Calling All Early Birds!!

HotHol

It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.
- Aristotle

I have set myself a NEW GOAL to be and Early Bird. I am a busy mother of 2, and an at home daycare provider. I've been working out for almost 40 or so days now.... I have been working out right after supper. I would like to start working out in the morning.
Before I had children I was able to get myself out of bed extra early before my out of home work , but since having kids, and being able to work at home I find it easy to hit that snooze button and simply roll out of bed 10 Min before my first Daycare child arrives. I've tried to wake up early all this week but have hit the snooze button for a complete HOUR!!!! I just can't wake up! I get in 8 hours usualy if not 7, but with having children I am sometimes woken in the night for their pee breaks or bad dreams....

Spring is on it's way here in Saskatchewan....the days are noticibly getting longer....and I LOVE the Summer Days when the Sun is out by 5am!!! I WANT TO BE AN EARLY BIRD! I want to get up early not just do do my workouts but to have time ME time, to start my day....

Any early risers out there that can offer me any tips???

carriem73

have you thought about putting your alarm clock across the room so that you ahve to get out of bed to turn it off?

SERinDC

Do you have any local friends or neighbors who you could set a workout date with? That's what I do. I really did not feel like going swimming at 6am this morning, but I had already set a date with my friends and didn't want to let them down. So...I went and of course was happy I did once I was at the gym. Once you get in the groove of waking up earlier for workouts it becomes a habit that you'll look forward to each day!

LoraF83

I start my workouts at 4:45am, so I can be home by 6am to start getting ready for work. My only tip is to stick with it for 2 weeks. The first 2 weeks will be hard, but after that, it will become habit. Well....it's still hard to get out of bed in the morning! But you will know the benefits by then. I have more energy during the day, I don't feel like I'm missing time with my family to workout and I am less tempted to cheat on my calorie goals since I've already started the day off right. Good luck!

samf36

I am a home daycare provider and an early bird. I have kids that come early and a husband that goes to work early so that is why I am up. When the snow clears I hope to take a nice walk early but too much snow and ice right now so I am sticking with the Y in the evenings + all the movement I get during the day.

Annafly3

I do work out most mornings so I get up around 5:45am
I find it hard to get up but ones I am up Im fine, just try it, I bet you feel so great after you put in your work out! this might just give you that push you need! try it one time and see how you feel during the day.
Good luck!

RileeMarie

for me my inner alarm clock goes off roughly 5 a.m., once my eyelids get a hint of light I am up. i consider this my "time", start my morning workout. like other post set your alarm clock across the room, but don't go back to bed. your own motivation should allow you to stay up.

Kate01

I'm an early bird, rising at around 5am and up and out by 6am to walk to the dog before i leave for work. I have found that setting an alarm call for 5am and then every 10mins each with a different alarm call, stops me from snoozing through them... they are set to be louder and more annouying each time. So I find that I feel the need to get up out of bed before I wake the whole house and have a grumpy family.

My partner is terrible at getting up in the mornings... he can actually turn off his alarm call in his sleep, so after the alarm has rung and he has hit the snooze button I move the alarm further across the bedroom from him. So that he not only has to get out of bed but he has to locate the alarm to switch it off.

Nikki881

If you want to get up early, it's REALLY hard to do it all at once. Start by setting your alarm clock back five minutes or so for a week, then the next week another five minutes, until you get to when you want to wake up. It might seem like a slow process, but it will gradually get your body used to waking up that early. Also, I agree with putting your alarm clock across the room, mine has never been on my nightstand. Good luck!

tolygal

I work from home 3 days a week and go into the office 2 times a week. The days I go into the office, I have absolutely no problem getting up at 3:45 a.m. when my alarm goes off to hit the gym before work. I have my bags (gym bag and lunch) packed the night before, I wake up, put on my workout clothes, eat breakfast and out the door I go. But the days I work from home and the weekends are MUCH harder..... I just don't feel like getting out of bed anymore. I have many excuses for this, but they are simply that - excuses. My problem is that if I don't do it first thing, it doesn't seem to happen. So..... I really want to get better at waking early as well. I think it's about getting into a routine (for me anyway). I need to find a way to make it a routine when I'm at home. I used to be very good at this, but then life changed and now I'm struggling.... I used to love my special alone time while the world was sleeping and I was getting a kick start on my day. Now I just want the world to wait while I catch a few extra minutes of sleep. I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove again...

soonernick

I agree to put the alarm clock on the other side of the room. It's too tempting to reach over and just turn it off.

kenlad64

I am an early riser and I must say it is just a habit to get into. I now enjoy getting up early, sometimes it is the most peaceful part of my day!

biged335

You just have to make a commitment to get up early and do it... Once you start doing it, it becomes a habit, then you start to love it.. That's what worked for me...

maysflower

I'm up at 4:30 am for my morning workouts. I love exercising in the morning, it just makes me feel so good for the rest of the day. It took me and my body about 2 months before I got use to getting up that early.

If you really want to be an early bird then you just have to get your butt out of bed. On the days my alarm goes off and I just don't want to get up I actually talk to myself in my head. I say things like "You know this is good for you." "Your know you will feel better afterwards." "Not getting up and exercising will just make it harder for you later." I find that saying things like that to myself helps me get up and when I do, I am proud of myself.

You can do it! Believe you can do it and it will happen

HotHol

Thanks all so much for suggestions and motivation! I am going to move the alarm clock across the room...we'll see how tomorrow goes! ...I just need to pretend I'm on vacation...LOL..when I'm on vacation I find no problem waking up early!!

stenochick0417

I LOATHE getting up early but I'd rather just get my workout over early in the day so I have no excuses after I get off work and believe me, I'll have PLENTY by the time I get home. I hate hate hate getting up earlier than I have to but like another person mentioned before, the first 2 weeks have been the hardest. I'm now on week 3 and it's not so bad anymore. I have my normal alarm set and I also have an alarm clock called "Clocky" (rolls around and sounds like R2D2 on crack) that I put in my kitchen -- with a 5-hr energy next to it. (not a coffee person) So far, I actually wake up before Clocky goes off so it doesn't wake my hubby. This week has been a lot easier to get my butt up and get my workout done and over with -- then I am free after work to do whatever the heck I want.

kcmomof2

You just have to make a commitment to get up early and do it... Once you start doing it, it becomes a habit, then you start to love it.. That's what worked for me...

Yep, I agree with this!

I am a work out of the home mom of 2 and get up at 4:30 to get my workouts/runs in. The first 2-3 weeks were hard, but now it's just habit (for over 1.5 years now) My whole day is off and I feel lost if I don't get my workout done in the morning.

You can do it. You just have to set your mind to it. Good luck.

MissJenn33

I'm a nanny and an early bird! I work a half hour away and leave @ 6am. So I get my butt up @ 5am now to do my @ home workout. It's only been a week but I'm doing great. I won't say it's easy, It's not!!! I have an argument in my head every morning that I can just go back to sleep and workout @ night. I always get up tho because I know it'll never happen. With 2 boys, a hubby, a dog, meals, homework, after school activities, laundry, dishes, ect....I'm fried by 8pm. So I MAKE myself get up and do it.

I know it will get easier when the sun is up earlier too! i can't wait!!!

thepetiterunner

I set two alarms, and leave one across the room so I HAVE to get up to turn it off. I also got a timer for my lamp on my nightstand that pops on in the mornings - hard to avoid the light, it wakes me up. Also, I sleep with my window blinds partially cracked open so that as the sun rises it naturally wakes me up as well.

Put your workout clothes and shoes near the bed so you don't have an excuse in the morning. Just remind yourself why you're doing it. Put a picture of the goal you near the bed where you'll see it in the morning to remind yourself of why you're doing this (or a note with goals you have, etc).

Good luck! Morning workouts are the best

aj_gettingfit

I would love to get up earlier to get in the 30 DS dvd. I get up between 5:30-6:00 right now. To do the video and get ready for work I'd have to get up at 5:00 AM. I could probably do it but I'd have to start getting to bed earlier. I usually go to bed between 10:30-11:00.

What time do you all go to sleep if you are getting up so early?

mabug01

Put your workout clothes and shoes near the bed so you don't have an excuse in the morning. Just remind yourself why you're doing it. Put a picture of the goal you near the bed where you'll see it in the morning to remind yourself of why you're doing this (or a note with goals you have, etc).

This. You can't forget why you woke up early when you see your clothing and the motivational picture.

tmlandis

I too am an early bird. Let me clarify that I HATE MORNINGS. I don't care if it's 4AM or 10AM, if I just woke up, it's morning. I have twin 3 year olds that keep me running my butt off and I work fulltime. Early morning is really the only time I have to myself. I get up at 4:30 to get a run or walk in before work, then do my strength training at lunch. It's taken quite a while for this to become a habit, but it finally has. I still grunt and groan when the alarm goes off, but I tell myself "nobody ever got a rockin' body by staying in bed". It also helps that my hubby is a super early riser so I don't have to be all quiet and stealthy in the morning. Once you make the commitment, you'll get there. Like today, it's a rest day so I got to "sleep in" until 5:30...I was still wide awake at 4:15. It's hard to set good habits!

pammbroo

You just have to make a commitment to get up early and do it... Once you start doing it, it becomes a habit, then you start to love it.. That's what worked for me...

^^^This. And it does get easier. Promise! lol You'll find that you feel so much better on days that you get up and do it...mentally and physically. Good luck!

HotHol

I would love to get up earlier to get in the 30 DS dvd. I get up between 5:30-6:00 right now. To do the video and get ready for work I'd have to get up at 5:00 AM. I could probably do it but I'd have to start getting to bed earlier. I usually go to bed between 10:30-11:00.

What time do you all go to sleep if you are getting up so early?

we put our kids down round 8 or 9pm...and I try to go to bed by 10. odd nights I'll stay up to watch tv till 11 .... but usualy tiered enough to go to sleep by 10...i try to get 7 -8 hours in. I would like to be up by 6pm ..even 5:30 would be great...My first daycare child arrives at 7:15...and my kids wake round 7:30.

HotHol

yaaaaa! Sucess today....put the alarm across the room....was up at 5:45!!! thanks all!