What do you do when your alarm goes off in the morning?
Do you hit the snooze button, waive the white flag, and demonstrate a clear sign of weakness…
…or do you spring out of bed and attack the day with an enthusiasm unknown to most of mankind?
What happens next?
Do you hit up Starbucks and grab a large mocha choka latte and “whatever looks good” in the glass container…
…or do you set the tone for the day with something healthy that demonstrates a clear sign of strength, power, and dominance?
You see, each day we have an opportunity for success from the moment we wake up. Those decisions we make first thing in the morning set the tone for the rest of day…
If you can’t make good decisions at the beginning of your day when your willpower and discipline are at their peak levels — you’re in for a rough day.
Now, I’m not perfect and sometimes I screw up just like everyone else but over time I’ve built up a pretty good morning routine that gets my ass moving at 4:30 am each day.
Today, I’m going to share my morning routine with you in the hopes you can steal some of my better habits to make your day awesome. Hopefully, a few of you will comment below the post and give me a few of your best tips so we can learn from each other 🙂
1. Never ever hit snooze
This should be a no-brainer. Research has shown time and time again that hitting the snooze button makes you feel worse and you actually feel more tired than if you had just gotten up in the first place.
It’s science.
If that’s not enough, think of the psychological damage you do to yourself when you demonstrate a clear sign of weakness and tell yourself and the world that you’re not up for the challenge… you’re not ready and you can’t get up.
It’s lose-lose.
If you want to be successful at anything in life, you must take action. If you want to take action, you’ve got to get your ass out of bed. It’s a classic if-then statement for all you computer science nerds out there:
If (I Want to be Successful) Then
Don’t Hit Snooze;
Get Ass Out of Bed;
Take Action;
To put it another way…
“Get up you son of a bitch cause Mickey loves you.” – Rocky V
2. Pop some pills
After brushing my teeth and washing my face I do what any healthy red-blooded American does… I pop some pills.
I want you to think of your body like a car. Before taking off on a long road trip you must fill the car with some premium fuel if you want to go the distance without having to stop and refuel.
You see, we live a non-stop world that’s constantly connected where sleep and rest are undervalued and in short supply. Long hours at the office, working out, and running around all day takes its toll on your body.
You must give your body the fuel it needs in order to function at peak levels, stay strong, and remain healthy. If you break down or get sick, guess what? The world keeps moving. Your responsibilities don’t take a vacation. You still need to pay your bills, do your work, and support your family.
In order to keep my body happy, healthy, and performing at peak levels I take the following supplement stack first thing in the morning:
- Viva Naturals Omega-3 Fish Oil 4g
- Viva Naturals Vitamin C 1000mg
- Now L-Lysine 500mg
- Nature Made Vitamin D3 5000 IU
If you want to know exactly why I take these supplements, click here to download my free guide to supplements that actually work without breaking the bank or simply enter your email below and you’ll get instant access to the free video and guide:
Not only will you find out about the supplements above, but I go deeeeeep on my top 12 supplements that I personally take and recommend to my personal training clients. The guide is broken into 3 categories: general health, fat loss, and muscle building.
3. Get Healthy & Hydrated
My next stop is the kitchen where I grab a large shaker bottle and fill it to the top with 26oz of cold water. I then get chug half the bottle before mixing in a single serving of Green Vibrance. Then I chug the rest.
(If you are practicing intermittent fasting, don’t worry — this will not break your fast.)
Chugging water is a little easier than chugging beer like the old college days… just kidding I was always in the library or the computer science lab in college so I didn’t drink that many beers.
Then I cried myself to sleep alone in my dorm room. It’s true, I was a skinny school nerd…
Drinking water, lot’s of water, is critically important whether you want to build muscle or burn fat. As I often tell people, the fastest and easiest way to burn more fat is simply to drink more water because research shows it will help you feel fuller preventing overeating and it also boosts your metabolism.
If that’s not enough of a reason… water also helps detoxify your body, promotes healthy brain function, and helps lubricate your joint cartilage so you stay pain-free.
The reason I drink so much water first thing in the morning is because it’s hard to drink water during the day when I’m busy and sometimes I forget. I’m sure you can relate…
But if I can manage to drink 26oz first thing, I’m waaaay ahead of the game. It’s another BIG psychological win. Now, drinking 100oz for the day doesn’t seem so difficult. I’m already more than 25% to my goal.
(With male clients I recommend drinking 100oz of water per day; with female clients I recommend 80oz.)
With regards to the Green Vibrance, relating back to my analogy in the last section, I need to give my body the fuel it needs to function at optimal levels.
Research shows eating larger quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables leads to a longer, disease-free life yet research and my experience working with 1,000s of clients confirms adults (including myself) don’t eat enough of these.
That’s where a greens supplement comes into play and why it can be a game-changer for you if you add it to your morning routine. A greens supplement is sure to help you better digest your food, absorb more nutrients from your food, prevent illness, and reduce inflammation.
4. Caffeinate & Oil Up
After changing into my standard uniform for the day which consists of Lululemon shorts, socks, t-shirt, and a zip up I move to caffeinate and oil up before doing any work.
And in case you were curious, yes — my shorts, socks, t-shirt, and zip up are all Lulu. I’m a total Lulu label whore… and I love it.
If you are going to get up early AF and get shit done, you might need a firm kick in the pants. Or you might just be addicted to coffee like me and skipping this step will result in brain fog and a headache…
Whatever your motivation, coffee is my next step. Because I’m economical (not cheap) I drink Starbucks Instant Coffee for $0.46 (at Costco) instead of buying a $2+ cup of coffee or Americano from the actual store. Plus, it keeps me from having to walk downstairs and is faster and more efficient.
I add in a few dashes of cinnamon because, well — cinnamon is awesome and can improve your body’s ability to store carbohydrates by up to 29%. Not to mention it was once called the “food of gods” and is a great substitute to using sugar and/or cream to sweeten your cup of Joe.
(If you’ve already downloaded my “Cheat Sheet” Guide To Supplements That Actually Work Without Breaking The Bank — you already know all about the benefits of cinnamon. If you haven’t downloaded the free video and guide, what are you waiting for? Click here to get the FREE guide.)
Next, I add one (1) Tbsp of Sports Research MCT Oil because of two reasons:
- I’m on a bulking program right now.
- This means I’m eating 3,000 calories on my off days and 3,500 calories on my workout days. The extra 125 calories in the AM isn’t a ton but helps.
- I have a very active job.
- You try carrying around 40 lbs dumbbells and racking bumper plates for 6-straight clients while yelling “Two more… no matter what” and tell me it’s not active. Technically, the oil will not break your fast either but keep it to one (1) Tbsp if you are trying to cut body fat.
- The MCT oil doesn’t require any energy by the body to be broken down, it absorbs quickly, and provides a fast but sustained form of energy. It also helps keep my caffeine buzz smooth and steady over the next few hours instead of a quick rush and a crash.
Lastly, I drink my coffee out of my Chicago Police coffee mug because nothing makes me feel more like a man than emulating an act I watched my father do every day for the first 18 years of my life.
According to my dad, “Men drink black coffee.” Additionally, they drink it out of a CPD mug so I just can’t seem to help myself.
5. Promote Positivity
In The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss discusses a concept called “the low information diet.” Tim argues that most of the news we consume is a waste of time and getting rid of this habit will free up our mind and free up our time. He goes on to say that if something is important enough, someone will tell you about it.
From personal experience, I can tell you this is absolutely 100% correct. I never miss a big news story because one of my clients always tells me about it. Instead of wasting my free time reading about it or watching it on television, I can find out about it while getting paid during a personal training session with a client.
Taking it a step further, a 2001 study found that watching the events of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the television was powerful enough to trigger symptoms of PTSD in some viewers.
A more recent study concluded that frequent exposure to negative news led to symptoms of PTSD including anxiety, increased alcohol consumption, depression, and somatization (physical signs of distress in the body).
One of my favorite speakers Les Brown summed this up beautifully when he said,
“We are born negative in a negative consciousness because we live in a negative world. Begin to guard your mind against negative programming, like turn off the television. Don’t watch the news. More people have a sense of hopelessness and anxiety about life by looking at the news. If you look at the news, you cannot feel good. You’ve got to guard the kind of things you put in your mind. If you don’t program your mind, your mind will be programmed.”
Think you’ll just watch positive news?
Think again. Negative news dominates the headlines and it’s not even close. Psychologists conclude this is due to our natural “negativity bias” to pay attention to things that are dangerous or threatening. In other words, negative headlines get clicks, sell, and are more likely to capture your attention.
Knowing that negative news can alter my mood, cause anxiety, increase stress, and impact the way I interact with the world causing me to interpret events in my life much more negatively — I set the tone for the day by listening to something incredibly positive.
This will put me in a better, more positive mood. It will also allow me to take a more positive view of the events in my life so I can see the solutions instead of just the obstacles. It’s incredibly powerful.
While drinking my coffee I like to flood my mind with positivity by listening to something incredibly inspirational and motivational. I like all the typical names like Les Brown, Eric Thomas, Greg Plitt, Jim Rohn, and Tony Robbins although right now I’m really jamming on this new one from Gary V called One Life:
6. Get to Work
Next, I sit down at my desk and grind out some content, write emails, blog posts, or work on my seemingly never complete book called 7-Secrets For Chiseled Abs.
I do this for 90-minutes before taking on my first in person client at 7:00 am. This is another psychological win I need in the morning.
If I don’t do one thing early in the morning to push my business forward or add value to my readers, like you, then I get anxious and struggle to relax for the rest of the day until I do.
Plus, I’m far less likely to actually do it later in the day due to decision fatigue and a lack of willpower. Ever wonder why it’s easier to follow your diet earlier in the day and most of your binges tend to happen in the evening or late at night?
That’s because willpower and discipline are finite resources and decision fatigue overwhelms you after an entire day of making decisions.
If you currently wake up and rush off to work, try waking up 30-min earlier than normal and doing something to better yourself or your position in life like reading a book, journaling, or spending time on your finances.
“Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job you’ll make a living, if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.” – Jim Rohn
If you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur try doing something to push your business forward. Trust me, this will be a gamechanger for you; it was for me and it’s drastically changed my business. It’s the reason I got this post done 🙂
Tell me, what your morning routine like?
What can I learn from you?
Comment below…