Good Morning Ladies!!

I was just wondering how those who get up super early in the morning get used to doing it? I want to start going to the gym at 5am. I usually don't get up until 6, and I work at 7. Any pointers as to how I can get myself used to waking up?

This is something I still struggle with. I have to make it a priority to get to bed earlier (~9:30 p.m.) if I plan to get up and work out at 5:00 a.m. Something else that might help is getting a "sunrise simulator." It's an inexpensive device you plug into a lamp in your bed room and it makes the lamp slowly come on to help you wake up. There are also clocks w/ lights that do the same thing.

Good luck and good for you for getting up early to exercise!

Do it for a month, it will become habit, and actually someting your body will look forward too. You do need to go to bed earlier though. It is so nice to watch the sun come up and you have gotten in your exercise for the day!

I'm actually considering waking up early and going to the gym. I haven't yet though I really need to pack a gym bag at night but I keep "forgetting".

I didn't. I started making excuses for not getting out for my walk, and I realized that if I was trying to force myself to do something that was difficult for me, that I was likely to fail. So I switched my exercise time to the evening and found ideas I could stick to without the struggle. I didn't want to fail. The more I did it, the more routine it became. But when I first started trying to do this in the mornings, I simply started reverting back to my old habits, hitting snooze, and talking myself out of it.

I agree. You really have to do what works for you, and what works well with your schedule. Otherwise, you will eventually get frustrated and start making excuses.

I've been exercising for about 10 months first thing in the morning. I wake up between 4:30 and 5:00. I throw on some clothes and get going. I started out making a commitment to myself to do it for 6 weeks, with no excuses. Commitment was the key for me. I had read that if I could do it for 6 weeks, it would become a habit and that was really true for me. Now if something BIG comes up and I can't exercise first thing in the morning, I feel yucky the rest of the day. It's such a great feeling to get that done first thing in the morning. I have more energy and keep that little "high" feeling going all day.

On the practical side, you must get to sleep early. That is the thing most likely to screw me up. Have your clothes ready to go. Get organized the night before if you have to. Make this a priority, for this 6 weeks, and I hope it will work out for you like it has for me. Good for you for wanting to do this!

I've tried this several times, and it just doesn't work for me. I can never force myself into doing it long enough to become a habit, I guess. I am much more inclined to work out right after work. I eat a small protein rich snack about 4, and am working out by 5:30. The other problem for me is that as others have said, if you're getting up that early, you must go to bed early, like 9 - 9:30. My life involves several activities that keep me out later than that, and while I agree that exercise is necessary, I'm not giving up everything I enjoy to do it. Since most of these meetings, etc. start at 7, I can still workout and get to them too.

Whatever works for you is the key here. Actually exericising is the important component here, not when you do it.

I have read that getting up earlier is easier if you merely try ten minutes earlier a day. This is easier for your body to adjust to than suddenly getting up an hour earlier. But you know what/ I thihnk getting up early is always tough! Good for you for trying!

when i am planning on getting up early for working out - i am in bed by 9 and up at 0330 and out running by 0400 so i can be leaving my house at 0600 to make it to work on time... it took me about 2 weeks to get used to it.

I agree with those who've said to simply start doing it. Go to bed earlier and try it for a while to see if it works. It's so great to have that done before the day even begins! And it helps you stay on track with your food too throughout the day. Let us know how you do

For the most part, I don't get up early to work out. I work out sometime during the day (I try to get it in before 4 PM when the gym starts to get busy).

But if I have a busy day scheduled and I know I won't be able to fit my workout in at my regular time, I get up early and do it. And it does feel really good. I'm not a morning person but I find that by starting my day with a workout, I actually feel much more awake for the rest of my day. And I feel so darn smug all day about having my workout out of the way. And, the gym is usually pretty quiet at 5 or 6 AM so I get my choice of equipment.

In fact, I do get up early on Saturdays to go swimming. I've just worked it into my Saturday routine: get up at 6:30, go swimming, shower, go to the farmers market, come home and have breakfast.

So I guess I would echo what the others have said. Try it for a while: it might become a habit (like Saturdays have become for me) and you won't think twice about it. If you do it for a while and it's still a struggle, then find a time to workout that isn't such a struggle.

- Barbara

You could probably place your alarm clock on the other side of the room...so when it sets off, you would have to turn it off by getting up from your bed ). As long as you don't flop back into it

I have to revisit this issue from time to time. I have to workout early because I won't exercise the evening when I am tired - I have to get up early to make it work for me. I try to get myself on auto pilot by saying over and over to myself, "when the alarm goes off my feet hit the floor", like a mantra. I say it to myself as I am falling asleep and I say to myself when the alarm goes off. I try not to think about it too much, it's just the rule. Honestly, once I am actually in a vertical position it doesn't take long to wake up and get going it's just the initial act of crawling out of bed that is hardest for me.

My cats cry to go out between 5:30 and 6 most mornings (and they will til it's really cold). I manage to get up, let them out, go to the bathroom, and get back in bed and sleep in about 1.5 minutes! Just being on my feet doesn't mean I'm up!

I'm really not mocking those of you who are morning people, or who have the discipline to get up and workout in the morning. It just doesn't work for me for the most part. When working out in the evenings doesn't work, I'll probably reconsider early mornings. If I only didn't have to go to work....