Working out in the am?
 

Hi everyone!

I'm trying to get myself to wake up in the morning, but am having the hardest time. I'm know it's mental over anything, but I just keep hitting snooze. I also know that if i don't workout in the am, I won't do it at all (especially with the warm weather already here).

Any suggestions on how to get myself psyched?

My typical wake up is 6am. I would like to be up around 5:15 to be able to get at least cardio in....

5:15! Im not a morning person so i have no advice xD Are you sure you cant work out after work, or in the afternoon? I think i would die if I had to get up at 5:15

Haha, oh yeah. I just get too tired and mentally exhausted by the end of the day. :p

The thing that works for me is to have everything ready to go the night before, including underwear, hair tie, shoes etc. All laid out on the dresser beside my bed.

Once you get into a routine it will be easier. Just do it one time. Then one more time. Then keep doing it until you can't not.

I know where you are coming from because I was there too. That's what worked for me.

get yourself a good night sleep and be prepared to wake up in the morning! it's hard at first but once you keep doing it, your body will get used to waking up early and working out. Just let yourself know that it's now or never! you'll feel better after the workout then you will after you push the snooze button.

Two things are crucial for me:

Never hit snooze and "think" about it. I *never* subsequently decide to get up. I have to just sit up immediately, pretty much in the same act of turning off the alarm. I may doze a few moments on the toilet :) but never in bed.

I never sleep in to make up for lost sleep; or at least, not more than say half an hour and by setting my alarm different the night before (so that I still get up immediately with no "snooze"). I always make up for any sleep deficit by going to bed earlier, not by sleeping in. Better one drowsy day than a week of messed up sleep cycle.

I have to workout in the morning as well because of my schedule. I do the things mentioned here. Set my clothes out, put my DVD in the machine if that's my workout of choice, and I literally "just do it". It's important to me and hitting the snooze is just not an option. Am I tired or cranky when I start my workout? Well, yes, but it goes away and I feel very proud of myself afterwards which keeps me on program the rest of the day.

By the way, I do this almost every weekday before 5am... Its the only way! I have to leave my house at 6.30am to get to work on time!
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Try going to bed 30 minutes earlier. Waking up 30-45 minutes earlier should be easier this way :) And I agree with what others have said- have your stuff together and ready to go so when you wake up you know it's just sitting there waiting for you to get your butt in gear.

I'm trying to work out in the AM as well, but my toddler thinks that is a dumb schedule apparently and sabotages it nearly every morning... We're working on it! :) Good luck! I always feel better for the whole day when I work out in the AM and it isn't weighing on my mind the rest of the day- and I am just generally happier all around when I work out first thing.

I love working out in the mornings - after work just doesn't do it for me, I have no energy and I'm exhausted. I get up between 4:40 and 5 each morning (I know I'm insane) and head out to the gym.

Pretty much everything that was said - get to bed early so you have enough sleep, and don't hit the snooze button. I set up all my clothes the night before (for gym and work) so I just have to jump out of bed, get dressed, and run out the door. Also, keep yourself hydrated! I find its a lot easier to get up and get going in the morning if I have enough water in my system.

It also helps if you have a cat who likes to wake you up in the morning. She's what gets me out of bed most mornings - I can snooze the alarm but I can't shut her up until she eats, and then I'm up already...

Great comments about getting up in the morning. I used to work out in the mornings and loved it. I am trying to get back into that again, by the end of the day I am way too tired or end up having to work late. The snooze button is a killer, I'm not going to hit it at all this week. Alarm goes off, sit up, rinse face, brush teeth and gone. Another thing I like about working out in the morning is that you feel it still working all day (especially if you do weights!). And I am less likely to cheat to ruin it :)

I did a morning workout a few weeks ago. It worked mainly because I was on vacation and knew that I wouldn't be able to fit it in that evening.

I really need to try to start running in the morning though. Very soon it's going to get too hot/humid/mosquito-ey to run in the evening here in Houston. Some great advice in this thread! I have such a hard time getting out of bed early.

Yeah, I live in Southern California, and in summer it gets too blaming hot to run in the evening.

I used to do morning workouts. It was the best. Knowing that my workout was done for the day took such a load off my shoulders. I would get up at 5:30 and be at the gym by 6. As stella said, get everything ready the night before. I would have my bag packed with my work clothes and all my make-up/hair stuff, I would have my lunch and breakfast (can't eat that early in the morning, so I'd eat at the office) in the fridge with my water bottle.

My alarm would go off, I'd get dress in my workout gear, grab everything I needed from the fridge and get in my car. It took all of 15 minutes to get out the door in the morning with no thought required!

Seriously, it sounds so simple here, but I just can't seem to make myself do it again!

I want to do morning workouts! I am so excited for next year - I have first period off, so three days a week I will have extra time in the mornings and I'm planning on hitting the gym every time!

Thanks for all of the great advice!!! I will def. start doing it, esp. not hitting the snooze, haha!

I can't offer any advice for motivating your butt out of bed, as my baby wakes me up around 6 or 7 every morning. I can, however, share that I LOVE earlymorning workouts! They make me feel so accomplished, and my whole day seems to flow better!

For years I tried getting up early...I succeeded half the time but never committed. There's something about getting up before 6am that just kills me. When I WAS doing it however, I would put my alarm across the room so I had to get up to turn it off. Then once up I usually had to pee so I would go then splash cold water on my face and wrists.

I'm so not a morning person :)

I am in the same boat as you bulldog. I have been trying to get up earlier to do my workouts before work- mind you I work 7am. So I need to get up at 5am. This is a real challenge. I do turn my alarm off and just keep saying 10-15 more minutes im going to get up. But if I keep doing this I just aint going to get results I want. So im going to do like everyone says no snooze or "extra minutes" and set everything out night before!

I really need to use some of this advice. I always tell myself as long as I plan out what I'll wear and eat the next day, I'm good to go. But I have issues with snooze and really dragging in the mornings. Family and roommates learn pretty quickly to steer clear of me in the mornings because I'm not very pleasant to be around for a few hours.

Another thing I've noticed (as recently as this morning). If I have a really healthy dinner that has both protein and carbs, its easier for me to work out in the morning. Last night I made a turkey enchilada with fat-free bean dip, salsa, low fat cheese on a brown rice tortilla (with brown rice on the side) and my body had SO much energy this morning.

Heh, this thread made me giggle. I can't wake up early in the morning to work out. Period. It would be much nicer than working out after work, but I found that when I accepted that early morning wasn't going to happen and that I had to exercise in the evenings if at all, I actually got serious about working out.

My dirty little trick when I need to wake up early is to drink a ton of water right as I'm going to bed. As soon as the alarm goes off and I'm even mildly awake I need to pee, and tadaa! I'm out of bed. LOL

Haha! That sounds like it would work amazing. With my luck I'd end up waking up at 3am and then going back to sleep.

ha! i am definately going to try drinking a lot before bed. good idea!

I have to do my main workout in the mornings (running 3 miles on the treadmill) before the kids get up. I'm so not an early morning person but I didn't give myself the option of not doing it and surprisingly that works pretty well ;)