Sleep Less. Exercise Early. Have More Energy!

Morning Person - Not Me

I'm not a morning person. I just need to say that up front. Without an alarm, I'll sleep until 9 or 10 in the morning - easy. And I still do this occasionally. When I wake up after sleeping 8, 9 or 10 hours, I think to myself, "I'm going to feel great all day. I just got plenty of sleep."

But that doesn't happen.

Instead, I feel fine throughout the morning, but by mid-afternoon, I'm ready for a nap. So, again, thinking, "My body is tired, so I must need a nap," I'll lay down and sleep for an hour, maybe more. When I wake up, I again think I should feel well-rested. But instead, I usually feel groggy and in a fog. Sluggish. And I don't like it. I'll splash water on my face in hopes the cold water will wake me up. It helps, but I still don't feel great.

Why?

I ask myself that question repeatedly: After getting plenty of sleep and plenty of rest, why don't I feel rested? It seems counter-intuitive.

Consistency is Key

As I've mentioned before in this blog, I need to find a consistent time of day to work out - one that I can do on a regular basis, otherwise I just won't do it. The only time I've found, taking into consideration our hectic family schedule, is first thing in the morning. And by first thing, I mean it's practically the middle of the night when I start my workouts.

My workout routine usually takes 60 - 90 minutes to complete. Given when we have to leave to get my kids to school, I need to start my workout no later than 5:00 or 5:15 a.m., if I want to finish in time to eat breakfast and be ready to leave by 7:00 a.m. At first, when I first set my alarm clock to this time of day, it seemed it would be impossible. Unthinkable.

Wake Up Early - You Can Do This!

At first, I started getting up around 5:30, still thinking how  difficult that would be. And it was. It wasn't easy, by any stretch of the imagination. But my desire to work out on a consistent basis was my reminder that I needed to get up early. The first few times the alarm went off, it was almost impossible. Sometimes I'd ignore it completely and just sleep in to my "normal" time to wake up. And almost every time, regretted getting the extra sleep and not working out. Especially since I didn't feel great when I finally did get up.

But on the mornings that I didn't go back to sleep, I still struggled to get out of bed - at first. I'd have to talk myself into getting out of bed, sometimes hitting the snooze button a few times before actually getting up. But I'd do it. I'd get up, I'd work out and I'd feel great. Once the workout started, I'd feel wide awake. I was focused. I was in a great mood and and I was definitely NOT sluggish or tired or groggy. Those feelings just didn't exist when I'd work out in the morning.

After doing these early morning workouts for a period of time, I thought maybe I'd changed. Maybe I'd become a "morning person" and whether I worked out or not, I'd still feel well-rested and focused.  That wasn't the case. The key to feeling the way I was feeling: the early morning workouts.

Breaking the Routine - Not a Good Thing

I hit a period of time where I broke with my morning workout routine. Through some family situations, it wasn't possible for me to get up and work out in the mornings. I still worked out - usually in the evenings during the week or in the late morning or afternoon on the weekends - but not in the mornings. I got more sleep - back to 7, 8 or 9 hours a night and when I woke up, those feelings of grogginess, sluggishness - they all came back...with a vengeance. Not only did I feel less well-rested, my mood was pretty neutral, too. And I wasn't as focused. Even my self-confidence felt diminished on the days where I would get more sleep and not work out in the mornings.

I don't know the science behind it, other than the chemicals the brain produces and releases when you're working out, but it truly does affect me. To not exercise and sweat and breathe hard and get the heart pumping and blood moving in the mornings, leaves me feeling less myself and less the way I want to feel in the mornings. And the strange thing is, the great feeling I get during those early morning workouts lasts all day, too. My energy level, my focus, my self-confidence, the way I feel about the way I look - all are vastly and noticeably improved when I exercise first thing in the morning.

Counter-Intuitive...But It Works!

It still seems so counter-intuitive. The days that I exercise in the morning, I get between 6 and 7 hours of sleep - not enough, based on conventional wisdom. Yet, I feel better throughout the morning, afternoon and evening than I do on days that I sleep more, but don't exercise.

Since this is only my own personal experience, I don't know if this happens to anyone else. I suspect it does. And I suspect a lot of the people who don't consider themselves "morning people" would feel similar to the way I feel, if they gave it a shot and did it consistently for a period of time.

At first, it's always difficult. You're changing. You're changing your routine. You're doing something you've told yourself you can't do. Or you've convinced yourself that if you wake up when it's dark out, you'll be tired the rest of the day. If you do it and do it consistently, this is simply not true. You'll have more energy, vitality and focus throughout your day. What have you got to lose? Try it for a few weeks and see what happens. You have very little to lose and soooooo much to gain.

What I haven't done yet, to further this experiment, is to see how I feel when I get 8 - 10 hours of sleep and workout first thing in the morning. To do this, I have to get over the hurdle of going to bed at 8 or 9 at night, which might even be tougher than the thought of waking up at 5 a.m. and plus, I don't think I, personally, could go to bed that early on a consistent basis.

I also haven't seen what would happen if I got 6 hours of sleep and didn't workout in the morning. It would be interesting to do, get 6 hours of sleep and do something other than workout. My suspicion is that in the first scenario, I would feel terrific with the extra sleep coupled with exercise. I also suspect I  would feel even lousier and sleepier if I only got 6 hours of sleep and didn't exercise.

My theory is that exercise is the link - the key to making me (and you) feel better.

Tomorrow morning, when I'm laying in bed at 5 a.m. and the alarm goes off, I'll jump out of bed, ready to start my exercise routine because I know how great I'll feel for the entire rest of the day. You should, too.  I double-dog dare ya.

New Beachbody Programs

Beachbody Programs in 30 Minutes or Less

I don't know how they do it. It seems every month or so, there's a new Beachbody program coming out. Each one, targeting a different audience. The latest craze is trying to get workouts done in the least amount of time.

10-Minute Trainer

Tony Horton created the 10 Minute Trainer DVD set several years ago. Each DVD is only 10 minutes long, with the idea being, if you don't have time for a longer workout, you always have 10 minutes you can spare. And if you have more time available, you can do another one of the DVDs. I have the program, but to be honest with you, I've never tried any of the DVDs yet.

T25

Shaun T. has created several Beachbody programs including Insanity, The Asylum, Hip Hop Abs and others. His latest venture is called T25 - a workout program that promises to get you in shape in only 25 minutes a day. While I've only read about the program, it sounds like it can be pretty effective. T25 focuses on Cardio and strength and works you out in 25 non-stop minutes. Some people have said that you'll be reaching for the pause button because those 25 minutes are so intense. Given my experience with Insanity and his Insane 12-minute warm-up, I totally believe it. 5 days a week, 25 minutes a day and in 90 days, they promise you'll see results.

P90X3

Get Ripped in 30 Minutes a Day

This program hasn't been released yet. It's due out in December. But the claim is that you can get ripped in just 30 minutes a day in 90 days. Will it work? I bet it does if you follow the program. And if it's like other Beachbody programs, it'll come with a nutrition guide to help you through the process of eating clean and consuming the best foods to get you in the best shape of your life.

With so many of these programs, find the one that makes the most sense for you. There's not one program that will appeal to all people and it's important that you find one that matches your tastes, your needs and that keeps you motivated so that each day, you look forward to pushing play, doing your best....and forgetting the rest. 

A Program for Everyone

And if you're still confused and unsure as to which program is the best for you, take a look at all the programs Beachbody has to offer. From dancing to weightlifting to stretching to yoga to martial arts with both male and female trainers, Beachbody has a program that will work for you. As long as you decide you're going to get in the best shape of your life or just get into better shape than you're in right now, there's a Beachbody program that will help get you there.

Getting Back Into It

I looked at my last blog post from November 2012. At the time, I was trying to get back into the exercise routine after having had rotator cuff surgery. But it was too soon. At least for me it was. New morning school schedules for the kids, a heavy workload and a shoulder that wasn't quite ready for working out resulted in less than desirable results and I fell off the workout wagon...again.

But I knew I'd be back. And now, I'm back. With a vengeance. And it feels great.

P90X...Again
I started this round of P90X in July 2013, a little over a year after I'd had rotator cuff surgery. As with other rounds I've done, I didn't know if I'd be able to maintain the routine or the consistency I had in the past. But I knew that if I completed 3 or 4 weeks of the program and did it consistently, it would become a habit again and I would look forward to doing it everyday. I was right. Now, I look forward to doing it every day.

I knew I could maintain the routine during the summer months. The kids weren't in school and the only schedule I had to worry about, was my own. I was concerned that once summer was over, I wouldn't be able to maintain the routine. I need to leave the house around 7:00 a.m. to get my daughter to school on time. To get a full workout in, eat breakfast, feed the dogs, make coffee, iron my clothes, shower, shave, etc., I need to get up at 5:00 a.m. Since I'm not a "morning person," the idea of getting out of bed, in the dark, at 5:00 a.m. has never been appealing to me. For me, I have to be very motivated and minimize all the excuses that go through my head when the alarm clock goes off at 5:00 a.m.

Preparation - The Night Before
I prepare for my morning workouts the night before. This is very important for me to maintain my routine. It minimizes excuses and when I wake up in the morning and realize how much I prepared the night before, it motivates me to get out of bed in the morning.

If getting up early sounds impossible, here's what works for me:

1. When the alarm goes off, I remind myself how I've never regretted getting up to workout. This is important. Consider how many times you've finished a workout and thought to yourself, "I'm so glad I did that workout. I feel much better now than before I did the workout." Then consider how many times you've thought to yourself after completing a workout, "I wish I wouldn't have done that workout. I should have stayed in bed (or watched TV or...)." If you're like me, you've always felt better having done a workout and you've never wished you would have done something else in place of working out. Reminding myself of this gets me out of bed  every morning.
2. I get the clothes I'm going to workout in ready the night before. I select the clothes I'm going to work out in and lay them out the night before. In the morning, I don't have to look for clothes I'm going to wear when I work out.
3. I know what workout I'm going to do. The night before, I'll check where I am in the program and will mentally prepare, knowing what I'm going to focus on in the morning. Sometimes I'll take out the DVD(s) that I'm going to use in the morning, so they're ready when I'm ready. 
4. I get the clothes I'm going to wear to work ready. At night, I decide what I'm going to wear the next day. Since I iron my own shirts, I'll do that at night, too. I'll have all my clothes out and ready, so when I finish my shower, I can quickly get dressed for work.
5. I program the coffee maker. We're coffee drinkers, so the night before, I'll program the coffee maker to make coffee while I'm working out. If not coffee, you could mentally prepare for what you're going to have for breakfast the next day, with the goal of reducing what you need to do the next morning. 

The main thing is to consider your own routine, determine what you can prepare and do the night before and it'll take the burden (and excuses) out of the equation. That's it. It's easy enough and once it becomes habit to prepare the night before, over time, you won't even think about it anymore. All this will make getting up, working out and getting ready for your day that much easier. 

Staying in the Routine
This past August, we went on a week-long camping vacation. I knew I wouldn't be doing any of the workouts during that week and I was concerned I'd get out of the habit of working out again. Before we went on vacation, I mentally prepared for the week, knowing I would be out of the routine. I reminded myself I would return to my routine when I got back home, not giving myself the option to get out of the habit. When I returned home and got back into my routine, I repeated the week I had done prior to the vacation and picked up the program from where I left off. I made sure that the day I got back from vacation, I got up early in the morning and picked up where I left off. This approach worked great for me and reinforced the idea that when I'm home, I workout in the mornings.

90 vs 120 Days
I fully expect this round of P90X will take 120 days instead of 90 to complete. And that's fine with me. I'm seeing and feeling the results and that's what's most important to me. I think the idea that there's a point when you're "done" is flawed. I'll never be done. The idea that there's an "end" is great for those who are just starting out. It's a timeframe people can work towards. At the end of 90 days, you will  see (and feel) real results.  But the fact is, once you hit 90 days, you won't want to stop. Once you realize the way you look and feel at that moment is a result of exercising everyday, you'll want to continue with the progress you've made.

I'm now in the middle of Week 9 of P90X. I still have several weeks to go before I finish this round and I'm already planning what I will do once I complete P90X. I'll move to P90X2 and I'm looking forward to working through and struggling and making progress with the new program. Knowing I have a lot to still look forward to, seeing and feeling results everyday and preparing for my morning workouts keeps me motivated and inspired to keep doing more.