i could never do that. I already have to wake up at 5:00 to be at work at 6am, and getting up to work out would kill me.

as a night person, i just find it easier to work out at night, but if i could wake up early and work out i would.

I dont eat before my morning workouts... I just cant do it and If I do that gives me less to eat for the rest of the day and I'm starving when I workout in the morning...I just make sure to hydrate and eat once I'm done...it really hasnt been a problem

What helps me is making a commitment. I joined a bootcamp in the area, 5x a week at 6:45am. I have a driving buddy and knowing she is coming to get me, or I have to go get her really helps. Being responsible is one thing I'm good at lol

Originally Posted by HaleyisLove:
I dont eat before my morning workouts... I just cant do it and If I do that gives me less to eat for the rest of the day and I'm starving when I workout in the morning...I just make sure to hydrate and eat once I'm done...it really hasnt been a problem

Our boot camp instructor tells us specifically NOT to eat. He said if we have to, a light fruit is fine but overall, it's better when you're working out SO early in the morning not to eat. Your body will then be forced to get the energy from stored fat. I found this to be SO true. Losing more weight than I ever have before.

Here is a recent study done on eating before working out. Just thought I'd throw the facts out there. THis study says you burn more fat when you do NOT eat before working out in the morning =)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37492881/

Wow so many replies! This is great. I love all the tips everyone is giving. I will try to lay everything out before I go to bed, even have my mat rolled out and my weights on the floor, clothes. I won't go to the extreme of sleeping in my workout clothes lol - I like au natural and that would just make me sweat buckets in my sleep.


All of my clocks upstairs are 10 min faster so I'm not late for work. I think I will move them to 20 minutes (it's aaaaaaaallll in my head) to trick myself, and try getting up earlier. Also my alarm is on the dresser away from the bed, fiance's is beside him so I would have to get up to hit snooze anyway.

I am such a weak kitten in the morning, so I will try a glass of water before my workout and see how it goes.

Make a little sign with the following quote:

Awake, arise, or forever be fallen! -John Milton

And hang the sign by your bed so you see it when you wake up.

Make it a habit.

I like it b/c if I workout after work, I spend the whole day trying to talk myself out of working out. But in the morning, I just get up and do it and then its done.

Reward yourself with completion of your morning workouts.

Hmm reward ? What type of reward? lol

Well it's 7:15 a.m. and I just got in from my morning run. I can't believe I actually did it! Lol.. this thread really motivated me. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, I will let you know at the end of the day because I'm sure it will benefit me throughout the day and I will be totally relieved that my run is out of the way.

When I first started I wasn't feeling it.
#1 because the sun wasn't up. I love feeling the sun beat down on me. Plus, I live in the "city" and the dark made me a little uncomfortable. It was pretty light after about 5 -10 minutes though.
#2 Although I stretched, I was feeling pretty stiff from just waking up.

Those are both things I can get used to though. I think the positives may outweigh the negatives!

Originally Posted by Krizstyling:
Here is a recent study done on eating before working out. Just thought I'd throw the facts out there. THis study says you burn more fat when you do NOT eat before working out in the morning =)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37492881/

I certainly like the idea! I wonder if milk in your coffee counts as eating? The opinions vary on this topic, but to me, it makes sense. I've heard that all my life, and I do it (aside from the milk in the coffee) and it certainly seems to ring true. Thanks for all your info, you seem to be very well informed! :D

I definitely can't eat before I work out - I feel ill if I do. I do my workout, drink water the whole time, and then shower and head to work. I eat breakfast at work within a half hour of arriving...it's been working for me!

I did it this morning ! I didn't as much out of the workout though. I was weak and stiff and tired easily. It was just level 1 of 30 day shred.

I compensated for the half-assed workout, and went to my gym after work. I did the stairmaster for 30 minutes and did a few different core strength exercises on the BOSU.

Originally Posted by tinycities:
I started exercising in the mornings when I stopped letting my current opinions, preferences and beliefs about myself define who I was.

I used to think I was definitely "not a morning person", but then I realised there isn't really such a thing as a "morning person". I haven't got a dislike of mornings and getting up early hard-wired into my DNA, and so these preferences and characteristics are choices, or at the very least, things I can change. If I wanted to choose to enjoy that part of the day, then I could.

And so I did! I stopped believing that people who got up to exercise early were somehow fundamentally different to me, or just a different "type" of person. There was something about that way of behaving that appealed to me, so I thought I would try it for myself. <snip>

So responding to your question in a nutshell, I motivated myself to exercise early in the day by:
1. Abandoning the idea that my current preferences and feelings about this were set in stone (which in itself, I found very liberating), then, once I felt more open minded,
2. Just having a go at it, to see how it made me feel!

I just loved reading this! It was a revelation reading that first sentence. Such a smart way to look at things, and I thank you for making me realize that I have more choices than I thought.

I'm an afternoon person, I have no energy to work out in the mornings and when I do all I want to do is go back to bed, it doesn't wake me up like my afternoon workouts do.