I exercised before work every day for a month: Here’s what happened

I’d seen many of these articles floating around the Internet - people who worked out for a certain amount of time, who followed a certain regimen, or reached a certain goal with some rule. “I Tried the 40-Day Ab Challenge, and This Is What Happened.” “I Became a Morning Person With This Daily Ritual.” Et cetera.

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I’m a fitness instructor, and I often hear my class participants talking about similar programs or ideas. Maybe, they think, they’ll get the feeling and results they want from their workouts if they follow a plan. I got curious - what would something like that actually feel like? I wanted the experience so that I could give them honest advice.

I’d never tried a program or anything similar. I’d never done a 10-day challenge, or tried some “one thing every night for killer abs.” I do work out, and I work out often. So it wasn’t like working out every morning before work for a month was going to be too big of a leap (I thought). I was almost there already. So here’s what happens when someone who works out all the time tries to work out every weekday morning for a month.

Holly Van Hare is the Healthy Eating Editor at The Daily Meal with a passion for podcasting and peanut butter. You can listen to her podcast Nut Butter Radio on iTunes and follower her health food Instagram @eating_peanut_better.