Whenever I run into someone who actually rises before they absolutely need to in the morning and then proceeds to work out – all pre-coffee – I ask them how they do it. Many of their responses are along the lines of:  you get used to it, you realize it’s the only time you have to get a workout in, you gradually progress until it’s not as difficult…which all sounds great, but as we, the groggy grumpy morning folk know, it’s all much easier said than done.

I asked a trainer at my gym the same question, and he said, you just have to get up, eat something, and go.  I found this to be so easy for him to say being that he’s cut from a Men’s Health magazine and he teaches classes every weekday morning at 6 and 7 am.  Then I got to thinking, the real answer is that it is his J.O.B. to get up that early and workout.  He gets paid to get up early and workout.  If I have a job or gig that requires me to get up at 5:30 am, I do it too, without question, because my job requires it.  Then the next thought:

Getting fit is my job.  I don’t get paid for it, but it’s just as important as the job that does provide me a paycheck.  Every workout is an investment in my health, a preventative measure to avoid future calamities.  Every time I keep my heart rate up for 30-60 minutes per day I’m elevating endorphins, getting fitter to feel better for every day beyond that, to live an even more enjoyable existence with more energy and less worry about my health or whether or not my back fat is showing.

I once again have to quote my high school tennis coach: tennis (or any workout) is 90% mental and 10% physical.  If I can apply the same high work ethic that I do my main job to my mission to get fit, then real change will happen.