Getting your *kitten* out of bed in the morning

Renzi27

So tell me - how do you do it? I've come to the realization that the ONLY time I am able to exercise has to be in the morning before work - because afterwards there is dinner to be made, homework to be done and other things like soccer/baseball practice that the kids need to be at.

SO my question is this -- HOW do you morning exercisers do it? I know it's a "you just gotta do it" kind of thing but I need the specifics...do you set three alarms? Do you have a friend call you to wake you up? Do you go to bed at 7pm?

I'm just curious since I just cannot seem to get my *kitten* out of bed in the morning. TIA

Ready2Rock206

No idea. I have the same issue. I've even tried going to bed earlier but am still so very very tired in the morning. I need something to physically drag me out of bed in the morning and toss me in the shower and then maybe that would work! LOL!

pomegranatecloud

The only way I get up is if I sign up for a class in the morning because I don't want to be charged $20+ for something I was too lazy to attend.

giantrobot_powerlifting

This isn't necessarily directed at you, OP, but I am simply flabbergasted at the amount of times I see a post like this in the forums.

Renzi27 wrote: »

I know it's a "you just gotta do it" kind of thing but I need the specifics...do you set three alarms? Do you have a friend call you to wake you up? Do you go to bed at 7pm?

None of that will matter to you if you are not motivated. If you are truly motivated, you will barely be able to sleep at night because of the anticipation of wanting to train that badly.

That's me. I can't wait to wake at 330 and under the bar 430am.

BLifts38

I've been getting up at 5:15 AM since October for my morning workouts. For me, it's just one alarm - and get out of bed before I even really realize what I'm doing. Call me crazy, but I'm actually excited to go to the gym in the morning... especially after noticing a lot of results. It fuels me. I immediately get dressed, walk my dog (I live in New England so the cold air really wakes you up), grab a quick bite to eat and chug some pre workout, and I'm at the gym by 5:45 at the latest.

Seriously though, don't set multiple alarms. That's the worst possible thing. Just hop out of bed at your first alarm. It takes 3 weeks for something to become a habit, so those first 3 weeks will probably suck, but knowing your workout is over before 7:30 AM is AWESOME! I have my whole day ahead of me.

And yes, I'm in bed by 10:00 PM at the absolute LATEST (usually it's around 8:00 pm or so).

DrifterBear

I'm kind of a morning person to begin with but it takes time to build a routine. I pack a gym bag the night before so everything is ready and use my phone as an alarm in a place where I have to get up to turn it off. I think a lot if just mental commitment. Sometimes I decide I need the rest and go back to bed. Most of the time, if I get up and am super tired I just feel guilty when I get back in bed and get back up anyway. I try to figure out if i'm physically exhausted from working out or just tired.

biodorkus

I feel ya; I've never been a morning person, but I finally realized a while back that I would never exercise regularly if I kept trying to do it in the evening since my work schedule is inconsistent and I'm usually hungry after work. My tricks:

- Sleep in your workout clothes (I exercise at home). In the winter especially, I don't want to change from my warm PJs into chilly yoga pants. So I sleep in the pants and a t-shirt, and when I get up I just add a sports bra, socks, and sneakers, and I'm ready to go!

- I have one of those wi-fi lightbulbs (cost about $40) in my bedside lamp that I program to gradually come on about 15 min. before the alarm so that when I wake up it's already bright in my room.

I still hate waking up early, but I always feel better after exercising (mentally and physically). Even if it's only 15 min. some days, I like claiming that time for myself first thing before work or anything else can interfere.

superfox12082

I have to get up right when my alarm goes off or I won't. I've been getting up at 5:30 for a couple years now. Once you get in the habit, it's really not so bad. I go to bed around 9:30-10:00.

cwolfman13

I usually ride at lunch, but as the weather heats up I will be moving that to early AM. It's usually only a PITA for the first couple of weeks and then it just becomes normal. While I'm still and never will be a tremendous fan of early mornings, it gets a little easier after a couple weeks. I always feel great when I'm out there too...there's nothing quite like being on the bike on a new, crisp summer morning with the sun coming up...the getting up part kind of sucks, but ultimately it's worth it.

I just set my alarm and get up. I keep all of my cycling gear by the garage door so I can just suit up and go. I am generally in bed somewhere between 9 and 10 PM.

LazyButHealthy

*kitten*.

AmyRhubarb

For me, it was when the feeling of regret at not getting a workout for so many days was worse than the struggle of getting up early.

I think I started with a shorter workout, maybe just 30 minutes, so I wouldn't have to get up THAT much earlier. I got my workout clothes out the night before, ready to go. I workout at home, so I had my weights out, DVD player loaded (or youtube/website vid ready) so I just had to click play. And then the resolve that I was going to do it - no excuses!

The feeling of having it done first thing, out of the way, and starting my day with an awesome workout is incredible. Sets the tone for the whole day. So then you cling to that, remember how awesome you feel, and it makes it a little easier to get up early the next day. Plus, getting up early and getting those workouts in will make an earlier bed time a little easier to stick to, so you turn in earlier to get your zzz's, making it easier to get up, and so on and so forth.

I still love sleeping in, and sometimes I still do - but most days I know I have to get it done early, or it's not going to happen, and that's just not acceptable!

lithezebra

I don't eat after 5pm, so I'm hungry in the morning.

Rage_Phish

i jsut do it. set alarm, get out of bed, go to gym

oldsoul918

One alarm. No back-up. No second alarm. No snooze. I get up and I go. If I don't, I risk being late to work because there is no other alarm that's going to go off. Everything is ready to go the night before and I'm out the door in about 10 minutes usually. I go to bed at 8pm because the alarm goes off at 2:50am.

Was it hard at first? Yes, very. But it gets easier. And since morning is the only time that works for me I make it happen. I've been hitting the gym at that hour for a couple years now (before that it was 3:40am for a couple years) and now I wake up before my alarm even goes off a lot of times just because I'm used to it.

It's not easy, but it gets easier with time. You just have to choose...you either want it or you don't.

rakowskidp

Renzi27 wrote: »

SO my question is this -- HOW do you morning exercisers do it? I know it's a "you just gotta do it" kind of thing but I need the specifics...do you set three alarms? Do you have a friend call you to wake you up? Do you go to bed at 7pm?

I go to bed whenever my oldest son (severely autistic and in need of constant supervision) lets me. Sometimes, that's 9:30 PM, sometimes closer to midnight. And I force myself to get up at 4:40 AM every weekday regardless.

I set a silent alarm for 4:30 on my Vivoactive and snooze once before getting out of bed. Then it's off to the gym!

kimny72

Put the alarm across the room so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. It will get easier.

I am not a morning person. I have been told that you get acclimated to it, but when I have had jobs that required me to get up really early, I never got used to it no matter how much sleep I get. I work out in the evenings because that is when I have the most energy, I get a better workout. But if you can't do that, then you do what you gotta do .

In all seriousness, if I was told I had won $10 million but had to pick it up at 6AM, I would NOT wake up excited, and I would drag my butt in there like I was going to the dentist. I just don't work that way. I think sunsets are prettier than sunrises too

zdyb23456

I wake up at 4:50 and I permit myself to hit snooze twice I'm on my treadmill by 5:30am.

I have worn my sports bra and shorts to bed

When it's cooler I keep my fuzzy bathrobe right by my bed so I can wrap up in it right away. I found the hardest part was getting out of a warm bed when it's cold!! Once I'm up and moving around I'm fine.

It does get easier the more you do it as long as you're consistent - I found going back and forth just made it harder!

What motivates me is how much smoother and easier my day goes when I workout early. I'm not panic'd or rushed trying to squeeze in a workout between driving kids around, work, etc.

I go to bed between 9-10pm, but I've been known to doze off at 8:30 in front of the tv. Thank goodness for video on demand! I've missed the end of many shows because I fall asleep - lol.

stealthq

Same stuff you do whenever you're setting up a new habit. Make it as easy for yourself to do it as possible and hard not to.

When I was going in the morning, I'd set my alarm and have my running gear ready to go. If you can't get out of bed, set the alarm in another room, or get your SO to kick you out of bed if you don't get up, or make yourself stay up after all of the stuff you have to do in the evenings to get a workout in anyway.

That last one will usually do it, but you have to commit and DO IT ... suddenly getting up early won't seem nearly so bad.

foxygirl14

This sounds super pessimistic, but I basically hate mornings either way: so I might as well do something I'm proud of and then have my whole day in front of me instead of being tired at work anyway and being guilty for skipping it too. Oh well, as sad as that sounds it works for me haha

Spliner1969

Go to bed earlier. That was the only thing that allowed me to get up early enough to work out in the mornings before work. When 8pm rolls around I get ready for bed. By 9pm I am in bed. I may watch a TV show or something but I am usually asleep before 10pm. I then get up at 5am or 5:30am, drink coffee or a pre-workout and jump on my M5 by 6am sharp. I work out until 7 then get ready for work by 8. It's hectic but if I don't get to bed early enough it simply doesn't happen. I have allergies so I tend to use Benadryl daily anyway, but one or two at 9pm usually makes it that much easier to go to sleep by 10. If you can't make yourself go to bed early enough it simply isn't going to happen, or you're going to deprive yourself of sleep doing it and that will hurt your progress as far as fitness/endurance anyway. Motivate yourself to go to bed early, over a period of a few weeks it'll help you get enough sleep to get up early enough. Use a non-addictive sleep aid if you have to, just don't do it long term. There are also natural options for that.

If you have family or kids that keep you from going to bed earlier then discuss it with them and see if they can change the way they do things to help you accomplish the goal. My wife already got up early anyway so now I simply get up around the same time she does anyway. Weekends is a different story. I sleep in for an extra couple of hours on purpose. It gives me extra rest and I work out extra hard on the weekends anyway. I take my rest days on Mondays because we all know Monday's suck, and it might as well be a rest day. ;P

ew_david

I am so not a morning person, but the feeling of leaving work at 5pm and not having to fight for gym equipment was reason enough to get it out of the way at 5am.

Djproulx

This always helps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuPLxQD4akQ

shagerty777

Discipline. I set the alarm for 5 am and get up to shut it off then go to the gym. A year later and I'm now finding it harder to sleep in on weekends. The time change does screw with me for a while though.

filovirus76

I honestly think some people are just "morning people". It is naturally easier for them. I get up at 5:00 AM 3 times a week no problem. But I also never stay up past 10:00 PM. I think getting on a regular sleep pattern helps.

jfp420

I have my alarm in the kitchen so thar I have to get up and walk across the house to shut it off. Once I'm out of bed the hardest part is over!

Katerbels

I am not a morning person, at all, but I actually didn't mind waking up at 5:30 to go to the gym. The first few days were tough, I almost had my husband call to wake me up at first but I was determined, and it really wasn't that bad! I think you need to be completely dedicated to it, and rip off the band-aid. I only stopped because I had to start being to work earlier and got out of my routine.

Renzi27

These are great motivators! Seems like the general consensus is that the snooze is not your friend. I'm looking forward to kicking that habit and making morning workouts a new routine.

Fittreelol

There was a period of 6 months where I had to train at 5 am 2 days a week due to life circumstances. I am incredibly focused and dedicated, but I still had a 15 minute internal debate every. single. time. between snoozes in order to get there. My only solution was to set my alarm early enough to have the debate. I go to bed early, have decent nutrition blah blah blah. It's just hard for some of us, but um character building or something. Good luck!

giantrobot_powerlifting

lithezebra wrote: »

I don't eat after 5pm, so I'm hungry in the morning.

Or drink a cup or two of water before bed, that has me up every two hours.

Djproulx

Over the last 5 years, I've typically trained 5 or 6 days per week in the mornings. I pack my gym bag and pick my out work clothes the night before to save time, but the big key for me is getting to bed early enough. The payoff is that I leave the gym or pool feeling great after my workout.

AigreDoux

Like others, I sleep in as much workout clothes as I can. I work out at home, so sometimes I tell myself that I will just do half the workout and go back to bed for another 30 minutes if I want to. Of course, once I get halfway through the workout I'm awake and want to finish so I never actually do it. But just knowing it's a possibility sometimes gets my 4:45 self out of bed.