Early morning wake up.

Bucknutz247

My father just recently past away and my schedule was soo messed up, including my workout schedule. I’ve been out of the gym for four months and need to get back. My problem is getting up in the morning. It’s never been an issue, I didn’t even need and alarm clock but now I struggle to get up at 5am . But I need to get up at 3:30 am . Any suggestions or tips would be great. Thanks everyone

777Gemma888

I have a cold shower to wake me up in the morning before my workouts. And choose your coolest mintiest toothpaste and mouth rinse. Oddly enough, when my alarm chimes at 1.30am for time zone relevant paperwork, I can just roll out, attend to it, prior to tiring my eyes out on MFP before dozing off again till 4.30am. I eat something light too before heading out the door. It used to be coffee, now it's just chilled water.

Bucknutz247

Good morning and thanks 777 for your tips.

777Gemma888

Bucknutz247 wrote: »

Good morning and thanks 777 for your tips.

You're welcome! It isn't easy losing a loved one, most especially Dads imo. My sympathy to you and your family.

Bucknutz247

Thank you so much. Your schedule looks about as hectic as mine. So what are you an international spy maybe a black market antiquities dealer. Lol

73CL350

So sorry about your dad.

I also do the cold shower method and it works for me. I start like warm, get in, and turn it cold

777Gemma888

Bucknutz247 wrote: »

Thank you so much. Your schedule looks about as hectic as mine. So what are you an international spy maybe a black market antiquities dealer. Lol

:laugh: No, just different time zones plus availability.

amgreenwell

Sorry about your Dad. All I can suggest is get to bed super early and set the alarm clock for the time you need to wake and get up. No snooze button! Find whatever reason you need to get out of bed and get going. I always put my workout clothes right beside the bed so it was quick to slip them on and get out the door. Remember, you need a good night's sleep so going to bed earlier if possible will help tremendously.

bikecheryl

My condolences on your fathers passing, I just lost my mother 3 weeks ago.

As to getting up early?

An hour commute into the city means I'm up at 4:30am so I can make the gym by 6:00 before I start work....

lol.... it sucks..... never used to be a problem when I was younger..... but I'm definitely finding it harder to get up that early as I get older.

What I find helps:

- going to be earlier
- having everything packed and ready to goes, my next days clothes laid out, lunch made, etc the night before
- having three alarms on my phone..... one at 4:20, 4:30 and one at 4:45.... just in case.

I guess my one question is..... can you rejig it that you go later in the day? After work? Lunch?

Healthydiner65

It’s devastating to lose ones parent! Prayers sent!

VirtualMellie

Sorry about your dad.

Evelyn_Gorfram

Sorry to hear about your father.

I'm like some of the above posters: it's all about prep.

When I have to get up super early, it's essential that have everything as ready-to-go as possible: coffeepot filled, whatever breakfast you're going to have set up to be made, clothes laid out, and gym bag/briefcase/lunch packed & by the door. I usually set a couple different alarms, too, with varying distances from the bed and difficulties in shutting off.

For me, the real trick is getting to sleep the night before - which, yes, need to happen at least five hours, preferably eight, before my wake-up time. That may mean trying to get to sleep at seven or eight pm.

No screens, vigorous exercise, or bill-paying/account-balancing for an hour or two before bed. However, I find it a good time to wash dishes or tidy up. I like to take my shower the night before, and make it warm & relaxing. Clean PJ's and a freshly made bed, and a dark room or a head scarf pulled over my eyes. Then I either set my clock radio on "sleep" and listen the most boring stuff I can find. The BBC World Service revamped their news style a few years ago, for the precise purpose of avoiding their tendency to putting people to sleep, and it was a black day for my insomnia battles. Now, I mostly rely on NPR for deep-voiced dronings on unexciting topics.

When the alarm goes off, it helps to hold in my mind/self-talk the reason that I'm getting up so early, and to exaggerate it for effect: "C'mon, kid, if you don't get up, you won't make the gym before work; and you know you're not going to get there after work; and you don't want to die of gallstone-induced diabetes exacerbated by a broken hip* because you were to lazy to get out of bed and do any weight-bearing exercise in your comparative youth, now do you?....No, you don't. S'get the h*ll outta bed already!"**

(*No, gallstones have no effect on diabetes, at least AFAIK. But if it's before in the morning, I don't worry much about little niceties of fact.)

(**And no, my early morning self-talk is not very nice. Show up at my house at this sort of hour, and you'll discover that my early morning anybody-else-talk isn't all that nice, either.)