The 5 AM Athlete:
Boost Your Fitness Before Sunrise

This week I have successfully exercised zero times. I have run zero miles and lifted zero pounds. I have stretched zero muscles and broken a sweat . . . that’s right . . . zero times. Why? One reason. I didn’t get to bed on time.

Photo Credit: amekinfo

Last week I exercised four out of seven days and was making amazing progress. This week I flailed all over the place, getting a lot done, but paying the price with a lousy exercise routine and little sleep.

5 am Athlete

The only factor that matters is your bed time. You might expect that waking up early is the key, but it’s not. Anyone can wake up early on a random day, but consistency is only achieved with a routine bed time.

I have been fighting to get to bed earlier and earlier for years. At this point I am lucky if I crawl into bed before 10:00 pm, which leaves me with only 7 hours of sleep.

7 hours is enough, but it’s not ideal. If I want to achieve the kind of consistency that makes a 5 am wake-up call a reality, I need to be asleep, not just in bed, by 9:00 pm.

Wake Up, Work Out

When my exercise routine is in full-swing and I am making tangible progress, I literally bounce out of bed, often before my alarm goes off.

By the way, I recently switched to a new iPhone app as my alarm clock and you can read more about that here. It’s sweeeeeet!

The goal is to wake up, get dressed, and start moving your body before you realize what’s happening. Essentially, you could still be half asleep, in a semi-coma-like-state, and run a 5k. I know this because it happens all the time.

I used to think that I needed to be awake for at least an hour and already chugged caffeine before working out would be worth it. I was wrong. You can work out very soon after waking up, especially if your sleep patterns are well-established.

Morning Rituals Work if You Do

I love the idea of a peaceful morning when everything is synergistically flowing like a serene mountain stream. Sometimes, that actually happens. My mornings used to look more like the aftermath of a small tornado, until I realized that I had the power to prevent the disaster.

When I take my mornings seriously, I really do experience serenity. I wake up refreshed, hydrate with plenty of water, exercise with a consistent plan, fill my stomach with a fruit smoothie, and clear my mind by reading or meditating.

I’m fortune at the moment that my wife leaves for work early, I don’t have to be at the office until after 9 am, and we don’t have kids yet. However, your mornings can run much smoother no matter what your home life looks like.

You may just have to set some more restrictive boundaries to make some space for your own sanity.

Step 1

The first, and only, step that matters right now is to get to bed tonight on time. Decide right now that time needs to be and clear your schedule so sleep is a real possibility.

Then, join The 5 AM Club and realize the full potential of what your morning could be.