In Defense of Morning Walks
For years, I was a morning person (until I wasn't). After trying and failing to reignite my ability to jump out of bed, I found an unexpected strategy—morning walks.
For years, I was a morning person.
I would pounce out of bed at 5:30 to shower, shave, and eat. I'd then race my car to the local bus stop to hop on the 5:50 bus to Denver. Sometimes, I'd even scheduled 6AM Skype calls while sitting next to someone trying to catch a few extra winks during the sunrise.
It was awesome. I felt invincible.
However, in this season of life (startup founder with young kids), I find it harder to jump into the day with the same vigor. My overall energy is lower, and I sleep fewer hours each night. Sometimes, the one doing the pouncing is my 4-year-old screaming, "DADDY...It's time to get up!"
Over the past year, it became clear that my strategy of sleeping in was not working out.
Sure, I might get an extra 30-60 minutes of sleep. However, that gain was erased by how much stress and chaos I felt reacting to the next 30-60 minutes of being awake.
It was time to get my day off on the right foot... literally.
Honestly, I never used to like walks.
When I exercised, I wanted it to feel meaningful. An hour of punching a boxing bag or cycling hills on Zwift would exhaust me to the point of laying in a pool of sweat. This felt wonderful. It felt like I worked my heart out.
Walking used to feel like phoning it in. Does it even count as exercise if you're not sweating?!
I've changed my mind these last two months.
I started an experiment. Just like when I used to leap out of bed around 5:30 to drive to the bus, now I leap out of bed, throw on my shoes, and power walk a 30-minute loop in the neighborhood.
The first 5 minutes suck.
The next 25 minutes are incredible.
The beginning sucks because my body is walking but not waking (yet).
I spend the first two minutes with deep breaths at a brisk pace.
At about the 5-minute mark, something magical happens. My brain starts to wake up, my energy starts to increase, and my mood begins to lift.
By the end, I'm ready to jump into the rest of my morning routine:
Reviewing my plan of attack for the day.
Doing 1-2 rounds of Wim Hof breathing.
Ready for 5-10 minutes.
Journal for 5-10 minutes.
The morning walk alone is good.
But doing all of these basically guarantees a great start to the day.
Sometimes I try to take a short cut. What if I just skip the walk and do the rest? Unfortunately, every time I do this I find it hard to keep my motivation and energy up. The temptation to go back and lie down is still there. But after a morning walk, it's too late to do that. I've committed that the day has started, and the only direction is forward.
This may be a permanent fixture of my morning routine, but my goal is to walk at least five mornings a week for at least the rest of the year.