5Am club/golden hour/morning routine

Spend some quality time with my cat

This time of year?
Get up 8.45, black coffee x 2, logon for 9

Usually can't be *rsed, but when I can a pre work swim (645 alarm) or yoga (7/715 alarm) feels really good to have done.

Up at 4.45, hour MTB ride the fun way to work, start work at 6.30.

I plan on getting up at 645 tomorrow and be in the pool by 720 but often it's beyond me and the swim session rolls over to after work. I'm not a morning guy although I try

Get up at 8:15, shower, walk to work, get there for 8:30. Just not into getting up early if no need to.

All the 5am crowd are in bed already. Getting ready to gloat about how getting up early makes them superior. Before going to bed at 8pm because they're worn out.

I've gone through phases of exercising before work but it doesn't suit me. I'd rather train at night when I'm properly fueled and not at risk of filling my pants.

My wife has been getting up at 5:30 for years. She sits in the basement and reads, or she exercises. In the summer months she sits in the garden as the sun comes up hove the hills to the east. Personally, I like sleeping till the last possible moment.

Getting ready to gloat about how getting up early makes them superior.

I just do it because it's the only time I can ride as much as I want without not seeing the family. I still go to bed after everyone else in the house. Plus in this climate it's the closest I can get to being cool.

Also, when I used to play sports at night I couldn't get to sleep for hours afterwards. Nowadays I get to sleep much better.

Riding to work 4.45am for a 5.30 ride off:

- a quick weight reduction exercise in the smallest room

- coffee and porridge

- pack my bike bag

1h15m ride to work.

Driving to the bike park next to work 4.30am for a 5am drive off:

- a quick weight reduction exercise in the smallest room

- make a coffee for the drive

- pack my bike bag

- put bike on back of car.

30 min drive.

2 hour ride.

Breakfast at work.

My routine for the last year or so has been...

4.30 get up, have piss, make coffee, do Wordle and the other games from NYT, clean teeth, have shit

4.55 leave house

5.00 - 6ish weights at gym (push/pull/legs/push/pull/core)

6ish -6.30ish 5k on treadmill watching shit on phone

6.40 home, make daughters lunch/breakfast/get her up for school

7.00 shower

7.30 start work at home or go I to office

All the 5am crowd are in bed already

Yep, my body clock knows it's bedtime at 9.30

I have tried over the years, I just can't exercise in the evening so this works for me.

530 up turn on coffee machine

535 empty dishwasher / partner goes swimming

545 clean kitchen / make coffee

600 drink coffee - sneaky internet

615 shower and clean bathroom

630 boiled eggs

645 Make bed / tidy

715 take dog for walk

800 MTB for 60 or ride to work

....

1800 Tea / Clean up or meal out.

1900 Streaming / Scrabble / Internet

2130 bedtime

Not hugely different at weekends. More bike time.

(Excluded any work shenanigans because it changes my day loads depending on where I am.)

I have zero issues getting up early never have. But don't stay up late.

04:00(ish) - get up,

04:10 - breakfast, coffee, berries, danish, documentary or sci-fi for 30mins

04:40 - Dualingo

05:00 - Ablutions

05:10 - Get dressed

05:15 - out on the bike (if commuting) or fire up laptop if at home with kids.

06:30 - work or prepare kids breakfast

That’s me for 5 days a week.

530 up turn on coffee machine

535 empty dishwasher / partner goes swimming

545 clean kitchen / make coffee

600 drink coffee – sneaky internet

615 shower and clean bathroom

630 boiled eggs

645 Make bed / tidy

715 take dog for walk

800 MTB for 60 or ride to work

….

1800 Tea / Clean up or meal out.

1900 Streaming / Scrabble / Internet

2130 bedtime

If my life was that regimented, I think my head would explode.

And by "sneaky internet" is that you being a rebel and having a quick peek whilst you're having your coffee? Shouldn't you be doing that really

05:45 first alarm goes off

06:01 second alarm goes off

06:15 after many snoozes of alarms and wondering what excuses I can come up with for an extra few hours of sleep I get up and make a brew.

06:20-06:45 drink brew in bed, try not to fall back asleep by typing this and thinking of more things I could tell my boss so I can a few more hours more sleep.

06:45 admit defeat and get out of bed, get ready and get out the door for 07:15

11 mins in bed to go

Friends in Australia do this a lot, their Strava often shows them starting rides at 5am.

I did it a couple of times when I was over there. Miss a lot of the traffic plus it's cooler.

That’s why I commute at 05:15 even in the depths of winter.  It’s soo much quieter than even 45mins later.  Makes for a much nicer ride to work.

Weekdays I'm normally up by 4:45.  Quick drink and either out for a run (about 30 - 45 min) or do some strength and conditioning exercises (15 - 20  min).

I like to do something for me, before giving myself over to work for the day.  On the days I run, it also feels like it's really energised and set me up for the day.

For a week or so in spring, I get to see the sun rise over the sea too.  I feel much more in touch with the changing seasons by being out at the start of each day.

As someone else said: it's a brilliant time to be out running as there's virtually no traffic or other people to get in the way!  It also amazes me some of the wildlife I've encountered: loads of foxes, deer and a week or so ago I was tracking an owl hunting for mice along a field boundary.

Weekends I have a lie-in until about 6 on a Saturday.  Sunday is the only day I don't set the alarm.

I will be in the 5am club come summer as one of my dogs likes to wake me up when it is light.

I like it as get animals all fed, have some coffee by 05:30 then go out for a bike ride at 06:00 before all the ****ers are out driving to work.

I miss it in winter as going out at 08:00 is asking for trouble from the must get to work quickly at all costs drivers.

Yes, well maybe, in the the summer months, best part of the day, but this time of year? Nope.

I'm normally up at 06:30, but the best I'll mange is making coffee and unloading the dishwasher. I don't mind getting up earlier in the summer months as I've a decent off-road commute, but this time of year I'll do some meditation*

* staring into the middle distance while my brain catches up with the fact that I've got out of bed.

Harder this time of year but I'm normally a 0600 person most of the time. Coffee, shit and out running with the dogs 3-4 mornings a week. Sometimes I'll bike in the summer. I love that time of the day in the Peak District as you feel like you're got the place to yourself - it's pretty special with a beautiful sunrise and lots of wildlife about and about as close to spiritual as I get. Less so in January when it's dark, wet and windy!

I was out at 5.30 this morning with the dog.
He wasn't keen either.

Riding along the towpath in the dark, someone is stood into the hedge with their back to us all in black with a hoodie.

That was a bit weird.

7am alarm

shower

breakfast & coffee, browse Sky news, sky sports and STW always in that order

8:30 start work

I don’t like to rush breakfast.

Only time I got up early on a regular basis was when doing shift working starting at 5 or 6am.

Alarms currently set at 1 2 and 3 minutes past 7.  I flip my phone over to snooze them until twenty past.

My ex was into this. She was a very active, always on the go type. Set her alarm for 5am to go swimming or whatever.

Also always complained that she was tired / not getting enough sleep.

There is only ever one 6 o'clock in my day.

Csnnot remember the last time in 40 yyears when i chose to go to bed before midnight. It just doesn't work for me.

You'll only catch me up that early if I'm going on holiday and have an early flight

I like sleeping, it's one of the few things that I'm very good at doing.

I used to get up 6am most mornings to either go for an hours swim, go for a 10km run or get a 15mile xc ride in on the way to work. That was quite a few years ago mind and I certainly haven't done it in the last five years. Can't be arsed these days I'd rather get some exercise in after work.

Before going to bed at 8pm because they’re worn out.

What's wrong with going to bed at 8pm?

Up at 5am every day. This is a habit I formed years ago to allow 45mins to an hour for back mobility stretching as my lower back has been ****ed for years. If I'm in the office, I leave at 6.45am and take a longer/more interesting route to pedal to the office. Work 8-6, then pedal home either short route or longer route repeated. Usually in bed anywhere between 8pm - 9pm.

What’s wrong with going to bed at 8pm?

Work 8-6, then pedal home either short route or longer route repeated.

Usually in bed anywhere between 8pm – 9pm.

You don't sound like you have much in the way of time to yourself

Some of these reminded me of the joke:

Man: Doctor, every morning I have a shit at 6:15am regular as clockwork

Doctor: And what’s the problem with that?

Man: My alarm doesn't go off until 6:30am

There is only ever one 6 o’clock in my day.

Csnnot remember the last time in 40 yyears when i chose to go to bed before midnight. It just doesn’t work for me.

Username doesn't check out 😉

It is the reason I keep sheep and not dairy cows!

I think it says a lot about my attitude to getting up at 5am that I saw the thread title and assumed it was about what routine you have when you come home euphoric from the club at 5am.

If Cycling to work then its a 5.40 alarm, snoozed a couple of times. Straight out of bed for a 6.10 - 6.20 set off. in work for 7.30.

I hate it. I'm not a morning person at all. on the weekends I'll easily stay in bed till gone 10. Love my sleep.

I've tried to have structure to my mornings, but my ADHD brain doesn't allow it. I'll stick to something for maybe 3-4 days or a week or 2 if I'm lucky then forget about it or tweak the routine and before I know it the whole thing's out the window.

To make it worse, my dog is super lazy and he hates the rain and dark, so at this time of the year trying to drag him out the house before 7 just isn't worth it.

I envy anyone who can stick to a routine.

You don’t sound like you have much in the way of time to yourself

Maybe on work days, however, the stretching and then the pedal commute is time for myself, and I work 8-6 as I do 4 days a week, so have a long weekend every week. Everyone's routine is their own and suits that individual. That's allowed isn't it?

I can't help wondering if what sc-xc does just before 6:30 relates to what he does just before 4:55.

When you spend 20 years starting work at 430am ( postie) you don’t miss it in your senior years 😬I loved it at the time but I was that much younger .

I'm really crap at waking up. Normally drag myself out of bed just before 8am. I used to cycle to work which meant leaving at 7am to get in for 8am and have a shit and a shower before starting work

I've tried a pseudo commute early in the morning a couple of times but I'd rather stay in bed or start work earlier, finish earlier and go for a ride after work.

Will get up early if I need to e.g. travel for work, holidays that sort of thing.

I work 8-6 as I do 4 days a week, so have a long weekend every week

That sounds much better

For those that do get up really early, don't you feel REALLY tired a few hours in?  I would like to try an early morning routine (especially in the summer) but I just have a nagging feeling that I'd be having an hours kip about 10-ish!

I've been struggling recently, I used to be in bed by 10.45ish, up at 5.30 run/ride/weights before work. But now can't haul myself out of bed.

I've realised it's because of the kids getting older (14 & 16 now) they're not in bed at 8pm anymore, so me and the Mrs aren't getting to settle in until 10, so not getting to bed until 11.30 most nights in the week and getting even 7 hours sleep is a fanciful dream. It's particularly difficult in the winter, and further not helped by the fact that Mrs P is not a morning person, so is happy to stay up later in the evenings.

Come the summer, hopefully I'll be back to it, there have been times on holiday in Scotland in May that I've been up with cows in the morning and at the trailhead before 5am, rode Ae & Mabie one year and was back at the farm with takeaway coffee for 9am.

don’t you feel REALLY tired a few hours in?

WFH sometimes so I may head out at lunch for a walk to freshen up. If I'm in the office I know I'll be busy so it's not an issue.

TBF I used to run city centre pubs/bars for a living so I'd be working 12+ hour days, 6 days a week, often split shifts. Any kind of 'normal' routine after that life is a blessing.

This thread is making me feel unusually worthless. Waking up at 4am to do Wordle or Duolingo?

There is fairly good evidence for your sleep habits being pretty deeply embedded in us although they do change as you age.
Teenagers for example are wired to go to bed later and get up later.

Some people are genetically wired to get up at 0 stupid hour and others arent. So just getting up earlier may well just make you utterly miserable if you are wired the other way.

If you do try and change it then you need to do it slowly over time and pay as much if not more attention to going to bed earlier.

Since I've stopped drinking, I'm obviously waking up fresher/easier in the morning - usually anywhere between 5-6, regardless of alarms.

But, when drinking, I'd habitually stay up till around/gone midnight - now, I'm in bed for 10, asleep by 10-30-11 at the very latest

This thread is making me feel unusually worthless. Waking up at 4am to do Wordle or Duolingo?

I would take some of the virtue signalling posts in this thread with a hefty pinch of salt. Its all getting a bit "State of LinkedIn"

Get up at 6 am six days a week here, usually try and grab a lie in at least one day a weekend but it’s not compulsory.

If I’m working from home then it’s either an  hour or so of bodyweight exercises or sometimes a walk out for a coffee. At weekends if I’m cycling then I like to be out the door before 7am.

It sounds weird but I find it easier to just get up earlier and take the decision making out of it, than to  maybe get more sleep but constantly have to decide when to set an alarm.

I go to bed at 22.30 though lights out properly at 23.00. I prefer the time gained in the mornings over just watching TV at night but I do agree our preferred schedules are probably just inherent in us.

5:15, but only 2 days a week. CrossFit starts at 6-7, then to the office for a shower and working by 7:30-7:45.

Compressed hours means I can still be out before 5 on those days, but often end up staying till 5:30 other days.

Great in the summer with outside stuff at CrossFit- running, weights outside etc. But it can be hard in winter. I haven’t got the drive to train on my own at that time of day (having tried it many times!).

Up at 6 on a Saturday which isn’t too bad, and tend to play Sunday by ear depending on if at home or heading off somewhere.

some of these routines are alien to me.  I'm a WFHer during office hours.  I ve been a 12:30am to bed for as long as I can remember.  I try and get earlier starts but it just means Im tireder as I always default to bed time at 12:30.  I still want to break out of this but maybe its just the way it is.  From 11pm to 12;30pm is just watching TV as well

Nope.

My "problem" is that flextime in the office means I can start at anytime 6 till 9.

So if I'm up, I can be in the office, and any activity either needs to justify not being paid the overtime, or why would I want to still be in the office after 4pm.

Office is moving locations this year and it'll tip my commute (by bike) from pintless and done in work clothes, to borderline worth getting changed and "well I'm on the bike now, may as well go the long way and put some miles in". So I think that'll encourage me to get up earlier and put in some miles as the difference between 4 miles and 14+ is going to be about the same as drinking my first coffee in my pants on the sofa Vs drinking it at my desk (fully clothed).

get up.

breakfast.

go out and do some trials for 2 hours to get my technique dialled....

oh, no, that's not me, that's martin hawyes.

When I needed to get my daughter up for school, I'd be up around 5:20, little bit of food, out for a ride by 5:45, back by 7:30, make sure she's up, shower, get her out for school at around 8:30, in the office for before 9. I'd do that 2-3 times a week.

Now, (trying  2-3 times a week at the moment!) up at 6:15, little bit of food, get the dog out the back garden for pee, sort biking stuff and out the door at 6:45, for an hour. shower, get dog out for a poop. second breakfast, get to my desk for before 9. If I'm up at 6am, I can get a full 1:45 out on the bike, though at the moment I'm only really good for an hour.

in summer I ride more in the evenings, in winter I find that if I'm up early my brain doesn't have the capability to argue with habit.

I’m not allowed to get out of bed before 6am as I might wake our 2 year old twins, according to my wife.