Becoming an Early Riser

Posted on October 9, 2014

Becmong an early riser has been a challenge since my husband arrives at different times in the early morning (and wakes me with a sweet kiss on the cheek) and my 4-year old insomniac, 10mo old sometimes wake up in the night, but all this week I have been able to roll out of bed and workout at 5:15 a.m. I wake up and Skype with friends. We workout together and post sweaty selfies! Then, I am ready to take on my day! I wake up my second-grader and we get ready to go to school together (I'm a P.E. teacher at her school).

Do you have a workout buddy? Having someone to hold you accountable on this journey towards improved health and fitness, to me, is key. Then, you are no longer in it for yourself, but for your team, no matter how big or how small.

So, today, I challenge you to go out there and find someone who can be your partner in this battle. Choose a warrior, a determined person who will not give up on their goals, or yours. Call them, be there for them, inspire them to push beyond what they think they can accomplish, and SHARE THE GLORY, celebrate together!

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Coach Panama JJ

10/09/2014 6:43AM

And for my friends in the faith:

Psalm 119:148 ESV "My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise."

Proverbs 31:15 ESV "She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens."

Luke 1:78 ESV "Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high."

Psalm 143:8 ESV "Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

Coach Panama JJ

10/09/2014 6:40AM

“The sun has not caught me in bed in fifty years.”
~Thomas Jefferson

“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.”
~Aristotle

“The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning, for forty years, supposing a man to go to bed at the same hour at night, is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man’s life.”
~Philip Doddridge

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
~Benjamin Franklin

“Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.”
~ Lemony Snicket

MandiLynn

10/09/2014 5:51AM

Great idea to skype w/ friends to help you stay accountable and on track! Love that! :) Over the past 1.5 years, I've slowly transitioned to becoming a morning person - and I LOVE IT! Which is something I never would have thought I'd say if someone had asked me, like, 2 years ago. But there's nothing like an early morning run. Just me and beautiful light. No one else really stirring yet. Then I can come and be ready for the day, workout done, coffee in hand, just as the rest of the world starts waking up. So wonderful. Of course, I don't have kids so it's easy for me! You, however, must be a super hero! ;) Congratulations on your accomplishment! :)

Coach Panama JJ

Mandi,
Thank you, my children call me Wonder Woman! LOL! Yes, we Skype and do T25 or PiYo workouts (I am a Beachbody coach). It is so awesome! I dream about doing larger online workout groups with friends around the world, but I must be faithful in the small things first.

I bet it's quite exhilarating to take those morning runs--that fresh morning air in your lungs, the peacefulness of the dawn, the solitude. Once my three kids are all grown, maybe I could enjoy doing that, but for now, home workouts are the best and most effective kind of exercise for me.