I’ve been building my daily routine gradually over the last 5-6 years. I sometimes joke: “I want to build a habit of forming new habits”. If you are into self-improvement, I highly recommend Atomic Habits by James Clear. Funny enough, I read Atomic Habits after I developed a habit of forming new habits. This post is not the final version of my morning routine. I’m in the process of improving myself every day and my routines are still evolving. Who knows, maybe next year I will share an updated version of my morning routine.

5:15: waking up

Wake up at early morning

I like training but I also understand that I don’t have time to train during the day or in the evening since I have more important tasks than. Switching to morning workouts has been the best decision for me.

A few years back, I gradually shifted my wake time earlier and earlier. I started at 8 AM and now wake up at around 5:15. It wasn’t easy, but I figured out what could motivate me to wake up every day - extra time to go to the gym. In addition, I’ve built the habit of waking up in the early morning and feel a boost of energy throughout the day.

Before I go to the gym

A couple of months ago I had a problem. After I woke up, I started to scroll through news feeds or read book chapters on my phone. I’d waste 30-60 minutes stuck in bed. It ruined all of my ideas for creating my ideal morning. I decided to break this bad habit.

After thinking it over, I realized I needed something that would motivate me out of bed. At the same time, I wanted to fit plank and vacuum exercises into my morning routine. So I combined these goals into one idea and tried to implement new good habit on my morning routine. Now as soon as I wake up, I start doing:

• as many push-ups as I can
• a plank hold for as long as possible,
• and as a finisher, one set of the vacuum exercise. It refreshes me and sets the tone for my ideal morning.

Sometimes I skip breakfast before going to the gym. It depends on whether I’m cutting or bulking. When I’m cutting, I just have a protein shake and take my morning supplements. When I start to bulk I add one or two bananas or something light and easy.

Around 6 AM I’m ready to go. I’ve packed my gym bag from the night before . I get dressed, take the bag, and go to the gym.

6:00 - 8:00: gym time

6:15 - 7:15: workout time

I usually workout about an 1 an hour, from 6:15 to 7:15. I build my program to keep workouts inside the program under 1 hour. I’m currently running Tactical Barbell: Operator + Black program:

• 3 days of Maximum Strength
• 2 days of HIC (Hill run on incline treadmill)
• 1 day of LISS (2 HR zone slow run)

7:15 - 8:00: sauna and shower after workout

I love Russian-style steam bath. My parents live in a detached house in a small town and I used to go to the steam bath every weekend in my childhood. When I left my parents house, I started using saunas because they’re easier to find in regular gym. Most often I go to the sauna on my cardio days for 15-20 minutes. That’s usually 2-3 times per week. I like the sauna at 85-90°C and 20-25% humidity. But it depends on gym staff and how they set up the sauna.

It doesn’t matter what the season or workout type, I always take a contrast shower at the gym. I follow the same pattern every time.

• enter the shower and start with hot water for 2-3 minutes.
• switch to cold water and stay for 2-3 minutes.
• switch back to hot water and start to wash my head with shampoo.
• then I finish with my head I repeat cycle hot-cold-hot and started to wash my body.
• then I finish with my body I repeat cycle hot-cold-hot. This whole process takes 10 to 20 minutes. In the screenshot at the top of the article you can see 2 different blocks of showers.

1. Shower - I don’t wash my head
2. Long shower - I wash my head and body with a washcloth

8:00 - 9:00: breakfast with family

Around 8 AM I head home and till 9:00, I have breakfast with my family. I have a toddler daughter and it’s very fun time.

9:00 - 10:00: self-improvement time

At that time I concentrate on learning English and improve my professional skills. Main goal: prepare myself to pass an interview at USA companies in English language. I schedule 5 one-hour blocks during the work week. On Saturday I have 1-2 hours for LISS (Low Intensity Steady State) run. On Sundays I work on my visa case. I dedicate 2 blocks per week to reading professional literature and building my English vocabulary. Also I set aside 2 blocks per week to write posts and articles in English language as exercise for writing skill and revise grammar rules. For interview preparation and fun, I tackle Leetcode problems for one hour per week.

10:00: start to work

By 10 AM I’ve wrapped up my morning routine and I’m ready to start my work. About work time and my routine at that time I’ll write in the next post.

• 🏋️ Fitness, gym life, bodybuilding, and my workout routines
• 📺 TV shows & 🎬 movie reviews
• 📚 Honest takes on books I’ve read
• 🇬🇧 My journey learning English and practical tips along the way
• 🔄 Building habits and exploring a better lifestyle

I’m excited to share what works, what doesn’t, and everything in between. New posts coming soon — stay tuned!