AM workout help

breezysoul

I have tried several times in my life to get up early to exercise. It usually lasts a week or sometimes 2 before I quit the schedule. I always feel better after an AM workout and when I don't get up, it's not even that I'm too tired. I'm just not motivated in the morning. The thing is, it's the only routine, quality time I have to exercise so I want to make it work. With the kids starting starting school soon, it would be a great time to start a new schedule, but I'm discouraged by past failures.

Anyone have any wake-up motivational tips to get out of bed and workout?
P.S. I'd like to get a solid routine going before the cold weather kicks in and it's REALLY hard.

cschu544

Sadly, I have tried the same for a long time. I just had to cope with the fact that I'm more motivated at night. I'm normally at the gym between 11pm and 12am. That's when I get the best burn. It let's me sleep better at night too...

Don't know what to tell you Do you have time at night?

becky_turcotte

I hate hate hate morning workout. But its the best time for me most days. So I put my alarm clock on the opposite side of the room, so I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Also I have AM/PM yoga, the Am really wakes me up and gets me motivated to get to the gym. I don't go every am. I alternate, some times at 630a and others at 930p. But I don't have young kiddos, so that plays a part. Good luck, YOU CAN DO IT!

:happy:
-B

zaiikaa

I'm having the same problem w/ waking up early, but my rx is that I'm too tired and don't want to get out of bed. I've never been a morning person, and to work in my current schedule I'd need to be out the door by 5:30am or so. Looking forward to any tips!

bevcrok

I can definitely relate on this one. Some things that may help include:

-setting up anything you may need to work out the night before (lay out your workout clothes, any equipment, videos, etc.)
-start with short workouts in the morning (maybe 15-20 minutes) and gradually increase the time (this way you slowly start getting up earlier and earlier).
-take it 4 days at a time--say, I just need to do a morning workout 4 days in a row. Do that and then repeat. If you make it a small goal and continue repeating that, it will probably build into a habit.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

jagoochie

the only top is to just do it

i know how that sounds - but it is mind over matter - decided to do it and go for it!

byHISstrength

I was the same exact way, but when I started my 90 day program and each morning I was getting up to workout it got to the point that I did not want to mess up what I was doing...it became motivation to say that I was being faithful to wake up early to workout. Since I completed the 90 days, I have slipped back, but today I started again and this this my motivation is knowing that I will have time for Zumba in the afternoon cuz I won't really have time to do both workouts in the afternoon.

agthorn

Find a buddy!! The only thing that has ever motivated me to run in the mornings is when my yoga studio did a weekly 2-mile run at 6:30am back in the spring. Knowing that there were people expecting me at the studio helped get me out of bed at 6am (1.5-2 hours earlier than I normally get up...) But I still had to *sleep in my running clothes* and have everything else right by the door so all I needed to do in the morning was get up, put in contacts, put on deodorant, socks, shoes, quick bite to eat and get out the door.

Msaip

I have recently started getting up at 4am for a 40 minute workout. Hopefully I can join this gym and start afternoon workouts so I can make them longer

chelsifina

I struggle with this as well, though my challenges are a bit different. I am a night owl, so I AM tired in the morning, and I am very slow to wake up. I am trying hard to change this and, so far, here is what I have learned that helps: 1) Set out all the workout gear in an unavoidable place, every detail ready to go, like on the floor of the bathroom or bedroom doorway 2) Start out ridiculously small and build up to a more intense workout. Its easier to say no (for me) to a challenging 1 hour trail run than it is to say no to a 30 minute walk. Its a few weeks of a less intense workout, but by the end of it I'll have a routine that works for me. 3) Reward myself over the top for successes. For me that means giving myself a little extra free time, buying new workouts clothes, or having lunch at a favorite (still healthy) place. It may help you to know that it takes an average of three weeks to create a new habit, and that positive reinforcement helps to lay down new neural pathways (new learning) much more readily than negative reinforcement. So for that reason, I focus on making morning workouts very fun and relatively easy, and I also work hard to stay away from any negative self-talk. The whole "Get out of bed, sh*thead, and do your stupid workout that you said you would" will never help me to change my lifestyle.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

helena9

hey there!

i am a real morning exercise person i never used to be but i find it so hard exercising at night after you have done a day at work. i lack loads of motivation and during the day i am constantly thinking about working out and end up making excuses! also i had several problems with IBS and so i found working out on an empty stomach the only way to exercise without discomfort.

i don't workout every morning though, not at all - i am just getting into a routine, this morning i set my alarm for 6.20am and did jillian's banish fat boost metabolism workout for an hour - done by 7.20am in shower and out to work by 8am

but some days i do motivate myself to go to a spin class at 6.15am which means i need to be up at 5.40am...while this is really hard at times, once you are up and on the way to the gym there is no turning back and once you have done it a few times - you will be hooked as the feeling is amazing afterwards

are there any gym classes that you could go to as it really kicks you into shape as you have a time schedule to stick to!

hope this helps let me know how you get on!

smilebhappy

Hi there!
I used to hate getting up in the early a.m. to exercise!! I was the same as you...I got up for a week or so but it never lasted.
But now....I love getting up & working out!!! What changed....well I put my alarm clock on the oppisite wall from my bed so I had to get up to shut it off & am not even close to my bed anymore, I packed my lunch, my clothes for work & my workout clothes the night before...ready to put to use in the morning.

I get up at 4:30 a.m. put on my workout clothes, brush my teeth & I am out the door by 4:45 down to Y at 5 a.m.
The best part is I have a workout buddy which is an amazing help!! I feel guilty if I don't go & stand her up!! We both push each other every day to keep going.

getting up early & getting your workout out of the way first thing is great.....
you don't have to worry bout fitting it in later in the day
makes you feel great & happier thru out the day
if you like to eat you have extra calories to fit in through out the day

just gotta set your mind to it & get er' done
If ya need any support (anyone)....I'd be glad to help......I'm here everyday!

good luck!!! You Can do this!!!!

staceyGO

I am a slug in the morning, I have gone on morning workout streaks but recently I've come to terms with it. I may attempt to jam it in in the morning come fall (Jillians dvds are only 20 minutes) but for now I stay up to late and am gonna continue to fit it into my night rather than my morning. My morning success usually came with working out with a friend, its harder to blow off a friend than it is to skip a workout.

Fochizzy

I would love to find something that works. It is better when I work out in the morning, I actually see my fiance when I do that. But I only ever manage to make it in the morning on the day I see my trainer. And that is probably because I am not allowed to cancel morning of, I still get charged. My alarm is on the opposite side of the room, no luck for me. I worked to just make it to the gym everyday and accept that the timing maybe isn't the most important part.