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The 5:30 a.m. Workout That Will Change How You Live, by Liz Claman


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Liz Claman writes about how she came to work out every day at 5:30am:

I asked CEOs who looked like they were in good shape when they found time to workout. A good 75 percent of them told me they subscribed to the early morning workout concept. Well, forget that, I thought. But then I took a good, hard look at my Outlook calendar. Every minute during the day and often at night, I had swaths of time inked out with work, interviews, speeches, and school events for my two children. The only blank space every single day was from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Oy. Really? Yes, really. I figured I'd try it. I dubbed it "My 5:30 a.m. Workout" because I wasn't in a creative mood. I'm never in a creative mood at 5:30 a.m. and I'm suspicious of anyone who leaps out of bed at that hour saying "hello, world!" with a big smile.

...

In the beginning when I was so tired, I thought, "I can't wait ‘til the triathlon is done so I can stop this meshugennah effort."

But you know where I'm going with this: I never stopped. To this day, four years and two more triathlons under my belt, I'm still waking up 30 seconds before that clock radio goes off. I've altered the workout a bit. I recommend shaking it up and finding out what works best for you. I take a 6 a.m. spin class at Flywheel two to three times a week, and on the other three days, I’ll do 50 minutes on the elliptical machine and then a series of weights for another 10 minutes. Done by 7 a.m. -- don't forget the Dunkin’ -- and then I’m so good to go all day long with a metabolism that’s kicked up to a higher level. It’s an extremely efficient way to get your workout in. I know that some of you might say, "This isn't ground-breaking. A lot of people workout in the morning.” But I've found that in the working world, when I tell people I get up at 5:30 a.m., a lot of them say, "I could NEVER do that." I guess all I'm trying to say here is yes, you can. If I can, you can.

I can see why you might be hesitant. But if you can pull this off, you can ramp up your mental acuity and your muscles to win your own personal race. 

Viewed almost 300,000 times on LinkedIn Influencer Network.

I like that she mentions Dunkin' Donuts in the middle of describing her workout routine.

That's dedication!  But can she really justify a doughnut?!!

And does she really bike in jean shorts?

looks like she bikes with her iPhone too!

Heh heh. She does, and that's not necessarily a good thing. Better to bike with no distractions!

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