How did you make a habit of waking up early for the gym?

LastingChanges

Looking for motivation and suggestions. I have a hard time waking up early for the gym but really want to make it a habit.
Please share how you did it.

Mr_Knight

It needed to be done. Decided to do it.

IsaackGMOON

I don't. If I don't want to get up early for the gym, I don't see any point because it will feel like a chore instead of what it usually is for me...

If you want to make it a habit... you'll get it done.

maasha81

I didn't ...I already wake up 5am to get ready for work and my son to school. I workout after work or at night when its convenient ...this makes me stick to working out regularly.

Do what's best for you. My friends works out in the morning. She actually has her sneakers by her alarm and bag ready to go. It's routine for her now.

Marcus_2015

I can only go in the morning... go to bed early enough and you should be ok....

I now prefer the morning... it is my alone time - I wake up an hour before going to the gym, have my coffee and light pre workout breakfast.

Embrace it!

R

beastier

Just get out of bed & don't debate it as you'll ultimately prefer that extra hours sleep

Then it becomes something you just do - much easier to get in the equipment you want at 6:30am plus no need to mess around with an extra shower that's you'd have to take when working out later in the day

LastingChanges

@maasha81 thanks I might try this. Leave my sneakers and clothes right by my bed.
@Rhyalus How many hours of sleep do you get? I can only go in the morning as well because of my schedule and also any other time of the day intense exercising makes me nauseous no matter how many hours in advance I eat.

I have worked out in the morning before and it feels really great, I don't have to worry about working out the rest of the day, and it just puts me in a good mood and energy for the rest of the day. Just can't seem to make it an every day habit.

Marcus_2015

I usually go to bed around 10pm and I am up at 5:15am. I leave for the gym at 6:15am and do 90 minutes (30 mins of cardio and 60 mins of weight lifting). I do this every other day.

Morning feels best for me too!

R

zdyb23456

Now that my kids are back in school I decided to do my run at 5 am 3 mornings a week - the days the I work. It's hard, but I get my workout out of the way and can go to work right after dropping the kids off at school. Now, I'm not rushed squeezing in a workout between dropping kids off and getting to work by 9am. I get in an extra hour of work, which is more money too.

girlinahat

I realised that I'd been waking up at 6.20 and then spending half an hour slowly waking then checking my emails laid in bed. I figured if I just GOT OUT OF BED and went for a half hour walk, that woke me up and was a whole lot healthier.

So that's what I do. I don't wake any earlier than before, but just have everything ready the night before. This includes my breakfast muesli, which I eat when I get to work.

I wouldn't sacrifice sleep for it though - sleep is vital.

PennyChampagne

I go to the gym before work. I'm a nurse and work 12 hour shifts so it's the only way to get a workout in. The first day was rough. By the time I got to work I thought I would throw up. After that it got easier. I don't do it everyday but on the weekdays I work I try. Get everything ready the night before and eat a light pre workout meal

Chessie28804

i barely could unless my husband dragged me out of bed..and then I couldn't even remember what route I ran, so I started working third shift hahaha

Alissakae

It's painful the first couple of weeks, until your body gets used to it. I agree that it makes a lot of difference to have everything you need packed up and ready to go the night before!

DavPul

Mr_Knight wrote: »

It needed to be done. Decided to do it.

There's nothing more to it than that. Adults gonna adult

Ready2Rock206

I don't. I only get around 6 hours of sleep as it is. I couldn't function on only 4. I workout in the evenings instead.

oh_happy_day

I only do it 2-3 times a week. I mostly train at night but I like to use the mornings to get some yoga in. I have my clothes laid out and just get up as soon as my alarm goes off. Like a robot. Don't think about why/why not. I get up, get dressed and go.

I never regret it. My yoga studio has huge windows that let the sunrise in - I'm always more cheerful when I get to work on those mornings!

smileymaxine

If you have too you have too. I prep my smoothies a week or two ahead then freeze them ... Make them the night before ... My gym has clothes and my shoes in my lockers so all I have to do is wake up grab smoothie and go .

Still hell though ! Just get early nights , prep and alarm clocks.
I used to sleep in my running clothes too but that was marathon training and I really hated mornings

andyluvv

I go at irregular times and the trick that works for me is preparing my gym bag the day before, before going to sleep. That way I know it has to be done and it just fits in my routine for the day.

I also work to work everyday and skip two train stations close to my house getting the third along the way. It's a horrible sedentary office job so I get my exercise whichever way I can!

andyluvv

Also habit. A friend once said something and it's very true. A new routine will feel weird dot the first 3 months. After that, it turns into habit and it'll feel weird to not do it.

KittensMaster

I'm up early getting ready for a bike ride

Find a fun activity

Make some new friends

Tell them you will join them for rides... You are kind of on the hook then !!

If you don't want to make the effort then you will fail. This won't happen by itself. Make up your mind you want it!

Do the deficit and add exercise you like.

Stick with it and you will be glad you did when you reach your goals!

joeyana7

Mindset of ' I wanna get healthier and Im gonna try everyday to accomplish that'.

999tigger

I didnt, not a morning person. I made a habit of going to the gym just by keeping on top of it and not making excuses. The buggest challenge is getting yourself in there.

gaelicstorm26

I admire you morning workout-ers. I just can't. I do mine after my kids go to bed, so I'm usually hitting the gym around 8-8:30 at night (weekends are an exception to this). I just refuse to go to bed any earlier because the few hours I get at night while the kids are in bed are the only hours of quiet I get in a day. I work in an elementary school (well two elementary schools, a middle school, and alternative education). I'm a night owl though and I already leave the house by 7:15 am to be at work by 7:30.

If you want to do it in the mornings, you need to have your routine down if you also work/have kids. Have your things ready the night before (bottle of water in the fridge, gym clothes on the dresser/beside the bed, work clothing all picked out, lunch for work packed the night before) so you aren't rushing around. If it is too hectic you'll burn out. I think planning ahead would be key.

Joreanasaurous

I leave my clothes out and ready and then set my alarm and leave it far enough away I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Once I am already out of bed... might as well just go.

AbsoluteTara79

I made going to the gym, at all, a habit by finding time in the evenings after my kids went to bed for the first seven months. When I decided to switch to mornings it was easy because going isn't even a question anymore - just part of my life now.

And go to bed early. Of course.

slideaway1

I have a lot of respect for people that can do this. It just does not suit my routine/life style. I know that my mind set would turn it into a chore that I didnt want to do and the sacrifice (extra time in bed lol) would make me rebel against it and would ultimately become less sustainable. I go to the gym when I'm feeling excited about working out and can concentrate all my efforts into it. This is usually of an evening on workdays and a few hours after waking on weekends. I'm so exhausted after a workout that the idea of then going to work and having a full day ahead after would probably distract me.

MelodyandBarbells

I'm out the door at 6 AM Saturday mornings for a class I like. It's sometimes my only opportunity to take that class some weeks and it's one of my favorites. Gym bag is packed the night before, workout clothes already selected and set beside the gym bag as well. I use the Reminders app on iPhone and check off items as they're packed. I don't have to go to work or anything afterwards, but nothing could feel more normal now

cnbbnc

I don't know, but I'm trying it in the morning for the first time.

annekka

I've always been a morning person but I'd just lay in bed and drift in and out of sleep for a while. That being said I now run three mornings a week. On top of making sure I go to bed on the earlier side, I lay my clothes out the night before and make sure all of my other running stuff is out and in order. As soon as the alarm goes off I get out of bed, no excuses. Also helps that I have a feline alarm clock who starts demanding to be fed as soon as the alarm goes off.