Morning Workout Struggles

crooked_left_hook

So I'm starting to shift my workouts to the mornings because I just can't stay consistent with lunch time or evening workouts. My partner gets up for work at 5:00am so it just seems logical to get up at the same time. We have a gym in our building so I don't even need to drive anywhere. So getting up and there isn't really the issue.

The issue is that my body, particularly my joints, are protesting the entire time and they are the longest, hardest, most unproductive workouts. I stretch and walk to warm up, it I still end up just slogging through the entire thing. My brain is awake but I just can't seem to wake my body up enough to get in the zone. I am 39, 135lb, and moderately active. I do have a connective tissue disorder so I can blame some of the aches and pains on early arthritis, but the workouts are important to my joint stability and health so I really want to be more consistent.

Anyone else deal with this in the mornings? Does it get easier? Tips for getting through it?