I’m not exactly unfit and I have been trying to increase my level of exercise over the last year or so. I get onto the trampoline at least once a week (even in winter) and I bought a door bar a few months ago to do pull-ups. I really love the trampoline, especially since I taught myself to to front somersaults (it took me about 15 months) because that’s really fun and addictive. It’s also a cool trick to show off with!

The thing is, my exercise has all been a bit ad-hoc and irregular. I’ve tended to fall out of bed and get straight to work. Sometimes I didn’t even have breakfast first.

Now my wife has been telling me for years to do regular exercise to take my mind off things, remove stress and become more productive while I work (oh yeah, and get physically stronger and fitter too). When I was working for someone else (5 years ago, now – yikes!), I was at least getting two half-hour cycles in every day.

Last year I made a real effort to start a morning routine on the exercise bike. I could have got out on my real bike but decided that was just too much hassle and I’d be less motivated to do that, especially without a specific place to get to. Cycling round the block just doesn’t do it for me, especially in the middle of winter!

So the exercise bike routine worked well for a time. I think I lasted about a week and a half. Then I started missing days and, soon after, got bored with the whole idea. And that was that!

So, what’s new?

Let me say straight off that I’m not an Eben Pagan affiliate and I’m not about to promote his Guru MasterMind program that’s currently in launch (actually, it may even be closed now). Not because I don’t think it’s good (I expect it will be great) but because that’s not what I’m about here.

However, if you haven’t yet seen Eben’s pre-launch videos, you really must take a look because he gives out a lot of excellent info. He’s also a master speaker and you can learn a lot just by watching his delivery and how he’s put the videos together. That’s on top of the actual content. Since the videos are to promote the program, they may not be up forever.

Anyway, in his “Becoming A Productive Modern Guru” video, Eben talks, among other things, about his morning routine and how it sets him up for the day. The things that struck me about his routine is that they cover a few different activities (not just exercise) and the exercise itself is more of a gentle workout to get the heart rate going and not the kind of “go for it” exercise I tried doing before that makes you hot and sweaty.

He’s successful and he knows what he’s talking about so that was enough of a push for me to try again.

Eben suggests a 1-hour morning routine but I’m trying to start a little easier with a 40-minute routine that goes something like this:

1. Drink a large glass of water
2. Back stretching exercises (I suffer from back problems) – 10 minutes
3. Pull-ups on the door bar – 1 minute (maybe not even that long, I can only manage about 10 at the moment!)
4. Exercise bike – 6 minutes (2.5 Km)
5. More back exercises – 5 minutes
6. Meditation – 5-10 minutes
7. Breakfast – 15 minutes

Okay, so I’ve only been doing it for 6 days so far but I do feel a lot better for it and start my work with a clearer head. Since it’s sliced up into short activities, I think I’ll be able to stick at this routine a lot longer than the last attempt, and I really need to hit that magic 21-day target so that it becomes a habit.

Watch the Eban Pagan video if you can but do try to find a good morning routine that works for you.

I’ll let you know how I get on with mine!