Well, I was able to wake up again and get to the gym early today! I am really enjoying getting my workout for the day over with. Right now, I am still trying to form the habit of getting up and going to the gym so my workouts haven’t been the best in my life, but the important thing is that I am going and getting both strength and cardio in.

I want to get in the routine for the next three weeks and once I there and “happy” to be there, I will begin adapting my workouts to be more intense and specific. So far, they have been pretty random and I have not pushed myself as hard as I know I can. I want to take this slow and ease into the change this time.

Usually I got balls to the wall and work my butt off for a few months, and then I get worn out and just can’t keep up that level of intensity so I stop and lose all momentum to keep up the healthy habits I formed. I think if I can add a little bit every day or even week, I have more of a chance of sustaining the change.

Monday morning I worked my upper body with strength training, Tuesday was interval cardio, increasing and decreasing both incline and speed throughout and Wednesday was lower body strength training. I joined the new gym that opened up near my house, so right now, I am trying to get used to the machines and figure out the best weight and order I should do my exercises. I am going to give myself a few weeks to finish adjusting before I begin really pushing myself and recording my weight increases and reps.

Once I have created the habit of going to the gym, pushing myself will hopefully be a little easier. Another reason I want to wait a few weeks before I begin pushing myself too hard is I am still getting used to working out in the mornings before work. The thing about working out before work is that I have to shower and get ready afterwards. Typically, I would shower at night after working out and then just get ready in the morning, so working out in the morning is adding a lot of time to my morning routine. I will say that so far I like it, but I am still not sure how much time I can spend at the gym and still make it to work by the time I want to.

The last few days I have actually gotten into work earlier than I would have before I starting waking up to work out, so that is a good thing. Once I figure out how much time I can commit to the gym, getting ready, etc. I will be in a better position to organize my workouts to get the most out of them.

My gym is open from 5am Monday to 10pm Friday then from 7-7 on Saturday and Sunday. Mondays could present a problem since I won’t be able to get in there until 5, so I am thinking of taking Mondays as my rest from working out. This would put me at Cardio Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday then strength training Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. I would normally take Sundays as my rest day so I can just sleep in and relax, but who am I kidding when I say sleep in? That is usually no later than 8 am for me and that is on a GOOD Sunday. I might as well just get into the gym early that morning and get everything done then come home and relax.

I am pretty happy with where I am so far, and yes, I know that it has only really been two days. I have to take this one day at a time, so two days is a good accomplishment. It’s better than one day (trying to be an optimist!).