First Thing in the Morning

I was never a 'morning person'.

Am I now? 

I get up early every day but I wouldn't say I'm a morning person.

Do morning people just get up naturally without an alarm?

Do they enjoy being up and shaking off the cobwebs and going right for the coffee?

I don't know and it doesn't matter.

What matters is getting up early can be a great habit to help you get much more done in your life and this includes your workouts/nutrition.

I used to think morning workouts were impossible. But now I never train later than 10/11 a.m.

What you do first in the morning sets up the day. It's like laying down the foundation. Doing it properly so the rest of the work will follow suit.

I can hear the complaints already. I hear them often from clients before they begin training with me.

You're not a morning person. Isn't it better to eat before working out? I can't eat that early, I'm not hungry. It's still dark out. It's cold. I have to shovel the driveway. Get up earlier. Leave home earlier. On and on..

Do what you want but I'll tell you this-- if you have trouble with finding time to workout or with being consistent then working out first thing in the morning may be the best change you can make right now.

And I mean right now. Not for the next holiday. Or summer. Or after you get all your ducks in a row. (what does that mean anyway?) 

But RIGHT NOW. Take action. Decide right now that tomorrow you will get up an hour earlier and eat something light and then go to the gym or your garage. Get in a half hour session. Warm up for a good 5 minutes with bodyweight exercises/calistenics then do some weight training.

Finish with some more calistenics/bodyweight training for a few high-paced circuits. See how much better your day goes.

You will be hungry earlier in the day.

You will want to go to bed earlier.

There will be slight changes.

All for the better.

Even if you aren't a morning person, whatever that means. Try it out.

You may never go back.  I haven't.

Your Biggest Fitness Struggle

My mind was set. All I wanted was to get my deadlift up to 4 plates. 

405 lbs..

This was my priority number 1.

I pushed my other lifts also but all my focus was on this goal.

Having just one goal will give you tremendous focus.

Laser-like.

And this is a big struggle for most guys I talk to.

No excitement about training. Not looking forward to the gym.

No destination. No plan.

This is for you guys.

For the guys who have a plan and need a break from goals, this is not for you.

So having no passion for training. You don't have thoughts in your head while sitting at work about getting into the gym and crushing pullups.

Or how you can't wait to feel the sweat from your sled pulling after your lifting.

The problem of having no real zest for the physical. For hard training. The work. The grunting. Sweating. Swearing. Moaning and groaning that comes from real tough physical exertion.

What should you do to get it going?

Find something, anything really, that you can get excited about. Maybe it's one exercise you really enjoy because it's easy. Or one muscle group that seems to grow easy for you. Or a good challenge that gets you amped, maybe it's a crazy workout of the day that scares you a little bit.

Anything will work.

The feel of the barbell. The sound of the weights clanging.

The high after your session when you sip on your protein shake as you drive home. A feeling of accomplishment in your veins.

Just get that one tiny flame. Find it. And ride it. Let it take you to the gym. Or your garage or the park. Wherever.

Passion for physical fitness.

It doesn't have to be a gym.

In fact, there are NO limits here.

Anything goes.

But don't let another day, week,  or year go by without making some kind of physical progress.