When I was a senior in high school, busy filling out all of the college applications and essays that came along with them, I received one prompt whose response has stuck with me to this day. It asked me to describe my most ideal day, and my immediate answer was one that began with an early morning workout.

Three years later, a junior in college, I'm trying to reinsert my early morning workouts into my life. It's definitely not easy, and there are plenty of mornings where I wake up and "accidentally" fall back asleep until well past the beginning of my CrossFit class. Each morning that I do this, I wake up (for the second time) with a regretful feeling in the pit of my stomach. To most people, this makes no sense. Even when I don't work out in the morning, I wake up at 7:30 a.m. and am usually very productive with my morning. This productivity is what drives my day; immediately getting up and getting going. However, there is no productivity that compares to a morning workout, especially with the intensity and community that CrossFit can often bring.

This little ode to workouts at dawn goes out to my original 5 a.m. workout crew, because they are still some of the most inspirational people I've ever met. Now that I'm down at school, if I work out early in the morning it's usually at 6:30 a.m. The similarity, however, between this 6:30 a.m. class and my original morning class at 5 a.m., is that it is dark when I arrive, and by the time I leave, the sun is beginning to rise or it has already risen.

This is one of the most special aspects of working out so early in the morning; you get to rise with the day itself. It is so easy to be tired and feel like you should be sleeping when it is still dark outside; that is how our bodies are wired. However, when you wake up while it is still dark, and work hard for an hour as the sun re-emerges from its slumber, it also ignites the start of your day.

I always say that the toughest part of working out at 5 a.m., or 6:30 a.m., or whenever it may be, is actually waking up and getting up. I set my alarms five minutes prior to when I need to get up and get ready for this exact reason. I need some buffer time to wrestle with myself over whether to actually begin preparing for the gym, and the best outcome is always when the gym wins over. I'm able to offset the battle a little bit by laying out my clothes ahead of time, so I just roll out of bed and jump into my clothes and get on my way. Once that first roll is complete, the rest is just continuing with what you know and letting muscle memory take over.

The best part of working out dark and early, comes afterward. Most people are not even awake, especially in college, and I've already completed one of the most important parts of my day. It is ticking a major box off for me, and it immediately gets me rolling into the rest of my day. There is no slowness or grogginess because I am able to jump right in, already having achieved so much. That's the thing about morning workouts; no matter how well or poorly you perform, you still did it. Right away, and you have already set the tone for an amazing day.

I was hesitant when I first began working out so early in the morning, whether it was before long days in high school and now long days in college. However, what truly kept me coming back every morning, and what still makes me get up at 4:18 a.m. even when I'm home during winter break, is the people I get to workout with at 5 a.m. These individuals are truly amazing people. Being a student is difficult, but ultimately if I need to nap or do a little less homework that day, then I have that option. However, the individuals in my morning workouts, especially those who are mothers and business owners, and doctors, and lawyers do not quite have that option. They work out early because that is their time to take and to make their own, and kickstart their day. It's amazing and it's something that is replicated through early morning workout classes everywhere. The go-getters get up and start their day with a win, every day.

Working out before dawn is not for everyone. Some people just can't be functional at that time, and for some individuals (and for me sometimes), it doesn't make sense because we go to bed too late and need proper sleep to function during the day. However, I think working out so early in the morning is something that everyone should try at least once in their lives. There is truly no better way to start the day than with a workout, than with grasping the potential of that day and of working toward goals first thing in the morning. You have the opportunity to start your day at the same time that the sun is starting its day, and only bright things are on the horizon.