I NEED to start working out in the AM before work. Help!
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Morning is great!! Gets the blood flowing, wakes you up, and fires up the metabolism for your day. Plus, after work, you can go home and just relax with cooking, cocktails, family/relationship time, boob tube viewing and not worry about a workout in the dark.0
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morning workouts are great (I do my CV and BW work in the mornings). allows for doubles / weights in the evening.
seriously - walk / jog - just try something like that. doesn't have to be uber strenuous, but give it a try. yes, you have to go to bed early, but with good winding down time (others made awesome suggestions), you'll be fine.
signed,
not a morning person, but has to it to ensure enough time to workout and exercise0 -
you know what an amazing gift you can give yourself?
the morning.
The morning can be magical because so many people opt out of it in order to keep their eyes closed for another hour and then scramble off to work to start their day.
Imagine starting your day in a peaceful quiet house, where you can sit and sip coffee and read a little and have a nice little workout and a non-rushed breakfast. Imagine showing up to work already awake and mentally ready for the day that you started hours ago. It makes your job just something you do for awhile in the middle of the day.
And if you had that quiet 'me' time in the morning, and then you get to come home after work and have more time to get other stuff done. And your whole mood is evened out and you feel so productive and kickass before most of the world even rolls over and hits snooze.
That's a win you can carry with you all day.
It takes a little time to make it a habit, but once you sink your teeth in, you won't wanna part with your new mornings.
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you know what an amazing gift you can give yourself?
the morning.
The morning can be magical because so many people opt out of it in order to keep their eyes closed for another hour and then scramble off to work to start their day.
Imagine starting your day in a peaceful quiet house, where you can sit and sip coffee and read a little and have a nice little workout and a non-rushed breakfast. Imagine showing up to work already awake and mentally ready for the day that you started hours ago. It makes your job just something you do for awhile in the middle of the day.
And if you had that quiet 'me' time in the morning, and then you get to come home after work and have more time to get other stuff done. And your whole mood is evened out and you feel so productive and kickass before most of the world even rolls over and hits snooze.
That's a win you can carry with you all day.
It takes a little time to make it a habit, but once you sink your teeth in, you won't wanna part with your new mornings.
AMEN.
Like the OP, I wanted to get going in the AM but for the longest time couldn't bring myself to do it...but then after a long work day, the thought of going to an overcrowded gym didn't appeal to me.
The only thing you can do is DO IT. After the first day, it gets easier.
I now wake at 4:55 AM, have a large black coffee, protein shake and banana, and leave for the gym at 5:45 AM. This gives me time to read, log my breakfast, check forums, get my gym stuff ready, etc.
Back home by 7, shower - my "fitness" day is done - work - then my evening is free - plenty of free time and absolutely NO guilt.
Down 7 lbs in 16 days thanks to hard morning workouts 4x/week and tracking my calories - and that's with 2 bad binge days last weekend due to some serious house parties.
Just commit, get up and do it. it's not hard, it's just in your mind.
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Just smash it mate you, will soon grow to love it0
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Best thing I've found is to have a really annoying sounding alarm clock, and then place it at the opposite end of your bedroom. You'll need to get out of bed to shut it off, and that in itself may help.
Works for me anyway.0 -
squirrelzzrule22 wrote: »thanks for the replies and messages! all great advice. I know its something that I just need to DO and once I'm in the habit it will get easier but it will be a big shift from night owl behaviors!
uncluttering my bedroom is a really great idea- I always feel more relaxed when it is clean.
I'm going to start slow with 9:30AM yoga tomorrow (not really early :P ) and then try and go one whole entire work week, M-F with SOME gym time in the morning, even if its just a ten minute run. Anyone who wants to join me in this endeavor shoot me a message!!
you dont have to be at work till 8.45 so you're going to do yoga at 9.30...?0 -
I'm a big offender of this as well! I always end up doing evening workouts!0
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Set the alarm clock across the room so you have to get out of the bed to turn it off. Have clothes laying right there by the bathroom so you see them as soon as you use it. Make a friend in the gym who notices when your not there and encourgages you to show up.0
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notsuchaskinnybitch wrote: »I'm a big offender of this as well! I always end up doing evening workouts!
Im the same way..ive tried and tried and i cant do it..so afternoons it is...
however considering my day starts at 6:00 am...8:45 is late and mornings wouldnt be an issue then.0 -
Set the alarm clock across the room so you have to get out of the bed to turn it off.
I still go back to sleep hahaha0 -
you just gotta do it. after a few days or a week, it'll get easier. and why in the world would you want to give up coffee?0
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handyrunner wrote: »notsuchaskinnybitch wrote: »I'm a big offender of this as well! I always end up doing evening workouts!
Im the same way..ive tried and tried and i cant do it..so afternoons it is...
however considering my day starts at 6:00 am...8:45 is late and mornings wouldnt be an issue then.
You are very different then! I could get up at 7.00 and do a 30 minute workout as I don't leave the house until 8.30 I just like my sleep
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1. do you have a window facing east? ditch curtains.
2. set the alarm and place it across the room
3. if possible, wear some/all workout clothes to bed & prep everything beforehand so you can just stagger out the door within a few minutes
4. see if anyone at the gym has the schedule you want and be workout partners?
5. no tv/caffeine the night before
This is what I do #2 is very important.
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Shannonpurple wrote: »1. do you have a window facing east? ditch curtains.
2. set the alarm and place it across the room
3. if possible, wear some/all workout clothes to bed & prep everything beforehand so you can just stagger out the door within a few minutes
4. see if anyone at the gym has the schedule you want and be workout partners?
5. no tv/caffeine the night before
This is what I do #2 is very important.
I think yours and everyone's suggestion is great (alarm clock across the room) I know this is a good idea so might try it next week. Once I am out of bed it is ok!0 -
you have to want it bad enough...and honestly its well worth the effort. You can retrain your body to love the mornings and if you persist with morning workouts in a matter of weeks you will no longer think of it as a chore. I've been getting up early for 2 yrs to get my workout done and its the best way to start the day
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Have your clothes all laid out the night before. I did that for several months early this year was great. Then the kids got out for summer break and I have had a hard time starting it again. I loved it when I was doing it seemed to make me feel energized for the day and was awesome starting out the day with a huge calorie deficit. Some times at lunch I would just be starting to go over the burned calories. Good Luck0
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you know what an amazing gift you can give yourself?
the morning.
The morning can be magical because so many people opt out of it in order to keep their eyes closed for another hour and then scramble off to work to start their day.
Imagine starting your day in a peaceful quiet house, where you can sit and sip coffee and read a little and have a nice little workout and a non-rushed breakfast. Imagine showing up to work already awake and mentally ready for the day that you started hours ago. It makes your job just something you do for awhile in the middle of the day.
And if you had that quiet 'me' time in the morning, and then you get to come home after work and have more time to get other stuff done. And your whole mood is evened out and you feel so productive and kickass before most of the world even rolls over and hits snooze.
That's a win you can carry with you all day.
It takes a little time to make it a habit, but once you sink your teeth in, you won't wanna part with your new mornings.
this gets a hell yeah! it's all true and wonderful and exactly why i love mornings and running in the morning 0 -
I have a song that makes me happy, as an alarm.
At the moment, it's Circle Of Life, from The Lion King!
Waking up with "Aaaaaaazebenejaaaaamanimissinamaaaaa" is awesome!0 -
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I read this idea recently and I think it's a good one. I have used it myself on occasion.
Don't worry about working out, just make your goal getting to the gym. Sometimes, it's not so much the idea of early rising that makes me lazy, it's the idea of a work out. So I just tell myself to go to the gym. If I don't want to work out once I get there, I don't have too - I can go home. But, once I'm there, I stay. Goal accomplished.0 -
Squirrelzzrule, is your alarm clock close to your bed? On a night table, maybe? THAT is the first thing you need to change. Move your alarm clock across the room. Force yourself to get out of bed just to turn it off. (Put it in the bathroom if it's loud enough!) Once you are actually out of bed and your body is moving, it's a lot easier to get it in gear and get going. I have heard it takes approximately 13 weeks to establish a habit. That's pretty close to the truth. I know after a couple or three months, for me, I started waking ten, fifteen minutes before the alarm went off. What did I do? I just got up! So I set the alarm for the earlier time. Pretty soon, I'm waking up before THAT time set. I Now get up around 4:15, get to my gym. I'm fortunate to have an almost complete gym at home so I don't even have to leave the house!.
I also have an alarm on my cell phone, set for fifteen minutes after the alarm clock, just in case the walking across the bedroom thing doesn't work.
Good luck!0 -
michellemybelll wrote: »you know what an amazing gift you can give yourself?
the morning.
The morning can be magical because so many people opt out of it in order to keep their eyes closed for another hour and then scramble off to work to start their day.
Imagine starting your day in a peaceful quiet house, where you can sit and sip coffee and read a little and have a nice little workout and a non-rushed breakfast. Imagine showing up to work already awake and mentally ready for the day that you started hours ago. It makes your job just something you do for awhile in the middle of the day.
And if you had that quiet 'me' time in the morning, and then you get to come home after work and have more time to get other stuff done. And your whole mood is evened out and you feel so productive and kickass before most of the world even rolls over and hits snooze.
That's a win you can carry with you all day.
It takes a little time to make it a habit, but once you sink your teeth in, you won't wanna part with your new mornings.
this gets a hell yeah! it's all true and wonderful and exactly why i love mornings and running in the morning
I think I need to print this out and stick it next to my bed!0 -
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I make sure I have my clothes and shoes ready. I get up at 4:40 every morning. So I can get in an hour at the gym before I have to get back home and get my kids up and ready for school and go to work. Luckily my son is 16 so I can go in the mornings.0
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Took me a year to get into the habit of waking up at 4am to drive an hour to the gym so I could work out and then go to work. I also work a different job in the evenings so its hard to get enough sleep! Make sure that you get a sleep routine together before you try to go hard at the gym in the mornings.
When my alarm goes off - I ask myself, is sleeping that extra hour REALLY going to make me any less tired at the end of the day? Then I remind myself, that if I work out now, I 1. dont have to do it later and 2. will eat better because my workout is done and I dont have the chance to make it up to myself later. Finally, I remind myself that the extra hour of sleep throws off my whole routine and could ruin the rest of my week (not really, but that is what I tell myself) and I roll my *kitten* out of bed!
- Be consistent 0 -
This might sound silly, but there are alarm apps that force you to get up and go into another room before they turn off (like you must scan xyz item in the kitchen, etc) - maybe try one of those so you're up and around and awake?0
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You are all making me feel very lazy.0
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notsuchaskinnybitch wrote: »You are all making me feel very lazy.justcat206 wrote: »This might sound silly, but there are alarm apps that force you to get up and go into another room before they turn off (like you must scan xyz item in the kitchen, etc) - maybe try one of those so you're up and around and awake?
Thanks so much! Just found them http://lifehacker.com/5979811/the-most-sadistic-apps-that-force-you-to-get-stuff-done0 -
I started by getting a mini stepper machine for $50 at Walmart and doing 200 steps in the morning while watching TV. It takes maybe 15 to 20 minutes, doesn't require getting dressed and going to the gym, and helps build a good morning workout habit. As previous poster already mentioned, there are even short aerobic workouts on youtube. Just start somewhere small.0
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