So… I’m not much of a morning person when it comes to working out, but dinner plans with friends necessitated a morning trip to the gym. Skipping my workout was out of the question, as Monday sets the tone for my whole week – if I skip the gym once, I’ll find excuses to skip again. (Same goes for my diet, unfortunately!)

Much to my surprise, I felt awake and refreshed when the alarm went off at 5:45am. This is probably a residual effect from my long stint working two jobs, as I’d become pretty acclimated to waking up at 2am and having my brain functional for writing.

When I arrived at the gym at 6:15am, I was thrilled to see how EMPTY it was. Literally, almost every machine was available to me, something that rarely happens when I go after work. I decided to take advantage of this freedom by cardio-hopping, spending 5-15 minutes per machine and switching the moment I felt the boredom set in.

I did a little over 60 minutes of cardio, jumping from the elliptical to the stairmaster, stairmaster to the treadmill, treadmill to the bike, and bike to the rowing machine.

While I admit my flexibility and endurance is a bit less in the morning (still waking up slowly), I felt good. I burned a little over 625 calories and got home with plenty of time to shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for work.

The perks of working out in the morning are numerous, but is it enough to get me out of my warm, cozy bed tomorrow morning? Let’s see!

Bon appetit, my friends!
~ Tori