Although I love mornings and fantasize about watching the sunrise with a mug of steaming, hot coffee, I feel like this can become a little too ambitious for me. That's why I read more about the routine, watched more Youtube videos about other women's morning routines and learned some tips on how they manage to rise up at an unruly and unforgiving time in the morning.
We all agree - the waking up part is the hardest!
It was a Tuesday afternoon at work that I decided I can do these changes. I read at one point that you can do this gradually - like waking up 30 minutes earlier than your usual wake up time and moving it up until you reach the 5am period. But I also read that it's better to shock your system and just wake up at 5am right away, on the first try!
As crazy as it sounds, I did the latter and I'm thankful for it. Granted it was only the first day of this routine, I was enthusiastic and confident that I can do it.
My alarm went off at exactly 5AM. Before I can have any thoughts of going back to sleep, I jolted myself awake and into action by sitting up and heading towards the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. Boy, did it do a great job at making me more awake. I planned to stack up habits so I quickly made my bed that I don't get tempted to sleep again. I then wore my workout wear which I prepared the night before - an Adidas Running shirt and biker shorts.
Working out was actually one of the main reasons why I wanna do this 5AM routine. I recently decided to become active again by jogging and walking outside, working out indoors to build my strength and even going biking and hiking with family and friends. Prior to this decision, I was working out in the evening when I came home at 7-8 PM. Exhausted from work, I still pushed myself to get in at least 20-30 minutes of workout sessions. So imagine how tired I am by the time 9-10 pm rolls in.
Doing this for two weeks took a toll on my body. I got sick and took a 3 day break from working out just to make sure I'm truly recovered. This made me think of how I can do my workouts better, at a pace that's right for me. Mornings it is! There are a lot of benefits to having morning workouts.
Now, since I decided to wake up early, this only means I have to sleep early too to get at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep. This meant winding down at 8:30 PM, turning off the lights, putting my gadgets aside and just lie in bed to catch some Zzzs. Fortunately, I was able to do this last night because I was too tired from jogging and felt full after a meal and a whey smoothie.
This contributed a lot to waking up early without a fuzz!
Here's what my schedule looked like today:
5: 00 AM Woke up and prepped for Workout
5:08 AM Started working out. I follow Grow With Jo's Morning Workout
5:30 AM Prepared my Smoothie Breakfast and Coffee
5:50 AM Had coffee outside the patio and just admired the sceneries
6:20 AM Jumped in the shower and prepared for the day
7:23 AM Headed out to commute
8:12 AM Clocked in at the office
I had an avocado-banana smoothie with nutty banana whey proteins and maca root powder. I thought I'll be full until noon but that wasn't the case. I felt hunger pangs by 9AM so I went to buy siopao and a boiled egg to get me through the morning. Conclusion - I need to get a heavier but healthier breakfast. Maybe some eggs, greens and meat to make me feel fuller. For snacks, I might need some greaseless nuts - maybe almonds or walnuts - which may cost a ton.
Another plus is that I was able to squeeze in a short Bible meditation with my First5 App. Today's reading was found in Romans 8:28: "And we know that for those who love God, all things come together for good." I plan to insert this earlier into the day while having my coffee. I was too determined not to have any social media distraction during this time that's why I wasn't able to do this right away.
What helps with the waking up?
- Turning off the Wi-Fi on all gadgets before going to bed so I don't get tempted to check messages or emails and scroll on FB and IG mindlessly upon waking up.
- Placing my phone away from my nightstand so I'll have to walk towards it to turn off the alrm
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