Exercise first thing

Is exercise the first thing on your to do list or the last - if you get round to it?

I do have a number of set days when I like to get to the gym - Monday & Wednesday evenings - straight after work and Saturday mornings. It's not a bad routine, except it can lead to what I call - falling prey to other people's needs.

The "other people's needs" go something like this:

Someone needs me to fetch something, or go somewhere - and because I have this guilt trip thing running through my mind, I usually cave in and do whatever needs doing - which then means I've lost my exercise time.

Unfortunately, I can also talk myself OUT OF driving to the gym and exercising, telling myself I'm tired, I can walk in the morning.... blah blah blah.

It's all rubbish, and it's got to stop - I need the space that exercise gives me. I sit for so many hours every day that I do NEED the physical exertion. In fact I need to do more exercise - not less.

So one thing I have been experimenting with - is exercising first thing in a morning. Alternating walking days with gym days. Yes it means getting up a little earlier than normal to exercise in a morning. But it does seem to clear the mind and get the brain ready for the day's mental activities.

Exercising first thing in a morning isn't easy though, especially when it's cold, wet and windy (and it won't be long before we hit winter down under) - but if you can switch off the alarm, get dressed and start moving, by the time your brain has woken up to the fact that you are exercising - it's too late.

Now I'm not saying that exercising first thing in a morning is your thing (i'm not even sure it's mine - yet) but I am willing to give it a go so that I can get into the habit of exercising every day.

How about you?