Working out early in the morning works best for me. It gets me out of bed. It helps me feel energized for the day. Plus, if I don’t do it before work, the day tends to yank control and “later” never comes.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are easy wake-up days for me. I take a cycling class at 5:15am, and I love it; plus, a bunch of the people in the class are my friends. I not only want to take the class, but I want to see my friends! All of this motivates me to get out of bed. And if I’m not there, I know I’m gonna hear it from them. “Where were you Crowley??? Got the keys to slackerville today????” They make sure I’m in class or have a valid reason for skipping.
My problem has been Mondays and Fridays. Wednesdays depended on the week because there was another early morning spin class I liked. But getting out of bed before 5am on a Monday??? Or even better: out of bed before 5am on a Friday, my day off?!?!? It wasn’t happening consistently. I’d still get to the gym, just not as early as I liked, which meant it cut into the rest of my day and plans. Not good.
Enter Katie. Katie is my new Monday, Wednesday and Friday workout parter. Katie is into weights, exercise and health like I am. Katie has the same goals and work ethic that I possess. While Katie actually knows more than I do, I’m more disciplined and consistent than she is. We are the perfect pair. I have a hard time mixing up my weight lifting program; Katie has something new for us every week. Katie needs to be more consistent in her weekly workouts; I am at the gym 6 days a week.
The other day, before going our own separate ways, Katie said, “I’m glad I have someone to workout with ‘cause it gets me out of bed and here.” I couldn’t have said it better myself! “Ditto!!!” was the response in my head. We are currently in month 4 of our early morning, before school, workouts. Prior to this, Katie was an after school workout person, which she could all too easily let slide. I was a morning girl all the way, but could easily hit the snooze one to many times and be waltzing in at 7:30am instead of 5:30am. Now my days are on track because I know Katie will be meeting me. And Katie’s on track and present because she knows I’m there waiting for her. It’s a perfect arrangement.
It’s also what you could call accountability. If Katie isn’t able to make it for whatever reason, she sends me a text or vice versa. We keep each other on track, motivated and encouraged. We push each other to lift more or try new things. We discuss our eating habits (sometimes in shame) and watch each other’s form to make sure we are lifting properly.
Getting to the gym on the “tough” days is no longer tough, and its all because I have a workout partner waiting for me. I have someone I answer to now; someone who challenges me and keeps me on track in the pursuit of my physical goals. We all need this in our lives in some way, shape or form. Maybe for you its with your eating and exercising as well; or maybe it has to do with your church attendance, Bible reading or prayer life. For you it might consist of needing some extra help sticking to your word or giving up that bad habit once and for all. Maybe its in the area of relationships, or possibly in regards to the words you speak, the foul language you use, internet sites you visit or music you just can’t seem to give up. Whatever it might be, consider making the effort to grab an accountability partner. It’s made a world of difference in my workouts; and it just might make a world of difference in a specific area of your life as well.