Waking Up Early and Gym Experience: Review

The time has come. The most expected post of the year is here because I finally did it. I woke up earlier and went to the gym before starting my job.

I write this post to relate my experience, my thoughts and the pros and cons of doing this to me. Needless to say (even though I am doing it), this is only my personal experience and it doesn’t need to be the same as others (spoiler alert, is not).

On a previous post, I listed a few habits that could help you be successful in your life. Going to the gym at an early hour wasn’t one of them, but I mentioned how someone assures me it was a great idea to improve self-discipline.

I was curious about that and decided to try it for a day and see the results. So there we go:

I am not a gym freak, I usually go and do some stretches and a few exercises, no more (very little cardio). Usually, I go on my lunch break, so I never spend more than 30 minutes in there. This time, I woke up at 6 a.m and put on my gym apparel in order to skip that step when I arrived. I just had a banana, as I didn’t want to be with an empty stomach while doing my exercises. I felt weird from the moment I went out, like a ghost.

It wasn’t too dark and I wasn’t too tired. But still, I had the feeling that I wasn’t supposed to be “awake by then”…

I know this sensation fades after a few days doing the same and creating a habit. I took the train (my gym is close to my job, not to my home) and to my surprise, it was full. Some people work far away, and they need to take the tube very early to do their commute. Also, I was wrong if I thought it would be a very quiet trip. On the other hand, it was not AS FULL as it is when I take it every day. But however, just enough to be unable to sit.

I arrived to the gym and my biggest disappointed took place: it was packed.

I guess it’s also amazing, it says a lot of good things about the people that wakes up that early to get fit, but it was a hassle to not to have space to in the room to do my back exercises. After wandering around looking for a piece of space to put a mat and do my stretches, I gave up and spent some time on the cardio machines. Just doing other exercises that weren’t in my plans while spying the “stretches area”. I saw a couple leaving and went for the third time to see if there was a place to me. I found somewhere and stayed there until It was time to leave. Most machines in the “weight lifting area” were full too.

As time went by, the place began to calm down. The problem is, I couldn’t enjoy the calm because I had to leave too. Once I sat at my desk, I wrote down and organized my plan for the day. I felt a lot more awake than usual, and my body was feeling relaxed. It was nice to know that I had one less thing to do that day, which made me feel more productive with other tasks. I was more active for the rest of the day, but also a LOT more hungry than I usually am.

Long story short:

The experience was okay, not too bad, not amazing either. I won’t do it again anyway. Because waking that early to walk around a full packed gym is not really worth it for me. I knew I was going to feel relaxed, and deleting my exercises from my to-do list first thing in the morning sounds appealing. But I can do them from home too, or at my lunch break. When the “stretching and weight lifting areas” are half empty.  The experience wasn’t as amazing as I expected because some benefits that I was hoping to experience were not possible. Like having a quiet journey in an almost empty train. nope…or arriving in an empty gym and do my exercises without waiting. Not possible either.

The experience could have been different I had been in a different gym or a different part of the city. Your experience could definitely be a lot different from mine. If you are an expert in this matter or want to try it for once, go on and let me know how it goes. I am sure doing this it has a really positive effect in the long term!