BrightRock’s Change Exchange platform, Cath Jenkin shares how she’s beating her natural desire to go to bed late and get up long after the sun has risen, and prioritise early morning exercise.

 How to make exercise a priority this summer

As the year treads ever faster towards its end, it’s time to lace up those running shoes and spring into action.

 

We only get to enjoy about five days of Winter in Durban, but the too dark mornings and too late sunrises turn me into some sort of urban sloth. I’m all for adjusting to the seasons, but my Winter Self and Spring Self are two very different animals, often working against each other. I know I have to emerge from beneath that fluffy blanket sometime. Perhaps I should explain: I’m an early riser on purpose, not by desire. I am a night owl by desire, and an early-to-bed worm by purpose.

 

Managing work, a kid in school, and maintaining some sense of sanity means I’ve had to make sleep a priority over late night work, and man, it burns my soul sometimes. But I have to do things this way, or else it all falls apart. Going against my own natural night owl tendencies is made doubly difficult in winter. That’s why a new season brings me a sense of relief. It makes it easier to be up and about, when the sun is too.

 

First up, I got myself a walking buddy. Morning walks make me think better, move faster, and calm the rushing thoughts in my head. So I walk with my walking buddy three or four times a week. Double motivation to lace up when I wake up. We also installed a pull-up bar at home. I’m about as likely to take to that hobby as I would to making origami in a hurricane. Everyone else seems to be enjoying it, but I’m not about to hoist myself up it again.

 

Nonetheless, we’ve each been moving towards a new Spring idealism, albeit in different ways. Life has changed so much, and we’ve settled into that new life we were aiming for. By luck and chance, a good friend was selling their Xbox for a bargain. I snapped it up as fast as I could. Little did I know that the universe was conspiring towards my Spring plan too, because the package included two exercise games. I’m a big fan of doing your flex and stretch at home. A gym is not for me.

 

Now that the sun’s up earlier, and the year is winding down towards its annual panic, I’m ready. There’s a 10km race with my name on it coming up soon. it’s time I shifted off this chair, laced up my sneakers, and went for a walk.