Wake Up Journal / 5:AM - Quitting Caffeine ⏰

[Michael569]

On 10/10/2020 at 7:50 AM, fridjonk said:

Only slept like 5 hours, but the morning run was so wholesome that I'm as awake as I could be. Yesterday marked John Lenon's 80th birthday and his peace tower light beam was lit up. I stopped at a point near the ocean to just look at it, under a fully starlit sky and the moonlight. Felt a great peacefulness from it, and nearby was a construction site of condos being built for homeless people, how fitting. Anyways, this joint supplement I've been taking feels like magic, it's incredible how well and fast it works. My body felt like a well-oiled machine on this run. Still got some tiny aches and pains in my knee, but my Achilles and all my joints just felt smooth and well lubed. I felt like floating on clouds during this wonderful run.

 

Holly shit, can you see aurora where you live? Oh man that's been my dream since I was a kid! 

Just read your journal for there first time and it's so inspiring. Do you feel like you've now adjusted to the 5am wakeup? It is fascinating what we can achieve we some good dose of determination & tenacity. Well done!

[fridjonk]

@Michael569 Hehehe yubb, we get auroras here all winter. Pretty spectacular and beautiful, trust me I don't take it for granted. The only thing I hear visitors here talk about is their dream to see the northern lights.  

Thank you! I feel like I adapted to the 5 am wake up probably 2-3 weeks into it. Quitting caffeine really helped so much. It was not as hard as I had imagined, and I've considered myself a night owl all my life. It's just that first week or two you've got to get over, after that it's smooth sailing. And honestly, it's the running that made it sustainable to wake up so early. I've tried it for years and never succeeded. After I decided I would run as soon as I woke up, it all worked out because It feels so free and liberating running at night. 

[Michael569]

11 minutes ago, fridjonk said:

Hehehe yubb, we get auroras here all winter. Pretty spectacular and beautiful, trust me I don't take it for granted. The only thing I hear visitors here talk about is their dream to see the northern lights

Damn I would like to have something like that on my morning runs  just saw you are an Icelander? Man, I am really envious. I know it gets cold as hell but the country is so beautiful and pristine. 

Waking up, taking freezing shower and a freezing run sounds like a nice Viking lifestyle

[fridjonk]

@Michael569  It can actually get a bit distracting since I sometimes just want to stand there and look at the stars for an hour.  My most productive runs are when its cloudy and the road is the only focus. But it definitely feels like more of a spiritual run with a clear sky. 

[fridjonk]

5:00 AM

Woke up to the blaring wind and pouring rain. Honestly felt like doing anything other than going out for a run at first. But lying there for a little while, feeling well rested, I became more motivated to just head out and go for it. The toughest thing was battling the wind, running against it made breathing correctly extremely hard and the extra leg power used all made for a tough but fun run. 

Taking these last days off I felt a massive difference in performance today. The join supplement has worked like magic and there are little to no pains in my body as of now. On most runs, I was aching pretty much somewhere, usually in my knee or tendons. But that's all gone now, mostly suspect its the supplement alongside the rest I gave my legs to heal. 

 

[fridjonk]

8:00 AM

Did another workout yesterday after the run that really took a toll. So I did the flow workout with a 5kg backpack to push it a little further, since I do feel I have the extra strength now after doing the same workout almost daily for 2 months. I've noticed when I workout so intensely, my body automatically refuses to let me get up at 5 without extra 9-10 hours of sleep. And what I mean by that is, I somehow rise up without remembering to do so, and go turn off my 5:00 am alarm and then I head back to bed and wake up usually around 8. And I'm fine with it really. If the body wants extra rest it's up to it. I think we could all do a little better in listening to what our body wants. Aubrey Marcus talks about this a lot, and I'm now seeing why. 

Maybe this is a little overkill, running in the mornings and doing a pretty hard workout at noon, but I feel like as long as I let the body get extra rest when it wants to, then it will be fine. Maybe I should look into starting creatine again, I just really hate taking the powdered form, I can get in the habit of pills, but powder every day is a lot harder for some reason.

Edited October 15, 2020 by fridjonk

[fridjonk]

10:00 AM

Yup, that's right. I didn't fall asleep until around 3:30 am and I've noticed I've been having a hard time falling asleep lately. I have no idea as to why, but it might be something to do with not being consistent enough with waking up at 5 am lately. It's been kind of on and off for the past week or so, some days I wake up at 5, some at 8. I think I've actually been way too soft and lenient on the morning runs and the early waking. From now on I'll be stricter and will try and run every day at precisely 5:00 am as I've been doing for the past weeks.

I'm still training hard and just finished a great flow workout followed by a cold shower. The showers are getting SO cold at this time of year when the ground is at such low temperature. Been trying to work on my breathing when I'm under the cold, so I'll do about 10-15 deep breaths before I submerge myself under and then I continue with controlled breathing while under for about 4 minutes in the coldest setting. I've now noticed I'm getting a lot better at controlling my body temperature.

I've been loading creatine and just started yesterday. I'm taking 20g at 4 different times each day and will do so for about 6 days, then I'll tone it down to 5g per day and keep it there. Been trying to finish off my old supply that expired in 2017, lol. Should be alright since it's stored well. I did buy a new 80 serving pack yesterday and was incredibly surprised at how cheap this stuff still is. Was like 6$, which means it's cheaper than bottled water for the amount you get. I've just got to remember to drink about 3 liters of water each day which I can often forget, but I'll try to remember.

Been kind of on and off on this nofap stuff and I've not really had a stance on whether I like it or not until now. And I'm firm on it being something I want to continue with. Noticed that fapping can easily interrupt my sleep routine and it's just not healthy for me at this stage in my life. Also, that extra testosterone feels so good when you're working out intensely and doing cold showers, followed with meditation which I've yet to start. My plan was to meditate after runs but I've not tried it yet, I'll make sure to try it tomorrow morning after my run. 

I've been running with music ever since I started so I'm going to try and switch to running in silence or with an audiobook. I bet running in silence and then meditating straight after feels great. I do like my music in the mornings because it brings that extra motivation needed, but I'm up for a little experimentation. 

I'll be interested to see how well creatine helps with my recovery and performance. 

Edited October 16, 2020 by fridjonk

[fridjonk]

5:00 AM

Went for my normal circle but at a considerably faster pace, then did some uphill sprints. Ended up doing the later part of the run without music then meditated for 20 min straight after. Did not manage to focus at all during it, but that's to be expected since I've not meditated for couple of months.

[fridjonk]

Just experienced a big ass earthquake as I was about to write here. Though my house was collapsing, lol. 

Anyways, just found this cool fitness channel which goes kinda the same way and style I'm heading with my fitness; which is functional strength under all conditions, Wim Hof/David Goggins style with less emphasis on hardening the mind and more just being loose. Merging physical exercise with spiritual practice to complete the body mind connection, your body is more connected to your spiritual path than one might let on to believe. 

Just finished a great strength focused workout, which is just bodyweight exercises with a 10kg backpack. Did some push ups, some pull ups and some core work. I've been doing the flow workout for about 2-3 months now which focuses largely on stamina+bodyweight strength. And after a long time of the same workout I want to focus a little on strenght as well. So I'll be mixing some heavy backpack workouts here and there alongside the running and flow workout.

Don't really care about a six pack, but a good core is the foundation to which the entire body is connected to.

Not really interested in the toughest mindset in the world type of training. But there's a fine balance in which you play between pushing the mind beyond what you believe you can achieve and doing to free yourself from your ego. Pushing beyond your capacity is one of the most liberating things I've felt. and It's surprising how big of a role your physical health plays a part in a spiritual journey-if you're still in your younger years.

 

[fridjonk]

5:00 AM

Woke up this morning to weather so bad it were enough to depress even David Goggins. Really regret now that I didn't just get up and go for it instead of laying there in my comfort. I suppose the weather will be similar tomorrow so I'll have no excuse to skip tomorrow's run. 

Did some flow training today with a weighted backpack which felt great as usual. Love the loosey-goosey feel it gives you, mainly because of the warm-up when you're swinging your arms around in all directions. I've noticed it has been correcting my posture and the stiffness I had in my shoulder blades for the longest time, I'm also becoming way more flexible. Thank you Mike Chang for making this workout free! 

I'm checking my posture and aligning myself much more often throughout the day now. Awareness is such a golden gem of a tool to have. It's so easy to fall into an auto mode during the day; just catching yourself in the midst of an activity and asking "what am I doing?", "how do I feel right now?", "how does the body feel?". This has likely also been more on my mind after re-watching some of Aaron Alexander's podcasts and talks.

What I've also been doing is, whenever I'm going into the kitchen to get a drink, I'll walk like an ape, but squatting more to open up the hip flexors. Most people today have insanely tight hip flexors, I included. But it has been getting better after I started to work on it. 

After I started to drink cacao again, I noticed how incredibly fast I got hooked on the theobromine. It's such a clean stimulation it was getting kind of difficult to skip it some days. So I've not drunk cacao for about 5 days and won't until maybe 5 more. 

Took a cold shower today and did some Wim Hoff breathing. I've been getting that insane stomach tightness lately while under the cold which is supposed to happen I think. It's been showing up more, and more intensely, but I also feel a lot warmer when it happens so I guess it's the body trying to keep itself hot and keeping it from panicking. I can't have my head under the shower for more than 10 sec without getting a complete brain freeze, so I alternate between head under and not under.

[BlackMaze]

This youtube channel and exercises are great! 

I tried it.. I went for a run at 5 in the morning. It's great! And with music is amazing. And i really didn't expect other people going for a run so early but i saw 3 other crazy people doing this. 

But i ruined my sleep schedule and started smoking again 

But it's something that i will do in the near future. 

Your journal is very inspiring keep it up! 

[fridjonk]

@BlackMaze Awesome man! It does feel great doesn't it, and it will feel even better when you're in a habit of running every day. 

I've only seen one person during my morning runs the last month or so, lol. 

Are you smoking cigs or that other good good?  Running after smoking a little weed is so fun. But I haven't smoked for a year or more, and I don't miss it. Even though it can be super fun. 

[BlackMaze]

Tobacco yes and the good stuff occasionally. But that sounds like a good idea  i really wonder what this feels like. I will definitely try it some day. 

It's hard to run every morning. I need to fix my sleep and be willing to go out in the cold and run! That's why your journal is inspiring man, because it's fucking hard! 

[fridjonk]

1 hour ago, BlackMaze said:

It's hard to run every morning. I need to fix my sleep and be willing to go out in the cold and run! That's why your journal is inspiring man, because it's fucking hard! 

You'll be ready when you're ready.  

It's just hard the first week or so, after that it becomes more fun even when it's freezing cold. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by fridjonk

[fridjonk]

5:00 AM

Just finished a great flow workout and did little arm training as well. I'm done with the loading phase with the creatine and now only consume 5g per day instead of 20g. I'm noticing a big difference in my body already, I'm a little more toned and bulkier, but still lean. I've never been as heavy as I'm now in my life, at around 86kg, and was about 84kg before I started the creatine, my normal weight is usually around 80kg. I actually thought I'd never get so heavy while working out twice a day, and both intense cardio sessions. Yet somehow I do, I feel the flow workout balances strength training with cardio nicely; I'm noticing some muscle gain for sure.

But all this is just something I've noticed yet don't pay much attention to.

What I like most is, I feel fantastic being in top shape, It plays such a massive role on one's mental health. 

[flume]

4 hours ago, fridjonk said:

What I like most is, I feel fantastic being in top shape, It plays such a massive role on one's mental health. 

Super inspiring journal. Following along  
Oh, and more Iceland scenery pretty please

[fridjonk]

58 minutes ago, flume said:

Super inspiring journal. Following along  
Oh, and more Iceland scenery pretty please

Glad it inspires you! 

I'll try and post more pics. 

[fridjonk]

Just finished a great run with my friend. It's getting pretty cold out so I decided to wear minimum clothing to get used to the cold, so when the snow comes I'm ready for some t-shirt runs which I absolutely love.

Took a freezing shower just now before writing this. My ability to let go and surrender to the cold has gotten much better. I stood under for probably 5 minutes now in the coldest setting; it stopped feeling cold after more than 2 minutes and just felt like water, even though it's freezing cold. It's always the first minute that's toughest, after that it feels great. There's this tightness that builds up after being under for more than 2 minutes that feels so good once you're out, It's my favorite part about cold showers, also how present and out of mind you become.

I won't lie, It's not been great the past week or two. Silly of me to assume that starting would be the toughest part. It's actually sustaining this habit which is has been by far the most difficult obstacle. The weather has been utterly terrible this and last week, so every time I've woke up I've gone back to sleep. Really gonna tighten up with the 5 AM runs now. But I'll have to see about that, because after this run and yesterday's run I've gotten this weird thing where my right leg is going completely numb in mid run. Like a needle pain which starts at the foot then goes up the leg, then it ends up stiff as stone. It's likely a pinched nerve or from the jumping I've been doing with the flow workouts. So I won't push the runs if it doesn't feel right soon. I'll continue with the flow workouts as I've been doing. Barely missed a day of flow practice even though my runs may have suffered, so it's not the end of the world. But it's the 5 AM discipline that I don't want to lose.

[Michael569]

3 hours ago, fridjonk said:

My ability to let go and surrender to the cold has gotten much better. I stood under for probably 5 minutes now in the coldest setting; it stopped feeling cold after more than 2 minutes and just felt like water, even though it's freezing cold. It's always the first minute that's toughest, after that it feels great

I found it to work exactly the same way for me. After the first minute, it actually starts to appear pretty warm even if I bump it up to the coldest it gets. Funny how rapidly adaptable the human body is. 

Need more pix of the aurora pls  

[fridjonk]

@Michael569 The power of letting go.  

Aurora pix will come when they dare to show up. The weather here has been so terrible lately and still is.