I've been trying really hard to get up earlier in the morning to add strength traning to my workout. I workout at night (from 9pm-11pm) 6 days a week. I fall asleep and sleep like a rock, but I want to add the workouts in the morning before work and not add it to my nightly routine. I go to the gym at night and i dont want people looking at me doing situps or something. Well, I just cant seem to make myself get up and do it. I get up at 7:15-30 am every morning. (I start work at 9am) I'm not a morning person, i wish i was. What do you guys do to actually get up and do it in the morning?

Just start getting up early. I never used to be a morning person, but it becomes a habit after a while.

If you are already at the gym at night, I would just do the strength training there. People don't go to the gym to judge others, but to work out. So just do your thing and then you can sleep in!

I'm a morning gym person. I find if I do it later in the day or evening I'm just too tired.

I agree with Fiberlover, once you start getting up early it does become a habit.

I've also noticed at lot less people at the gym in the morning.......

It does become a habit. But to get there, I had to start by just getting up early whether I felt like it or not. Trying to start by going to bed early never worked because you can't make yourself go to sleep if you're not tired, but you *can* make yourself get up. That worked really well for me because if you're used to staying up to, say, 12, and you just start getting up at 5 or 6, you'll be plenty tired even that very first night, and from there on out, you're on track.

Two things helped me:

(1) I told myself at first it could just be an experiment. I could get myself up early for a week, even if I *really* didn't feel like it, if I didn't think I had to do it forever.

And (2), get up instantly. Seriously, instantly. Don't lay back down for one second. Turn off the alarm and sit up all in one movement if you have to. Stagger into the bathroom to pee with your eyes closed if you have to. But get up. It's the "few more seconds," or "one snooze button is OK" that kills you.

Why do you want to do it in the morning? Unless you have a specific need, it really doesn't matter if you work out in the morning or in the evening. The most important thing is that you are working out. I'm not a morning person either. I have much more energy and enthusiasm for working out in the late afternoon...about 6ish. I feel like I work out harder at this time than I would when I'm half dead in the morning.

I agree with everyone else that once you start getting up early, it becomes habit and like second nature. Also, I definitely agree with JulieJ08 that you HAVE to get up the second the alarm goes off. Even if I have to throw myself off the bed into a heap on the floor, it's the only way I won't roll over and go back to sleep.

I have three sons (ages 3,2 and1) who wake up at 6:30-7:00am, so I'm always up by 5:30 to stretch or meditate, go on a walk and drink my coffee. It starts my day off calm and quiet, and energizes me to have a day with three toddlers. I love it now, but when I first started doing it, I was like "What am I, freaking crazy to wake up EARLIER than I have to?!" But I would not change my routine now.

You guys are amazing. Amazing!!!

Heres my question - if you get up at 530am, what time to do you get to sleep at? I know some people scoff at the idea of getting 8 hours of sleep, but honest to God some of us (like myself) truly do NOT function without the 8 hours. I can get by without food, without water, and without many other things but sleep is just not something that my body can sacrifice. Is it caffeine? (I dont consume anything caffeinated). Im really curious.

Rhonda...i really am half dead in the morning, my reasons for doing it in the a.m. is because i am so lazy to do anything with myself in the morning. it takes me great effort to get ealier than my normal time to straighten my hair (i have long thick hair maybe 2in from my waist) and it takes me 30min to do it, and thats if i dont have to blow dry it...add another 45min or so to that. So i figured if i started my day working out, i might have a little extra time to actually do my hair...lol. But i am also intimidated about doing it in the gym. You know those girls who go just to show off their pretty behinds...they stare me down, literally. and im a chicken and wont say anything to them =(
Julie...i think i might try that next week, just get up when the first alarm rings...i have two alarm clocks...lol

PenChick, I don't know if you're locked into a contract with a gym, but I say forget that gym! Find a serious gym that isn't frequented by those kinds of people. I've gone to that kind of gyms and although I'm great at ignoring it, it's no fun when I sweat like a pig next to the cute outfits and lip gloss. Seriously, I've been to gyms that are more like a singles club than a place to work out. Blech.

I love my tiny gym. It's seriously smaller than my living and dining room, 4 cardio machines, mostly dedicated to weights. Every person there supports one another and is there for one reason, health, not cute outfits. Best of all, $15.00 a month with no contract!

I'm a night time exerciser too. I've tried my whole life to be a morning person and it's just not in the cards for me. I wish I had great advice. All I can offer is that when I have to be up early the next morning I think hard about why I have to be up as I set my alarm clock. I find if I really think about my reasons before nodding off that I am able to get up with much more ease.

I don't understand how getting up earlier to work out will help with doing your hair? Won't it use more time? TOTALLY not being mean, I'm confused!

That's my problem too. My body/mind require 8 hours of sleep every night, non-negotiable unless under crazy circumstances. As much as I want to get up at 5:30 and work out a bit before work and stuff, I just can never get to bed in time to wake up that early and be able to function. An adequate amount of sleep is actually more important to me and my mood and mindset than how much i eat or anything else.

I've tried to "train" myself to work on less sleep, but at some point I figured it wasn't worth it -- if my body is telling me it needs a full 8 hours, I should give it a full 8 hours and not argue with it, if that makes sense. I can only manage it sometimes if I need to get something done for school that I won't have time for otherwise, but even then it's not everyday.

The plus side is that once I;m up and Ive had my 8 hours, I'm perfectly awake and feeling great all day.

Thank you! It's more of a selfish thing, I guess, but it's imperative for me to have my hour or so of calm, alone time before the boys get up. We're in bed every night by 10, at least. Right when a lot of the good show come on! LOL Depending on our day and how tired we are, it is frequently earlier than 10, but I'd say that's our average. I have caffeine sometimes, not everyday. We have a Dunkin Donuts a block away, so if I'm feeling extra tired I pack up the boys and walk there. I'd say three mornings a week on average I do that. It's really just about getting through the first couple weeks. I read somewhere once that if you do something for 3 weeks, it becomes a habit. So if you can make it through the first three weeks, you've got it down. You can do it, and trust me, once you're used to it, you'll never want to go back!

I have tried this before, but for me it's just not an option. I already getup at 5:00 am. And that's just to get us out the door by 6:40 and we are usually cutting it very close. I put my alarm clock across the room so I have to leave the bed to get up.

There is always the option of weight lifting at home. Bands, free weights, exercise ball. There is a lot you can do.

Thank you KLK! You wrote that so well, and I was nodding word for word . I've never been able to explain it so well to someone!

QueenBee3, its so great to hear that people go to bed early, and you're teaching your children great sleep habits . I think sleep is just as important to health as adequate nutrition and staying active. I think that those are the top 3: sleep, nutrition, activity - it's a basic recipe for health.

Sandi, your avatar is stunning!

I am so not a morning person. Going to the gym is already a chore for me - waking up early to do it would be torture! I go at night, sometimes as late as 11 pm. It's just easier for me, and since I don't have any trouble sleeping afterwards, there's no reason why I shouldn't do it.

Lisa