Early to Rise

During the months when it is semi-decent outside (for me, roughly May through October), I love to run outside!  There are tons of great trails in our community, and even our neighborhood has a great route that I use too.  I usually sign up for races in the area as something to “train for” and to look forward to.  One of my favorite races this year was the Biggest Loser 10k.  I got a LivingSocial deal for a great price, and it included VIP status, so my friend and I snagged it up and enjoyed the run, entertainment and general awesomeness!

But as the temps start to drop and snow will soon arrive to signal winter, I realized that it’s time to get my indoor workout plan in place.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had the “I can’t do AM workouts” mentality. After all, who wants to leave their warm, cozy bed to get up before the sun and physically exert themselves?!  I tried it a couple of times, but felt that I always needed to sacrifice additional sleep time to let my body “wake up” before I started my workout.  Plus, I had to eat something or I’d get all shaky and trust me, it wasn’t pretty.  But I really wanted to make AM workouts work for me.  Because let’s face it…I am way less motivated to do a workout after work when A- I’m exhausted from work B- it’s dark outside by 5pm and C- the ever-inviting couch and primetime sitcoms/reality shows are calling my name.  So, I tried a morning workout the other day and didn’t die!  WIN!  It was so nice to be done with my workout for the day, and I found I made smarter food choices throughout the day so I didn’t cancel out my hard work that morning!  And I was so much more alert throughout the day AND had so much more free time after work since I didn’t have to workout/shower, etc.  I’d say it’s *almost* worth it! :-)

(Plus, it helped that I had my new pumped up kicks to get me through…I was due for a new pair and wanted to get some snazzy ones…I think they definitely make a statement!)

Usually, treadmills runs are so boring…like being on a hamster wheel.  Often times, I get bored a couples months into the winter and want to join a gym or just get lazy and put on some winter pounds.  But not this year!  We have a great treadmill in our basement, and I’ve got a plan!  I found these awesome treadmill workouts from the ever-incredible Iowa Girl Eats blog.  (Seriously, you need to check this blog out.  You’ll thank me later. #midwestrepresent) I’ve already done three treadmill interval workouts this week and I’m hooked!  I sweat so much more and feel like I’ve really worked hard versus just running at one incline/speed the whole time.  For my morning workout, I did this routine five minute climb treadmill routine:

I hope to try this whole morning workout routine three days a week- Mon/Wed/Fri (ok- maybe two…baby steps!) and then do evening workouts on Tues/Thurs so I have weekends free to relax.  Depending on the day, I will either do a run on the treadmill or one of my Jillian Michaels DVDs for strength training.  But if I have a work event or plans with friends during the week, I have the flexibility to do a weekend workout.  Sounds like a plan to me!  Winter is NOT going to stop me this year!

So what do you prefer…AM or PM sweat sessions?   Any good tips on how to make morning workouts work for you?