I’m happy to report I made it through my first day of this 30-day challenge. I’ve decided to wake up at 5am to head to the gym throughout this month. The Rock wakes up at 4am, but he’s lucky enough to not have to work within the operating hours of New York Sports Club, which opens at 5:30am. In case there was any doubt about this, 5am is early. So far before even a hint of sunrise makes an appearance, I think it’s fair to consider 5am “the middle of the night.”

I’ve decided the best way to entertain myself during 50 minutes of cardio on the elliptical is by listening to podcasts. This morning I caught up on some past episodes of the The Moment with Brian Koppelman. There was an episode of The Moment a few months ago (11/9) with Jesse Itzler, who wrote Living with a Seal. That book was the inspiration for this 30-day challenge, so it seemed only fitting Koppelman would help me kick it off.

I did the Chest workout after the cardio, and it went well. These are old-school bodybuilding workouts, something I haven’t done in years. Feels a bit weird to move off of the full-body training I’ve been doing for the last two years or so. The workout was hard. I sweat so much I think I’m going to start bringing a different t-shirt to change into after the cardio.

Eating at the gym

In between cardio and weights is the first meal of the day. It’s awkward eating at the gym. I basically sit in a chair in the lobby area, and consume cod, eggs, and oatmeal. I am conscious as to whether the cod smells as people walk in. Thankfully I’m only there for 8 minutes or so.

I thought that eating then immediately working out would leave me nauseous, but it felt surprisingly good. I got through the workout, and was home, showered, and finished with my second meal by the time my daughter and wife woke up.

What’s that smell?

With this meal plan, I’m eating every two hours or so. On one hand it’s a bit disruptive to have to eat so often. On the other hand, it provides a sort of rhythm to the day. You plan out what to work on for the next two hours, and stay focused until it’s time to eat again. Having three or so solid two-hour blocks of productivity is much better than many other work days I’ve had.

However, I work in a co-working space, which is a big open floor plan. I got some looks as I prepared myself large plates of food three times throughout the day. One of those meals was cod, so I was also worried about the smell of heating up fish in the microwave. I can’t tell if it’s bothering people or if I’m paranoid. I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.

Daily Stats

(Not sure if I’ll post this everyday the entire month, but for starters, this should give you an idea of the kind of intensity this workout involves. It’s also depressing how little I move during the day.)

stats-day1