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Get Up vs. Sleep In

May 24, 2011 –

I workout in the morning. It is what works for me. Once my day gets going, it is very challenging for me to set aside time to do an hour+ workout. I get home from work at different times every day. We have scouts, sports, and other kid’s activities at night. There are just too many variables in the rest of the day to make working out predictable. The only way I can make my workouts predictable is to get in front of the day. This is even more true when I travel for work.

On the other side of the day, I do not go to bed at the same time every night either. It depends on whether I have work to do or how many activities the kids had at night. And while I would love to tell you I get 8 hours of sleep a night, I usually get 6. Sometimes I get a little less. It is not ideal and sleep is a critical part of our health.

When I first did P90X and was doing significant international travel, I would sometimes only get 3-4 hours of sleep, but I was determined to make every workout. I always favored the workout instead of sleep. It was a trade-off and I am glad I choose the way I did. Knowing that I made all 90 days without missing one workout was one of my biggest accomplishments.

So every morning that alarm clock goes off and there is a decision. Get up and workout or sleep in? This is a really tough when you are just starting out. Here are some of the things that helped me.

1) Make the decision before you go to bed. Do not wait and see how you feel in the morning.

2) Set up your workout area the night before. Put the DVD in the player. Everything. This commits you to your workout.

3) Do not hit the snooze button. When that alarm goes off, sit up in your bed.

4) Do not overthink. Just do it. The mind over matter starts now and will continue when you push yourself in your workout.

5) I have never once regretted doing my workout. You will get the blood flowing and you will wake up quickly.

6) Use that “off day” as a flex day. There are times when I do day flights for a customer meeting. I wake up at 3:30am for a first flight out and don’t get home until the 8-9pm at night. It is very hard to do a workout these days, so I will use my day off.

Trust me when I say this. You will always feel better after you workout. Sleeping in for an extra hour is not worth depriving yourself of your workout. Remember your goals and what you are trying to achieve. Do not let anything stand in your way!

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