Dark Mornings, Still Show Up

The clocks just changed. Now it's dark when you wake up and dark when you leave work.

I see it every year. Right about now, people who were crushing it in the summer start skipping days. Not because they quit. The couch just feels better when it's 38 degrees and pitch black outside.

I get it. Here's what I tell our members.

1. Decide the night before. Pick your class. Lay out your gym clothes where you'll trip on them. Fill your water bottle. The less you have to think at 5 a.m., the more likely you are to go.

2. Lower the bar on purpose. Some days you won't feel it. Fine. Tell yourself you're going for ten minutes. Most days you'll stay for the whole hour. If you really do leave after ten, you still beat the couch.

3. Get light early. Step outside for a few minutes when you wake up. Turn on every light in the house. Your body wakes up faster when it sees brightness, and winter mornings need the help.

4. Bring somebody with you. It is a lot harder to hit snooze when a friend is waiting in the parking lot. That's half of why a gym community works. Somebody notices when you're not there.

5. Pick a floor, not a ceiling. Three days a week. That's it. Not "every day or nothing." Hit your floor in November and December, and you'll walk into January ahead of everybody making a fresh resolution.

Nobody feels like it. You show up anyway, and the people around you make it easier.

The dark months are where people quietly get stronger than everyone else. Show up when it's hard, and spring takes care of itself.

Not sure where to start? Come see us at Erie Shore Athletics and book a free consult. Can't make it in? Online coaching with me gets you a plan and someone to check in with.