Today Wasn't The Day. Is Tomorrow The Day?

I've talked before about how I think in the long run, I'd like to become someone who works out in the morning.  There are so many advantages, and really few obstacles, but the obstacles are tough ones for me.  That's why "Hit the gym in the MORNING before work" made No. 13 on the list.  Keeping the bar low and doing What I Can When I Can, I aim for just one time.  Then maybe I can try once a month or once a week.  And we'll see how it goes.

A morning workout in Des Moines with the 261 Fearless leaders!

In an attempt to conquer this goal, I set my alarm earlier than usual this morning.  The idea was to get to the gym, do SOMETHING for half an hour - maybe use the rowing machine, maybe some strength training - there's a strength routine in my car, in sheet protectors even, along with a pen to record what I actually do, weights/reps.  So I had options.  Not A Plan, but Options.

I had workout clothes laid out as well as work clothes, so that once I got moving I could get dressed quickly and spare myself the torture of trying to pull together an outfit in a rush once I'd returned from the gym and gotten cleaned up.   (I mean, really, let's just assume I'll be running late and plan for it, right?)

And I started the "going to bed" routine at 9:55pm - SUPER early.  By the time all the before-bed crap got done (including laying out all those clothes and determining what I would bring for lunch today), it was 10:30pm, which is still doing pretty good in my book.  And CRAZY early according to The Hubs.

The real trick is remembering the plan, once the alarm goes off.  My sleepy-brain really doesn't grasp the concept of getting out of bed. On auto-pilot, I hit the Snooze button.  And when it went off again, I vaguely grasped why it was going off so early.  Auto-pilot won out again, however, and I screwed around with my phone for about 10 minutes more.  Then I REALLY remembered, "I WANT to go to the gym!  Work is CRAZY!  I work LATE this time of year and then I don't work OUT after!  This is something I WANT to DO!"  And I hopped out of bed.

By this time, it was really too late to make the gym happen.  But I didn't let that stop me.  I put those workout clothes on and took the dogs out for a surprise morning walk.  20 minutes of light exercise is still better than 25 minutes of more sleep, on a day when I've gotten plenty of sleep.

So, failure on completing number 13 this morning.  But a WIN just the same.  Perhaps I'll use those extra morning steps to tackle No. 2 - a BIG and for me quite challenging goal of 10,000 steps on a workday.  And perhaps tomorrow will be the day for successfully hitting the gym before work.  One day, one challenge at a time.  Today wasn't the day.

In an effort to make the next effort a success, let's break this down, shall we?  I gotta figure out how to:

1. Get to bed earlier so I'm not just sacrificing sleep for a workout.  ("easy" fix = go to bed earlier [harder than it sounds, of course.])
2. Get out of bed when the damn alarm goes off instead of hitting Snooze eleventy times. (I'm open to suggestions on the "easy" fix for this one.  This is a lifelong habit I've never successfully circumvented.  I'm convinced the key is remembering why the alarm is going off [and that it's important to me and not just work].)
3. Get out of the house more quickly once 1) and 2) are accomplished.  Seems there's always something between me and the door - dogs need to pee, I can't find a sock, I stub my toe in the dark, something.
4. Get in and out of the gym quickly.  When I workout in the evenings, it's all part of my wind-down after work, so I'm pretty leisurely about changing my clothes in the locker room, meandering to the treadmill, reading through my workout plan and methodically going from weight bench to cables to whatever.  A morning workout needs to be much more efficient.  (And I wonder, more effective?)
5. Still get to work (Basically) on time.  (No more late than usual.)

I'll keep working at it.  Right now, because it's on THE LIST.  I hope, later, because it's What I Do.  It's enough to be working on it because I've issued myself a challenge and I intend to meet it.  I'll find a way to make it work this week, and then challenge myself to do it again.  Today wasn't the day. 

Tomorrow?