Early Morning Gym

I dreaded the first week back at school.  During the holidays, I became accustomed to waking up at 7:30 and having a leisurely morning.  Going back to a 5:30AM  wakeup and a work arrival time of 7:30 did not seem at all pleasant.

In addition to that, I wanted to make some time to exercise more.  I loved going to the gym last year before work.  Why not try it again?  I convinced my friend Chelsea to meet me and we started back last Monday.  I made it to the gym Monday through Thursday of last week! And while walking in the doors of LA Fitness at 5:50AM is not an easy task, my drive out of the gym is the most relaxed and one of the favorite times of my entire day.   I thrive on that feeling of accomplishment/

If you have every considered going to the gym in the AM before work, here are my secrets to getting out of the house.

Secret #1:
   I have to pack my gym bag the night before.  I can't pack it right before bed either, because I get too tired and somehow convince myself that sleeping in the next day will be more rejuvenating than going to the gym.  Therefore, I aim to pack my bag at about 7PM each night.  My usual gym routine is either spin from 5:45AM to 6:30AM or I visit the treadmill for a brisk 30 minute walk.  I then shower and get dressed for work in the locker room at 6:35AM resulting in getting out of the gym by about 7:10AM.

Here's my bag:

• Towel (I have forgotten this before and had to dry off with paper towels.   Never want to repeat that)
• Small makeup bag (with deodorant)
• Brush
• Hairspray
• Toiletry shower kit.  I always keep this packed.  It has shampoo, conditioner, body wash and a razor.  I purchased this kit from Target and it has a small hanger inside that I use to hang the entire kit off the shower bar.
• Work Clothes
• Shoes (I have almost forgotten these too, but have thankfully never had to wear gym shoes to work. 

Secret #2

I put the packed bag in my car.  It is much harder to wake up in the morning and go dig out everything I need for the day if it's downstairs in the garage. 

Secret #3

I lay out my entire gym outfit on my dresser.  This way, I can wake up at 5:15, stumble into the bathroom when I am still half asleep and simply grab the pile on the dresser on my way there.  I usually get dressed in the bathroom with my eyes still partway closed.  This takes relatively no brain power, so it works for me in the morning. 

I can usually wake up at 5:15 and be out the door in 20 minutes (including packing my lunch).  It works...or has worked for a week.   Here's to next week :-)