Good morning! Watch out, it’s 7:45 and I’ve already trained a client, had coffee and breakfast. When I accepted my full-time job at Metro about a year ago I decided to give up all of my early morning classes and clients. I needed a break from going from 5:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. every day of the week. That pace is exhausting and I reached the point where I simply didn’t have to do it anymore. I’d made it to where I wanted to be and it was time to take a step back. I have to admit that it was pretty freeing to have the ability to sleep until 7:30 every day if I wanted to. Before I knew it, 8:30 a.m. seemed like an “early” commitment.
Well, I’m ready to get back to some early mornings. I actually miss being up with the sun and getting a ton accomplished in the morning. I’ve taken on a training client at 6 a.m. twice a week and I’m really excited about it. This was our first week meeting and I am feeling great so far. I have taken on a few new clients lately and it’s been really refreshing. My passion (the thing that I LOVE to do more than anything else) is teaching and training. I absolutely love working with someone and seeing them become stronger and more confident in their abilities. I feel like I need these new clients as much as they need me.
Early mornings have meant getting back into the swing of packing my breakfast and getting my clothes ready the night before. I’ve been on a huge overnight oats kick lately. It’s such a satisfying breakfast and so easy to make ahead.
I’ve been dragging Sullie along wherever I go this week. She’s been a fixture here at the club. I’m so lucky that I can have her with me at work. She’s quite popular and is getting so spoiled with attention. She has been a little grumpy about getting out of bed when it’s still dark and has been taking plenty of naps in my office to make up for it.
I wasn’t able to get home for lunch yesterday due to meetings so I picked up a salad from Reid’s. I love having this place across the street. Best made to order salads in Charlotte. $7.99/lb, unlimited toppings. I actually just learned that a woman who practices at the studio owns Reid’s. Small world! This salad had mixed greens, arugula, chopped boiled eggs, beets, chick peas, oranges, pine nuts, artichokes and goat cheese. And they have the best balsamic dressing.
The owner of the gym made lasagna on Monday and was kind enough to share leftovers with me. I wolfed this down after a hot yoga class last night. I “mmm’d” my way through it and texted her to tell her, “this is why I could never go Paleo. I love cheese and carbs too much.” She amped up traditional lasagna a bit by adding lots of fresh spinach and subbing cottage cheese for ricotta. Delicious! I now want to make a whole pan of lasagna…
I finally restocked on my favorite tea ever, Yogi Green Tea Kombucha. I drink tea pretty much every afternoon at my desk. This was the tea tag on my first cup from the new box and I thought I would share. Nice thought to start your Thursday.
Have a great day! Thanks for getting all the random acts to me. Y’all are awesome.
Early mornings…love them or rather sleep in? Are you more productive in the AM or PM?
Hi Jen! Your overnight oats always looks so yummy! How do you make it? Could you please, please consider putting up your recipe for it? Thank youuu! 🙂
Cheers,
Michele.
Yes, lasagna. Add that to my list of reasons why I can’t go Paleo, too 🙂
you say you get your clothes ready the night before…. what does that entail? I work an office job from 5-1 and typically head right to the gym for 2 to train clients and coach crossfit. most days I am out the door by 4 and not home again until 8:30 at night. I am having a hard time finding a bag that holds all my food/water bottles/clothes/sneakers as well as all my clothing. I also have a hard time deciding how much clothing to bring considering i am a sweaty mess my second 1/2 of the day. Any suggestions?
wow, that is a crazy day!
here’s what i usually do to prep for long days…i have a great lululemon bag that holds my clothes, laptop and even has a pocket for dirty/wet clothes. in that bag i ALWAYS keep an extra set of workout clothes in case i need them, as well as shower stuff and dry clothes to change into to run errands/go home in. i usually pack a separate food/snack bag. when i am prepping for the kind of day you describe above, i always have to think everything out the night before. i lay it out on the bed and make sure that i have everything that i need. it’s a little hard to constantly live out of bags but i’ve gotten into a really good, streamlined routine.
Early morning person. I am always so much more productive in the morning!!
Hey Jen! I love mornings.. but I myself have been spoiled lately into thinking 7-8am is early. I am interested in getting in better shape for my upcoming wedding. Can you send me information about your personal training? Thanks!
yes, i will e-mail you!
I LOVE working out in the morning because after a long day of work, the motivation to workout isn’t really there! lol but sometimes I feel like my body isn’t fully functioning at 5:30 AM :/
i agree! i can’t do crossfit early in the morning but i can usually run or yoga. i love the whole idea of getting it done before your body wakes up fully and figures out what’s going on! 😀
Another awesome post! Love seeing Sullie! I wish I lived closer to Charlotte so that I could benefit from your teaching and strength training 🙂 I can tell you would be such an amazing instructor and teacher!
Have a great Thursday! 🙂
MC
i wish you did too! you know i would love having you in class! xo
I’m definitely a morning person–I love waking up early, working out, and checking tasks off my to-do list. The only downside to being an early riser is I’m totally done doing work (aka my brain can’t function anymore!) when 3 p.m. rolls around. 😉
I live in Charlotte as well and could easily go seriously in debt eating salads from Reid’s. My Mom and I love to grab a salad to split and taker her little Maltese to hang out at Freedom Park. Can’t wait for warmer weather!
I’d much rather get everything done in the A.M. hours too. My husband has been traveling for work so my golden has been grumpy too when I get her up before my morning workouts.
Great quote for you morning! I am such an AM person–that’s when I’m my most productive. I love having that quiet, peaceful time to myself before the rest of the world seems to b eup
I am so much more productive if I get myself up and going in the morning! I usually have one day on the weekend where I get up early and try to be productive so I can sleep in the other day! I am a teacher so M-F I have a pretty set schedule of when I can get up so I like having flexibility on the weekends!
I am preparing a cup of Yogi Green Tea Kombucha right now:) The quotes always put a smile on my face during the day.
Definitely a morning kind of person. I can get so many things accomplished while everyone else is still sleeping. My only hiccup in the process is my sweet 3 year old guy likes to now join me at 5am! Not so productive but we enjoy some quiet time together.
Happy National Peanut Butter Day Jen! 😀
I’m a total morning person…and I could never go Paleo either! Love beans, love cheese, love carbs!
I’m a morning person! I sure didn’t use to be but somehow I have changed that and I love it. I get up at 4:30 a.m. to workout and then my day brings me back home by 4:00 p.m. Even on the weekends I much prefer to get up early and get things done.
I am up every day at 4am to run before work. I work full time and I am a mother to a 7 month old infant and 15 year old. I like being able to have my evenings after work to be with my kids, make dinner, etc… I do designate 1 day a week to do a double run. I will run before work and then go to the gym again in the evening with my husband as our “date night” to run/work out.
I wish we lived closer, because our pups would get along so well! Kala sleeps like that on her bed as well and always looks at me with one eye from her bed when I get up early every morning. 😉 I’m a morning person and am so much more productive with work, clients, and my workouts. It’s getting easier, since it’s getting lighter out again. FINALLY!
I go back and forth on the really early mornings too. Right now it’s appealing again. Good call!
Is there a way to make overnight oats WITHOUT yogurt or is that an essential ingredient? THANKS.
I love early mornings! I wake up at 5:30 during the week and 6 on the weekends, I love the peaceful quiet of the mornings 🙂
I do the same to prepare for every day. I tend to hop from place to place through the day (class, work, workout, etc.), so I need to plan everything out the night before to make sure I have everything. I love that you can take Sullie to work! I am obsessed with golden retrievers ever since I got mine 🙂
I’m usually a morning person, but college is slowly making me more of a night owl. On one hand, I miss that up-with-the-sun, peaceful feeling in the morning, but on the other hand, I’m now on more of the same schedule as my fellow college students, which is good for social activities (I can actually make it through a party without falling asleep!). I can go back to being a morning person once I get to the real world. 🙂
I’ve been on a total overnight oats kick lately, too, even though it’s freezing out! I love being able to roll out of bed with breakfast already made, and I have fun trying new variations. Lately cranberry+ pumpkin + apple butter and cocoa+pb+banana have been faves!
I’ve been loving some overnight oats lately too! I’m not much of an early morning kind of girl at all. Bleh. Must have coffee. LOL Your dog is adorable!! 🙂
I’m definitely a morning person. I love getting my workouts done before the sun comes up – I just wish my trainer was a morning person too. Your clients are lucky that you train them so early!
I absolutely love the tea tag message… definitely saving it as inspiration for later. :o)
I would LOVE it if there was a Golden Retriever at my gym. Probably never going to happen at LA Fitness, where I go, but it would be awesome. I guess I’ll just settle for the Golden Retriever in my house!
I need tips from all of you productive people on how to make myself a morning person…I have tried and tried but my body just says NO. I love the idea of getting things done in the morning but when that alarm goes off…I just want to hit snooze over and over. Envious of y’all!
I am a morning person! I love getting up early! That being said – I feel like I do miss out on a lot by having to go to bed early to support my early bird habit!