I recently saw a thread about what to eat before working out early in the morning, but I figured I'd start a new thread about working out early in general. I am NOT a morning person. However, over the next few weeks I'm taking summer classes that start at 7:30am and go until 3:00pm. Then I work most days from 5:00-10:00pm. I really feel like if I made myself get up BEFORE my 7:30 class and work out, I'd feel better during the day and wouldn't have to worry about fitting it in later on in the day.
So for those of you who normally work out super early (like 5:00am early)...how do you do it? lol Are you morning people in general? Do you motivate yourself somehow to get up? Are there any tricks to not hitting the snooze button? I've been trying to do this for the last 3 days in a row and literally cannot pull myself out of bed to do it. Any advice would help!!
Thanks for the advice! I don't normally drink coffee in the morning but I do take in some caffeine throughout the day via diet coke. I'll definitely have to try the cold water thing!
I'm out of bed at 5am and working out by 5:10am. Some things that help:
*Set up as much as you can the night before. Lay out all the clothes you'll need to wear (including shoes and socks). Also, pick out which workout you're going to do and put it in the DVD player, and get any handweights or mats or balls that you might need. When I get up in the mornings I climb out of bed, throw off my pj's, put on my workout clothes, turn on the TV, press play, and go.
*Let your self hit the snooze button a couple of times. I purposely set my alarm to go of earlier than I really need it to, so that I can press it one or two times, and still be up in time to get in my workout. That quiet time of just laying there half-awake helps me ease into getting out of bed so early. This may not work for you, but it works for me.
*Go to bed as early as you can! If you only got 5 hours of sleep that night, it doesn't matter what time you're getting up, you're going to be tired! Try to get as much sleep as you can so that you're well rested for your workout and the rest of your day.
I am not a morning person by nature although 5 years of routinely working out in the morning has turned me into one.
I remember spending the first week just getting up. I didnt workout, I just got up. Then the next week I got dressed.
Tell yourself you only have to workout for 10 minutes. Really the important thing the first couple weeks is getting up no matter how tired you are. I couldnt go to bed earlier until the morning wake up forced me to. I wasnt tired.
And dont sleep in on the weekends. Sucks, but until your routine is FIRMLY established one sleep in can really set you back. Sometimes on the weekend I'll get up, workout and go back to bed, but I still get up.
I get up at 5:45 to go to a 6:30 am boot camp. I have two tricks, the first is to put my alarm clock away from my bed, that way I have to GET UP to turn it off or snooze it. And I also sleep in my exercise pants. I know this might sound weird, but I swear it's kept me going so many times.
I can't tell you how often I've stood in the bathroom brushing my teeth thinking to myself how I should just crawl back in to bed, but then there's a voice that screams at me - BUT YOU'RE ALREADY HALFWAY DRESSED! And it's right, so I usually decide it's just as easy to put on a sports bra, shirt and head out as it is to get back in bed.
Plus, like I always say, I find myself regretting not working out, but I never regret actually going.
I'm a morning person, 100%. I've always felt better getting up early and moving around, and my body has just gotten on a schedule. For me, sleeping to 7 am is "late." I work out around 5:15 am. Some days it's harder than others to get up, wake up, get ready and start sweating so soon after rolling out of bed, but I always feel better afterward.
Total morning person here! It's hard getting my feet to hit the floor, but once they're there, I'm UP...and chipper.
My alarm is across the room and it generally jolts me out of bed.
Plan the night before.
Keep the routine. I've surprised myself this summer by getting up Monday-Friday at 5:00 even though I'm off work. I can't believe how much easier that is and I'm not dreading starting back to work in a month because my routine has not changed. I "sleep in" on Saturdays and Sundays until about 7:00. My body just doesn't want to sleep any longer than that. And when I "sleep in", if I don't work out right away, I am sluggish the whole darn day.
I love early morning exercise. It does provide energy for the day.
I'm a night owl, but I try to get a run before work a couple of times a week. I set two alarms in the morning at 5:30 am. I roll out of bed and then I linger over coffee for an hour. For some reason, I can't get up and then run right away. I need some waking up time before I go out.
When I get done running, I'm ready to hustle. I shower and dress in 20 minutes and then I get on my bike and ride 3 miles to work. I don't bother blow drying or styling my hair in the summer. With the sweat, the humidity and the bike helmet head, I'm not going to win any beauty contests.
One last thing. If I am going to run in the morning, I go to bed way early- 8:30 - 9 pm. I'm one of those people who needs a lot of sleep.
How I feel at work after a run & bike ride is amazing. It makes getting up early well worth it.
I'm going to be attempting this as well, so it's good to read so many helpful comments.
I do the trick of setting your alarm earlier then you need it to go off, just so I can hit the snooze at least once.
I work 10-6 and from my work to the gym it's about a 45 min trip on the bus, I'm really hating working out right now just because I don't want to get home after 8pm and then have dinner. I'm now thinking about getting up at 5:30 and huffing it down to the gym which is close to my house for when it opens at 6 am, then showering there, bussing back up to put on make up and get dressed and go to work.
I don't know how well this will work, I may end up having to work out at home.
Move your alarm clock to the other side of the room.
Wash your face right when you get up--
Lay out what you need the night before
And its not a bad idea to start right now waking up earlier, even if you arent working out just yet. Getting your body adjusted to the new schedule will help.
So start waking up at 5 or 530 or whenever, for the next couple weeks, even if you just go and sit in fron of the news and drink coffee. Seriously half the battle is adjusting your body to the new schedule. That should really only be an issue for a week or two. After that it becomes second nature.
Thanks everyone for the great tips!!! I think part of my problem is that my phone, which I use as my alarm, is charging right next to my bed all night. So when it goes off I barely have to even wake up to hit snooze. I'm definitely going to be taking the advice of moving it across the room. That should help a lot! I also like the idea of just getting up early for a while, even if i don't work out. If I tell myself I don't have to work out...just get up and watch tv or something...it'll be easier to crawl out of bed and more than likely i'll end up working out anyway once I've been up for a few minutes.
Advice on early morning workouts
