Why “Perfect” Morning Routines Don’t Matter — And What to Do Instead Ep 121 - Find Your Edge: Training, Sports Nutrition & Mindset Tools for Triathletes, Runners & High Achievers Chasing Performance & Longevity

Episode Transcript
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Coach Carlie (01:26):
Welcome back to the Find Your Edge podcast.
I am your host, Coach Chris,and I am here again with Coach
Carly because she's amazing.
And we have so much fun talkingall the things over our pretend
coffee that we're drinking.
I don't think.
Are you a decaf girl too?

Coach Chris (01:44):
I am.
Yes, I know.

Isn't that?

I feel like such a fraud.

I also do, because I'm like, I use caffeine so
strategically.

Oh my gosh.
I honestly I feel like thiscontributes to the whole entire
topic of today with morningroutines.

Absolutely, which is all about morning routines.
So I don't know if you guys gethammered uh with um, I don't
know, social media, books,whatever.
It's like, oh, it's all thatyou have to have like you are a
bad human unless you have thismagical morning routine.
Or if you do the same exactthing every single I don't know,

(02:25):
I don't know.
But I just feel like all theseself-development things expect
that you're supposed to like.
I think I think somebody addedup all the things that Huberman
was supposed to be doing in hismorning routine.
It was gonna seem like threehours or something like that.
Whether that's fake news, Idon't know.
Doesn't matter.
But Carly is here to just likemaybe we should talk about

(02:47):
morning routines.
You're like, oh, I have so manythings to say about that.
I'm like, oh, bring it on.
I cannot wait.
So enlighten us, Carly.

What's your what's your take on this?
The irony is not lost on me thatI would say something like that
when I am very much a woman offew words.
You are not.
For me to have a lot to saymeans I might talk for two
minutes.

But here we are.
Well, it just goes to show thatthere are so many things that I
feel like we have anexpectation of like, oh, well,
this if I do this thing, maybeit's gonna make me magically, I
don't know, more perfect, butlike better in whose mind?
Uh you know, is this the magicmissing link to what?

(03:34):
To like what, like, what areyou trying to achieve?

Particularly, I think, in the um in the wellness
space right now, and generallylike the self-improvement
journey that uh our culture ison right now of like how can I
be the best version of myself?
How do I take care of myself?
How do I optimize my day?

(04:00):
And it's kind of evolved intolike, how do I optimize every
minute of every waking momentthat I have?
And we've just like, it's gonetoo far, y'all.
Bring it in.
Rain it in.
Okay.
That's it, close.
End the podcast.
That's what I have to say.

Well, we were just on another uh we're we're batch
recording, you guys.
I'm getting ahead.
I'm so proud of myself.
Uh, I I need some validationfrom Carly here too, because
like she also helps with thispresent.
She's like, oh my gosh, Chris,you are so behind.
We are not behind anymore.
And we were just talking abouthustle culture.
And um had the irony.

(04:42):
I'm talking about like, oh, butI have to get all these
podcasts out to people.

Well, you do have a podcast, so yes, you do have to
do the podcast.
Yes.
Does that mean you need somelike very intricate morning
routine to set yourself up?
Y'all, we can have a good daywithout having this like very
perfectionistic routine in themorning that you are now waking

(05:09):
up at 4 a.m.
to have time before your kidsget up to journal and meditate
and see the first sunlight.
And I don't uh what uh whatelse are the kids doing these
days?
Oh god.

Okay.

Anyways, um, my not so hot take is to think about
what will actually set you up tohave a lovely morning.
Okay, what resets you to gointo whenever your day starts,

(05:49):
I'll say eight.
Can you get to eight o'clockand be like, all right, cool,
let's start the day.
And maybe that does includecold plunges and a slew of other
things.
It doesn't for me, and itprobably never will.
And I'm not a morning person,I'm also not a night owl.
Uh, your girl likes to sleep alot.
So I'm not gonna stress aboutwaking up extra early so I can

(06:12):
do all of these things before myworkout, before I get my kid
ready for school, before I go towork.
It's not gonna happen.
But most importantly, thepurpose of whatever sort of
routine you have in the morning,because I'm sure you do have
some version, even if it'sloosely a version of a routine
for the morning, you have somesort of like something that you

(06:34):
do every morning, right?
Um run through it.
Is it benefiting you?
Is it something you want toimprove?
And is it something you want toimprove because you actually
feel like it would help youstart your day better?
And not because you heard it ona podcast.
Uh the irony is not lost.

(06:56):
Just gonna bite the hand thatfeeds me for a second here, but
um but uh just because you knowwe have evidence that you know
journaling is really great andit is a phenomenal tool, y'all.
Meditation.

(07:17):
The findings that we have onlong-term, like long-term
studies that have looked atpeople that have meditated for
years and years, like amazingthings that can happen.
I am not saying that is alltrue, it's all great and
wonderful and lovely stuff.
I'm just saying we don't allhave to do it every morning.
And I don't mean that uh aslike a pun for your coffee.

(07:43):
I was gonna say, but can it?
Yeah.
Uh and I guess let me circleback and then we'll kind of get
into what different versions canlook like.
But I figured out that startingmy day with a caffeinated
coffee makes me a little crazywhen I'm so with you there.

(08:07):
I was like, the anxiety.

Why is my heart rate so high?
First thing in the morning, I'mlike, oh, it's caffeine.
And you know, to no fault oflike, I know my genetics, but I
am constantly revisiting them.
And while I clear caffeinetheoretically quickly with some
genes, there are other genes forme that like to hold on to the

(08:31):
extra production of adrenaline,epinephrine, norepinephrine that
are not serving me.
And I found that reducing forme, reducing caffeine, I was
like, I feel so much morepeaceful.
Yeah, relaxed.
And it is worth it.

Yeah, absolutely.
Uh, two big points reallyquickly.
One, Chris and I did not uhknow this about each other
before coming on this call.
This is not like a setup toswitch everyone over to decaf
coffee.
No, no, not at all.
That's not what we're hearing.
This is purely coincidental.
Two, even more coincidental isthat it sounds like Chris and I

(09:08):
have very similar genes when itcomes to how our bodies use
caffeine.
And both of them sound likethey somewhat go against what we
are are experiencing in ourday, which is which brings me
back to the like, take a minuteto reflect on, like pay
attention to what you'reexperiencing throughout your

(09:29):
day.
We very much, when we are inlike a I get up, I whatever, I
have breakfast, I have mycoffee, I shower, maybe you work
out first, then you shower,then you go to work, you have
your day, you come home.
Like we put up blinders whenwe're in routines like this,
when our every weekday looks thesame and we're in this really
regimented, we stop payingattention to how things are

(09:52):
making our bodies feel, howwe're mentally feeling.
If we're having like dips andpeaks with our energy throughout
the day, we're just like laserbeam, we're cows in a funnel,
frankly.
Take the minute to reflect onwhat's happening.
What are you experiencing?
Because things like this, likeI have my genetic reports.

(10:13):
I know that, you know, um, interms of caffeine, like, cool, I
use it up real quick and I'mgood to go.
Reality is it makes me realanxious.
And I feel like a little bit ofa crazy person for quite some
time if I have a good chunk ofcaffeine first thing in the
morning.
So I changed to decaf and it'sbeen lovely.
I love the coziness of a warmcup of decaf coffee in the

(10:38):
morning.
I particularly love if neithermy husband and I have meetings
first thing in the morning andwe get to sit next to each other
and have our warm cups of themorning.

So would you call that a morning routine or would
you call that a ritual, or canit be both?

I would call it neither because it's
circumstantial.
Hmm, okay.
I like this.
But it's nice.
And like when I take mydaughter to school in the
morning, and I'm like, hey, areyou like, do you have meeting?
Will you be in a meeting when Iget back or can we have coffee
together?
And it's like a nice little wayto start our day.

(11:16):
We check in with each other.
Any of y'all that have tinierhumans know that like you don't
really get to talk to each otherwhen they're around because
they ask a lot of questions andthey make a lot of noises and
they just generally interruptevery three statements that you
make.
So it's really nice and we justcheck in and see how we're
doing, and it's really lovely.
And I'm so glad that I takethat time instead of like doing

(11:40):
a cold plunge or being in themiddle of some very regimented
thing that I have set for thattime of day.
Now, if my husband has ameeting, or obviously if I have
a meeting, I'm off to work.
But if he's busy, I just pop onand I get started with my day.
And it's it's no thing, right?
Like it's it's very fluid.
But I do always have my nicelittle warm cup of co-coffee

(12:01):
because it makes me cozy and Ilike it.
And that's really all you need.
Not coffee, just something thatyou enjoy in the morning to
start your day off on a nice, ona nice little note.
Yeah.

My little ritual is that I like to use certain
mugs that make me super happy.
There you go.
Like, you know, fold it justright.
Maybe it's got like pictures ofmy kids on it.
You know, one of my mugs saysjoy on it.
When my youngest was maybe fouror five, he would take a piece
of paper and write joy and thenput it at the holidays, put it

(12:36):
in everybody's mailbox, but theJ was backwards.
So, like that just makes mefeel like, oh, this is like one
of my core values is family andjoy.
And so that's what my hotbeverage goes in.
Sometimes it's tea, sometimesit's espresso, sometimes it's
coffee, and it just makes me sohappy.
And uh, that's not to say thatum I poo-poo on your cold

(12:59):
plunge.
I feel like there seems to be apressure of doing something
every single morning where Ifind that there's flow in uh
certain mornings, like certainmornings.
I'm coaching at six o'clock inthe morning, like and I am not
waking up at four o'clock in themorning because generally
speaking, that's like the peakof melatonin release.

(13:20):
So I ain't gonna skip thatbecause I need that for me to be
a nice human.
And that's no shot on you ifyou get up at four o'clock in
the morning.
I hope that your sleep routineis meaningful and uh works well
for you.
But I also find that there'sweekends for me are
opportunities to journal deeper.
And I feel like mornings on theweekdays, it's gonna be rushed.

(13:43):
Not to say it's not meaningful,but I feel like it's not going
to provide me the deepest valuefor the amount of time that I
can like contribute to it.

So oh, and I think and I can't emphasize this
enough.
Likely, majority of what you'reseeing that like creates these
wonderful morning routines thatyou are learning about, hearing
about, seeing, whatever, they'regreat components of a day or a
week.
Do they have to happen from 4to 6 a.m.

(14:17):
every morning?
And if you miss it, things willbe miserable.
I think that's my main pointhere is no.
If you need to meditate atlunch, go for it.
Especially don't skip yoursleep to wake up and and do
things that can be done later inthe day.

(14:38):
Like that's just get yoursleep, y'all.
That's the one thing.
Everybody skips their sleepthinking that they're waking up
to like, you know, be efficientwith their day when really your
brain would really like you tosleep more, please.
Thank you.

Yes.
The amount of benefits thatcome from quality sleep is just
so vast.
Like, let me begin the benefitsof your metabolism, human
growth hormone release, memoryconsolidation, etc., etc.

And I guess let me also add, because I'm sure a
large portion of those of youlistening are like, yeah, but I
train in the morning.
I'm I'm not at home, Carly.
I have also gone throughperiods of life like that as
well.
And that doesn't negate theunderlying message I'm trying to

(15:30):
send here of it's great if youwant to wake up and go work out,
and that's the best time of dayfor you to do that.
Excellent.
I hope you're getting to bed ata reasonable time, like we
said.
I also hope you don't feel thepressure to try and like habit
stack some other things intothat morning routine.

(15:50):
You're already off to a greatstart.
You're moving your body, you'regetting your endorphins go.
Like all the good things arealready happening just because
you woke up and and got out thedoor.
So don't feel pressured thatyou need to also add these other
elements and these reallyintricate things into it.
Like check it off a list.
Great, you had a great morning,off to a great start.
Now go start your day.

(16:11):
Again, meditate in theafternoon, journal before bed.
It doesn't all have to happen.
A, it all doesn't have tohappen, y'all.
B, it doesn't all have tohappen in the morning.

But I need to be a perfect human and meet some
random expectation of some NavySEAL that I don't know.

I would be the worst Navy SEAL.
Which is why I'm not one.
So there's that.
Same.
Same.
There's also, okay, if any ofyou are also like, but I really
like Navy SEALs, because I'msure maybe certain ones are
coming into mind at the moment.
Full respect to actual navalNavy SEALs, first of all.
Oh, yeah.
100%, yeah.

(16:54):
Second of all, what you'relearning for them and why they
teach what they teach and teachit so well, is because they had
to have those skills to do theirjob.
Yeah, to survive.
Yeah.

Yeah.
And not just survive, but havean expectation for an entire
country.

This is my counterpoint.
Okay.
You're not a Navy SEAL.
So you probably don't need alot of those things.
Now, are those skills maybeapplicable in other areas and at
different levels andintensities that could be
helpful?
Yes.
Do they need to be done to thelevels and expectations of a

(17:44):
Navy SEAL?
No.
Because you're not a Navy SEAL.
Yeah.
So that's likely not veryfitting for your life and life
balance.
Mm-hmm.
And lots of other things.

Yeah.
I digress.
Yes, I know.
And as you're saying that, I'mlike, oh my gosh, I would love
to see their genes because Ihave a sneaking suspicion that
they're all uh like there's oneparticular gene, it's the compt
gene.
So if you have a certaingenetic variant of that, you
tend to be like thrill seekers.

Oh yeah.

Like because you clear that epinephrine,
norepinephrine for which I amthe opposite, you clear that
super quick, and then you'rejust like, next, next, next,
bring on the dopamine, likebring on the thrill.
You know, we're not all in thatboat.
And I don't know.
I feel like we're meant to haveall these different journeys
and these different challenges.
That's why we've been put onthis planet.

(18:35):
Yeah.

Well, and it always circles back to every time I
say, like, stop comparingyourself to other people.
This is a prime example why.
They're either for a multitudeof reasons, but when we look
when we look at genetics ofpeople and they're like when we
think of how brains operate canso differently with things like
what you were just talkingabout.

(18:57):
Yeah.
And then we think of thingslike recovery needs or, you
know, genes that can beproponents for building strength
or building endurance easierthan other people.
While we're all the same, yourbody doesn't necessarily work
like that person.
You could be doing the samethings and have vastly different
experiences doing them.

(19:17):
And maybe that's why thatperson's always excited to go
out and run a thousand miles aday.
And you're like this doesn'tfeel great.
And I feel terrible.
Yeah.
And that doesn't mean thateither of you are right or
either of you are wrong.
You're just your own person.
So create your routines aroundbeing you and not, again, a Navy

(19:37):
SEAL that maybe has quitedifferent genes than you and
different objectives and whythey're doing those things.
Yes.

Which makes me think about our longevity
nutrition coaching group and howeveryone who walks into that
program, the very first modulethey have to do is all about
their core values.
It's like, well, what does thathave to do with the, you know,
chicken that I'm eating?
Has a lot to do with that.
And it has a lot to do withyour morning routine.

(20:05):
And eating for sure andexercise all relates to habits
and behaviors.
Yeah.
And if you're not tying themback to your core values and
then what is meaningful for you,then you're just gonna be drawn
straws of like, well, maybe Ineed to do a cold plunge every
morning.
Which interestingly, that's nota great habit for someone who

(20:27):
might have cardiac issues,having this like massive shock
to the system.
That's another conversation.
We need to have some likeresearch roundups.
And we talk about that in ingenetics.
There are certain genetics thatactually don't do great with
cold plunges.
Anyway, all that to say is thatyou are unique and wonderful
and pick your morning routine tomatch you.

(20:49):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Did that anything else to sumit up?

No, I think that's the perfect summary.

Wait, we done did the thing.
We did us.
So good.
So bad.
Yes.
Awesome.
Uh and again, if you need areminder, all of you wonderful
people out there, that you arebeautifully and wonderfully
made.
And I know I'm so grateful foryou.
And I'm also grateful forCarly.
So thank you for being here andsharing your thoughts on the

(21:17):
morning routine.
And thanks for listening,y'all.
Bye.

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Why “Perfect” Morning Routines Don’t Matter — And What to Do Instead Ep 121

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