How to become a morning exerciser?!?

VirtuousVal

I have not been as diligent with exercising lately. I have finally reached my goal of being able to run 3 miles without stopping and I am soo excited! My plan is to run those 3 miles 3-4 times a week and then take a workout class 2x/wk such as zumba/pilates/yoga and do the 30DS however the problem is I am NOT a morning exerciser. I just can't run in the morning...I usually have my worst runs in the morning...its like the first movement my body does in the am just can not be running or my body hates me lol. However, I have been finding lately that I am just too tired after work to go to the gym and run (especially the past 2 weeks since I have been working extra hours). The best time for me to run would be the afternoon however with my job that is just not a possibility, I barely get a lunch break. So my options are morning or evening. If I leave it until the evening then there is a 50/50 chance I will get it done.

So my question is....are you a morning exerciser? Are you naturally that way or did you have to become one because of your schedule? How do you do it? It is just sooo easy to hit the snooze button and say you will do it after work and then after work it is just sooo hard to get moving! I need help because I desperately want to be a morning exerciser at least 3-4 times a week so I can make sure I get my runs in! I know I just have to get up and do it but any help or motivation will be appreciated.

Wish me luck...my alarm will be set for 1 hour earlier then usual tomorrow.

Set your alarm. Allow at least 2 hours before work: 30 minutes to get ready (wake up, restroom, breakfast, water), 1 hour for the workout (even if you take less than 1 hour) and then 30 minutes to wash up/get ready for work.

It'll take some practice, and allowing that extra hour or so for warm up/cool down really helps. Before running, try doing jumping jacks, lunges, and planks for 3-5 minutes to warm up. Once you get moving, it's easier to hit the workout.

I know your pain. The best way to start is to just DO it and don't even think about the fact that you're doing it. Have your workout clothes all laid out, your water bottle at the ready, etc. the night before so when you wake up you have less of an excuse to not get going.

Good luck!

Hi! I am a morning exerciser. I get up at 4:30a and I'm usually at the gym by 5a. I love, love this schedule bc it works for me. I'm a SAHM with 4 kiddos to manage, and that "job" officially begins around 7am. After that, all bets are off on getting my workout in for the day, ha!! By getting it done early, it assures that it gets done. I have found that I have more energy and motivation in the morning than in the afternoon, and it starts my day off super right when my workout is the first thing I do.

Now, bc I get up so early, I am usually in bed by 9-9:30p. I am fortunate that the hubby will make sure my 2 oldest get to bed since I'm usually in bed before them. And it can be a pain to need to be in so early some nights, during social events and such. If I have to stay up later, I will generally move my workout to later in the day because I have found that my workouts are pretty crappy if I try to do them on less than 7 hours of sleep.

I love doing the workout thing so early, being done before most of my neighbors are even awake -- it's a nice feeling!

I've always been a morning person, so working out in the morning is just a natural fit for me. However, it has not always been easy. In the past, there were too many days where I hit snooze and skipped working out.

My motivation to get that work out done early - I know at the beginning of the day how many 'extra' calories I'm going to have for the day. It takes the pressure off my food choices; I know I have some extra calories to play around with if I want to.

Now, instead of forcing myself to work out a couple of times a week, I look forward to working out every morning and can't stand to skip a day.

I am a morning exerciser mainly because I don't have the time to do it in the evening due to having 3 boys that have after-school activities to go to. When I did have the option to work out in the evening, I found it much more difficult to stick with any routine because I was usually exhausted by the end of the day and the last thing I wanted to do was go to the gym. Now, I feel strange if I'm not up by 4 am to workout. The advantage to getting up that early is, there is much less traffic at the gym and if I decide to run in my neighborhood I don't have to worry about too many cars coming and going.

How do you become a morning exerciser??

Honestly, you suck it up when the alarm goes off and just get out of bed. It's not easy. Many times in the past I have wanted to wake up early and exercise only to hit the snooze and go back to sleep. If you aren't a morning person, then you really have to want it to become one. What I mean is you really have to want to achieve your goals. Obviously if you are trying to become a morning exerciser it is probably because you don't have time in the rest of your day to exercise regularly. I switched my exercises to the morning to ensure I would get them in. Those first few weeks of getting up at 5am were rough. But as time went by, I really started to enjoy my mornings. Now with my new workout schedule, I am up at 3am three times a week and heading to the gym. I look forward to my workouts and I never complain about getting up early to do them.

Some tips to help make the transition:
*Get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off.
*Turn on the light in the bedroom or living room so your body stops producing sleeptime hormones.
*Have a cold glass of water or anything else that will wake you up.
*Find an exercise you enjoy doing. If you actually want to do the activity, then waking up early won't seem like such a chore.
*Go to bed early enough so you aren't overly tired when its time to wake up.

I understand how you feel! I've been transitioning to become a morning exerciser. I go through a lot just to wake up here's my schedule:
Before I go to bed I put a bottle of water and piece of fruit on the night stand to get me functioning without excuses. I'm sleep by 1130
5:00am first alarm goes off at 10min intervals.
5:30 2nd alarm a bit louder and snooze at 5 min intervals.
5:46 3rd alarm at 3 min intervals
all the overlapping alarms get so annoying I've no choice but to activate my brain to turn the phone off. I then turn the light on. Eat my morning snack. Take care of other business etc...by that time I'm up with time for a 30 minute work out.

Might not work too well if you have a SO next to ya or need more than 30 min dor a workout lol

My goal is to be a morning exerciser 3x/wk.
Then have my normal exercise routine on my BowFlex TreadClimber TC 300 5X a week.

I have only got up to exercise with my husband at the Park in the mornings a few times so far. Since it is too hot here in NC in the Summer afternoons & early evenings for me. I am trying to implement the morning exercises and be more consistent with my morning walk with my Husband. I think this tips and suggestions will help me develop a better habit of getting up in the morning with my husband.

I am going to bump and safe this for future reference for me later. Thanks all of you for sharing ALL of this advice!

Bump this to save for later!

FitGirl329

Wow. I'm amazed and in awe at this thread. I'm not a morning person. I'll sometimes get up and work out in the morning. And I ALWAYS feel great that day. It's wonderful to have my workout out of the way and not have to think about it for the rest of the day. Plus, I don't have to shower again! But inevitably, my body fights against me and I can't get out of bed, so I can't be consistent. But reading this thread is so motivating!

I'm just in awe at the 3 and 4 am risers. I see a few posts, though, where it looks like some are getting up so super early even if they're going to bed only a couple of hours before. Isn't only getting a couple of hours of sleep inhibiting weight loss efforts as well?

I'm going to keep a close watch on this thread. It's inspiring!!

FluffyDogsRule

I know what you mean about feeling like you run worse in the morning. I jog in the morning but when I first started, I found that my body didn't seem to do well in the morning...I would feel sore and stiff and it was almost painful. Like my joints weren't ready to go or something.

But I just kept doing it and now I have no problems. My body definitely adjusted. I'm half-asleep for the first mile, but my body feels strong.

myfitnessnmhoy

So my question is....are you a morning exerciser?

Yes. I bicycle to work (14 miles each way, in hills). In order to get to work at 7:30 and give me enough time for a shower before I start at 8AM, I have to be rolling at 6:30, which means up around 6 so I can prep my coffee and pack my lunch.

Are you naturally that way or did you have to become one because of your schedule?

Had to become that way because of my schedule. I'm a night owl, and I HATE getting up at 6AM, especially because I'm rarely able to fall asleep before midnight or so (I've always been that way).

How do you do it? It is just sooo easy to hit the snooze button and say you will do it after work and then after work it is just sooo hard to get moving! I need help because I desperately want to be a morning exerciser at least 3-4 times a week so I can make sure I get my runs in! I know I just have to get up and do it but any help or motivation will be appreciated.

I set an alarm and get up. It's not fun until I'm about 15-20 minutes into the one hour bike ride, and with traffic and/or weather it's not fun some days at all. But it feels GREAT to roll in to work knowing I've toasted off 600 more calories and saved another couple of bucks in fuel and maintenance cost on the car.

Wish me luck...my alarm will be set for 1 hour earlier then usual tomorrow.

Good luck. Go get 'em!

Arthemise1

The Texas heat motivated me to start walking/jogging in the morning on the days my schedule permits. I sure am not a morning person. But it's either get it done in the morning or sweat my butt off and SUFFER in the evening, even if I wait to finish right before the sun goes down. I hate the heat more than mornings, so it wasn't a difficult decision. Of course, some days I still have to walk in the evenings, and I CAN'T jog at all then.

msk1000

I find that the best time of day for me to work out is in the morning. Not only do I feel like I have energy to get the day started I also see opportunity later to add exercise to my schedule even if it is a 10 minute walk. Now getting started was really difficult...once my alarm went off I just stood up hit my morning exercise cd and started moving....even if it only consisted of running in place, it got me started. After 5 minutes of that I went right into my morning exercise. It really does get easier after a few days. Hopes this helps.

fabfindz05

These are my motivators.... (1) Paying oodles of money to run with a training group that runs at 5:15 in the AM and (2) living in the Texas heat.

sammniamii

I really wish I could, but then I think I would have to give up sleeping completely .... I already have to be up at 5-5:30 for work, I don't even get to go to bed until 11p-1:30a.... plus, I only sleep 2-3 hrs a time before waking - and I'm one of those cursed with being WIDE AWAKE as soon as I do wake up.

So if I get up even 30 min early, I'll loose what little sleep I sneak in.

It would be so much easier if I could not sleep, that would be nice.... not really doable, but helpful.

Props to all of you who can find the time, more power to you.

CakeFit21

I got talked into a 6:15am crossfit class by a super cute, (and thankfully excellent) coach. Now, I love my class and living in Texas, I am happy to be done with my workout at 7ish am. If I don't show up, I get emailed by classmates and coaches about where I was.

Accountability is an excellent thing.

Monalisa85

It gets easier each day you do it. My alarm is for 4:15 and I'm up by 4:30 and out the door by 5.

ggcat

Some tips to help make the transition:
*Get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off.
*Turn on the light in the bedroom or living room so your body stops producing sleeptime hormones.
*Have a cold glass of water or anything else that will wake you up.
*Find an exercise you enjoy doing. If you actually want to do the activity, then waking up early won't seem like such a chore.
*Go to bed early enough so you aren't overly tired when its time to wake up.

I get up at 3:30am M-F...I have learned the long hard way- you have to get out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off it's sad and it sucks, but once I am out- I am good to go! I get to the gym, get home, have breakfast, in the shower by 6am, and in the car by 7:30 for my 8-5. I do it because I KNOW that I will not do it when I get off.

The plus side: you get it done in the morning! Now there is no worrying or stressing when you will get it done. I get about 3 hours of "me time"; the mornings are so relaxing and quiet. I also eat breakfast with the prettiest sunrises! I sleep better at night. I eat better throughout the day- there is no way I am jeopardizing my workout! My energy is better and plus, most of the people that are at the gym that early are as serious as I am, and this minimizes creepers, flirties, and other random weirdos at the gym :ohwell:

Good -luck to you!

Just get yourself out of your bed...the rest is easy :happy:

karleesauls

I was a lot like you. my body did not like it, it was tight and sometimes i would get nauseous. the thing that changed for me was having a baby. now i work around his schedule and my husband works out of town so i can't wait to go when he is asleep, so i wake up when he does, feed him and out the door we go with the stroller and the two dogs. it was tough at first but now i love it. i love getting back, putting my son to bed for a nap and then i move on to either cleaning or pulling weeds, i'm already gross so i can really do a good job. then i hurry and jump in the shower before my son wakes up and we start our day! i'm happy, baby is happy, dogs are happy its a win win now if only i can get my husband to start exercising

Jacwhite22

willpower/dedication. You've either got it or you don't. If you want to work out in the morning get your *kitten* up and do it. If not....wait and exercise at night. There is no magic workout time.

maggie500

My #1 rule is to get to bed early - like 8:30 early, so I can get up at 4-4:30. I am asleep b4 my kids - I get them ready, read to them, tuck them into bed with their books and tell them to turn their lights off in 15 minutes. 90% of the time they do and I can get to sleep by 9.

My #2 rule is never look at the clock when I wake up at night - because if I do, I'll decide I'm tired and reset the alarm. If I wake up and the alarm hasn't gone off, I go back to sleep.

#3 - as soon as the alarm goes off, get up. Don't so much as stretch or think. Just get up.

Re: running in the am? I hate running in the am too, but sometimes I do. I'd rather swim or bike - I find both easier in the am than running. But if I have to run, I eat a caffeinated Gu (energy gel) 15 min before I go - makes a world of difference.

Good luck!

Another idea for running in the am - find a running partner that you aren't real good friends with so you can't count on them to understand if you blow them off. Find someone that you know will show up and will be po'd if you don't!

_Timmeh_

Morning workouters or runners......do you eat before or just get up and go?

maggie500

One more thing - probably most important. Make sure you go to bed hydrated. Otherwise, you wake up feeling lethargic. I make sure I drink a large glass of water at some point when I wake up during hte night. Otherwise, running is miserable the next morning.

zclark13

Hmmm, Now I've started thinking about this! School starts tomorrow, maybe I'll get up with my senior in HS and try doing my walk early. Have to think about though...I'm kinda lazy in the morning!

Enigmatica

I've always been a morning person, and it worked in my favor as a competitive rider in my teens so that probably reinforced my natural pattern. But another motivator for me is my dog. She knows the minute I wake up, even if I don't actually move, and comes right over to greet me and encourage me to get on with the pre-dawn jog, lol.

sonomawinesnob1

They (whoever they are) say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. I got up religiously in the mornings for about four weeks - a bit over the 21 days but fell back into my old ways rather quickly. I felt great when I was working out in the mornings and can't quite figure out why I can't motivate myself to continue doing it. Will love to hear all the tips and tricks, although as we know it's probably a case of mind over matter to get it done.

ggcat

Morning workouters or runners......do you eat before or just get up and go?

I get up and go!