( On Friday, I woke up at 5 with the shakes so I crawled back in bed and got up at 6 with Chris; I didn't work out that day but did take a little nap on the couch downstairs while the four of us were hanging out down there. I needed it!

There have been quite a few benefits to getting my workout done in the morning and not too many cons.

I don't spend all day worrying about when I'm going to be able to fit in a workout.

I'm awake before the kids and I'm able to have at least an hour to myself before facing their endless energy first thing in the morning.

It sets the tone of the day for me - I'm more likely to eat well all day when I've started the day off with a workout.

I'm more productive! By 8am, I've worked out, showered, gotten dressed and gotten the kids and myself breakfast. With my previous schedule, we were lucky if we'd finished breakfast by 8! Now, if we have errands, we can get out of the house earlier. I have more time for playtime and I'm able to fit chores in more easily.

Although I've never really had an issue with my water intake, I'm definitely getting more water now. I've already had 3 cups shortly after my workout and usually drink 2 full Nalgene bottles by the end of the day (until last week, I thought my Nalgene held 4 cups of water and it actually holds 5 so I've been drinking more than I thought all along). Add to that a cup or two (or three) of tea and that equals a lot of time in the bathroom! That may be the only con I've found to getting up early and it's really not that bad.

The hardest part to waking early is getting to bed early but it's just because I'm not used to it yet. My goal for this week is to be ready for bed by 8pm and in bed, either reading or ready to sleep, by 9pm.

Am I on my way to becoming a morning person?