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She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Jenn vs. Early Morning Workouts

All of this week, each FBG is focusing in on one aspect of working out and sharing what she loves and doesn’t love so much about it in this special “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not” series as part of Love Yo’Self Week. Enjoy!

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Dear Early Morning Workouts,

We’ve been going out for quite awhile now. But lately, I feel a bit used. I get up oh-so early most days of the week to fit you in, and while I feel absolutely exhilarated afterwards, well, you sure do ask for a lot. And sometimes—I’ll admit—I have not-so-innocent thoughts about the snooze button. And the snugly warm bed. So in order to figure out if this is really working for me, there’s only one thing to do: she loves me, she loves me not!

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Early Morning Workout Pros and Cons

She loves me: I love how energized and focused you make me feel for the day.

She loves me not: I hate waking up in the dark. Hours before most people under the age of 70 are even thinking of getting up.

She loves me: I love how I feel so damn accomplished before my day even begins.

She loves me not: I hate having to warm up the car. Or worse, running late and having to drive in a freezing car.

She loves me: I love driving home and being rewarded with a breathtakingly beautiful sunrise.

She loves me not: I hate the sound of the alarm at 4:45 a.m. Like, really, really hate it.

She loves me: I love the early morning camaraderie at the gym. The can-do spirit, even at 5:30 a.m., when we’re asked to do 50 pull-ups, 50 push-ups and gosh knows what else.

She loves me not: I hate how hungry you make me ALL DAY LONG. 

She loves me: I love how you take my metabolism to the next level.

She loves me not: I hate how you make me need coffee.

She loves me: I love how good you make coffee taste.

She loves me not: I hate how sore I am the next morning when I crawl out of bed, cursing.

She loves me: I love how you’ve changed my body and my life. Above all else, you come first, which means I come first. And, for that, I can’t say thank you enough.

Forget all of the bad things I said, early morning workouts. I didn’t mean them. We’re MFEO!

Love,

Jenn

Are you an early morning exerciser? What would you add to my She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not list? —Jenn

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Comments

12 Comments
  1. D says:

    It’s funny years ago I used to get up at 5 and workout before work, now the thought of it makes me cringe. I got laid off in August, so I am working out twice a day, once when I get up a 30 min workout and then later on in the day an hour workout. But I’m wondering how this will change once I finally find another job.

  2. Stacy says:

    Love my early morning workouts. I naturally awake somewhere between 4:30am and 5am and I love it. I love the quietness of that time of day. I love getting home and everyone else is still in bed as I fix my breakfast. Your last “She Loves Me” says it all! “..you come first, which means I come first..”

  3. Jill says:

    I think that an early morning workout is the only way to go. In fact, even on the days I don’t work, I get up and workout. If you look at the most successful people in life, they all have a morning ritual which includes exercise. My morning ritual includes exercise, meditation, education and affirmations. Why wouldn’t you want to get your day started off right. Have you ever noticed how much more productive your day is when you workout in the morning? Also… it allows me to fit it in. To all of those people who say they are “too busy”… make time for it. I own a business, I help my husband with his business, we have two young children, I cook, clean and continue to feed my mind, body and soul everyday!

  4. Amanda says:

    Thank you for this! I am an early morning exerciser only because it’s the only time I can fit it in. I am the last person on the planet that thought I could get up at 5 am (and have the will power to do at home work outs). This morning was a definite love you/not kind of workout.

  5. TS says:

    Ugh, I like all the benefits throughout the day I get with morning exercise, but I much prefer to sleep. I’d rather exercise after work & before dinner than lose an hour of sleep. Or I could just go to sleep an hour earlier =)

  6. This is funny, we can all surely relate. But it is exactly why I have a great fitness program I can do at home. Morning is my best workout time, and I need to be able to eat a little something, get my eyes open, warm up. There is no time to add in a commute and still be able to start work on time. And there is nothing N-O-T-H-I-N-G I can do at a gym that will transform my body and keep it in a continual mode of improvement like my dear P90X, and that is a LOVE-LOVE relationship! Bringing it in my jammies!

  7. Arleen says:

    Great post! This year I got into spinning and although there are classes every day, I make it my business to get up early for the 5:30 a.m. classes on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Since I don’t work I can easily take later classes (which I do in addition) but nothing feels as good as the early morning spin. Living on the Jersey Shore affords me the opportunity to watch the sun rise over the ocean as I drive home. It’s not only exercise for the body, it’s exercise for the mind!

  8. Lorraine says:

    Love my early morning workouts. When I am out running at 5:15 am, I feel like I have a private and personal view of the morning while the rest of the neighborhood is still sleeping. It’s empowering, invigorating and a great start to the day.

  9. Debbie says:

    Always have loved morning workouts but not so much when I’m injured. I gradually got back to it by doing the PBS Classical Stretch program, early morning and late evening (about 25 min each). Love that they are free too, but it was just the rehab I needed and finally woke up a few weeks ago, pain-free! I purchased some of the DVDs for when (because you know it will happen again!) I need to rehab, be motivated to keep moving, and heal. Love all around–absolutely no hate here!

  10. She loves me: I love how, because I blasted through my workout before the day even began, the end of the day is actually the end of the day, and I can go home and RELAX, knowing I already paid my dues in sweat at the gym.

  11. Sandra says:

    I just stumbled across this post/blog after a google search. I have been working out for the last 8 months… mostly running (well, walking which turned into running). I have been unemployed all that time and decided that I needed to commit or, once I found a job, I’d never do it. So, I did. And, in one week, I am starting a new teaching job about 45 minutes away. Last week, I tried to start getting up early to get onto a new schedule that would fit with my new job and my 4-year-old. I managed it 3 times, and much of this list applied. But, I found that I didn’t have nearly as much energy and motivation to really push through the workouts. Any tips? Those three workouts were infinitely harder than I could have imagined (and one of them I had to stop half-way through).

  12. Tywana says:

    Being in Southern California, one of my favorite things is to get up and work out at the Santa Monica beach around 5:30am and watch the sun rise. There is something quite amazing about it. I have tried to recruit others but they do not share my sheer joy so I float solo but never feel as though I am alone. At that hour, the earth is opening up my soul and every breath makes me feel a bit more alive!!!! Can’t wait til tomorrow!!!

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