Morning exercisers?

Jazzyjules71

I am so NOT a morning person, and every morning hit my alarm multiple times before dragging myself out of bed with heavy lids and a foggy head......just to get to work.

But, I really want to be a morning exerciser!

My question is......are there any anti-morning people like myself that have successfully established a morning exercise routine? I need tips! How did you do it??

Swopkin

I used to stay up until 1 AM because I couldn't sleep, but ever since I've been exercising I've been so tired that I go to bed around 9-10 PM to get a full night's rest. Consequently, I can quite easily get out of bed at 6 AM to either swim or run. My advice? Give yourself one week to get accustomed to the rhythm and try to exercise a lot so you can go to bed early.

fypspirit

I tell myself all the time "I;m gonna get up and exercise in them am" I leave for work at 5:30 M-TH and 5 on Fridays and every day I never make it. Wish I could but I am not a morning person either.

prettygirlhoward

I'm a evening workout person myself, I've always preferred nights, but I too would like to do mornings. I'm thinking of trying it for 2 weeks and see what happens?

ALH1981

force yourself - after a week you will beso energized fromthemornign excersise you wont be able togo without!

ForeverIrish

I used to hate getting up to exercise. It works the best for me now with my work schedule to go at 5:15 or 5:30. I hit the eliptical or treadmill for a half hour or 45 minutes, or now and then, do Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. After the first few days, I got used to it. I could never predict if I was going to get home at a decent hour to work out.

I'm still doing the morning thing, but twice a week in the evening I work out with a trainer for an hour. He kicks my butt worse than I ever could.

sedosher

I need to know this too.

cmpettey

I'm up at 5:15 to exercise every morning. My advice is to get a reliable exercise buddy. You keep each other honest. I work 1-2 night shifts per week too so that should show you how I'm not a morning person either.

jwd28

I am NOT a morning person but have been exercising with a friend at 6am 3 days/week for more than a year. The key, for me, is to know I have someone counting on me. If it was just up to me, I'd stay in bed.

Best of luck to you!

gogospice

I find if I have to be up at 7am to get to the gym before work I can't do it. You tell me I have to get up at 4am to go to the gym and I'm bright eyed and bushy tailed! I don't understand how that works. But the earlier I go, the more motivated I am!

Charlottejogs

I used to have such a hard time exercising in the am- I wanted to work out but the evenings were soo busy I couldn't fit it in...so I started working out in the morning. It was really hard at first; to help create some reliability I started going to a spin class at my gym. It required that you sign up so that helped me feel like I needed to go. They also were a tight nit group that held each other accountable. Maybe a work out buddy would help (the gym was best for me, no way my friends were going to do that:)

Now that I have gotten used to it I feel like I work out way better in the morning. It also is a great start to my day! It did take some time for me to get used to it though; I felt much harder to work out in the morning at first also. But that was worth not getting to do it at all. Now I do Insanity in the am which is a pretty scheduled program, that helps me stick to it also.

Good luck! I hope it helps!

mbajrami

I work Mon-Fri from 2pm-10pm and I get up Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri at 6am and am at the gym by 7 in order to be able to work out with my sister. I am sooooo NOT a morning person.

I get home around 10:30pm and usually fall asleep around 11:30 or midnight, sometimes as late as midnight-thirty or 1am, if I'm wound up (I have a high stress job).

It was really hard at first but I have since gotten pretty used to it. I usually sleep in one day per week, til around 9 or 10am, but it's not really "sleeping in" I guess since I still only get about 7-8 hours.

I never thought I'd be able to do it and my body still wants to stay up late and sleep in, but the payoff of feeling better throughout the day and the weight loss are enough to keep me dragging my butt out of bed when the alarm goes off. Plus, my sister keeps me accountable and I don't like working out alone.

caseydimples

I have a 3yr old and a 1 yr old - thats what caused me to start working out in the morning. I'm really lucky in that the office building I work in has a really nice gym. I get to work and go straight down to the gym to get my work-out in, usually at 8am. Then I shower and head to work. Its great, I don't have to shower at home anymore during the week, which makes getting out the door w/ my kids way easier in the morning. I used to HATE working out in the morning but now I absolutely love it.

Byrdsong1920

lol! I feel you...I feel the world shouldnt start till 11 am!!

I finally got in my morning grove after finding a cool workout partner. She works during the day, so mornings are best. Met her at 730 am today- which is super early for me. I'm such a nite owl, so if I would just take my tail to bed, I would be ok...It took me about 3-4 wks to adapt. But having an accountability partner helps! Plus, I hate the gym at nite, so packed and I'm drained by the end of the day. Atleast in the morning, i get it in, then it makes me want to eat good all day and not mess up all my hard work! lol!!

It just takes time! happy journey!

mheightchew

I am so not a morning person. I forced myself to do it because my evenings were getting hectic. Now I haven't missed an am workout in months. I love that I have more energy and stamina throughout the day. Plus, my workout is checked off first thing so nothing can get in my way! Try it for 1 month, you will love it!

tina_fay

I am not a morning person either! But I do workout at 5:30 every morning. I trained myself to get up by setting my alarm 15 minutes before I had to get up, which allowed me to hit the snooze 3 times...it worked for me! There's something "special" about hitting that snooze button a couple of times knowing you get a few more minutes of sleep. I've tried to say I will workout in the evening, but it's so much harder for me because I'm just so exhausted after work. Good luck to you!

QueenOfShiba

I hit my alarm multiple times too! Like you, I am NOT a morning person. However, I was a morning exerciser for years when I had a friend to work out with. It made all the difference. Ask around- work, neighborhood, church, etc...maybe you will get lucky and find someone who can manage the same schedule.

Consider this, though: I'm currently working out alone, so sometimes I work out in the morning and other times in the afternoon. I was so surprised to find that I get a better workout and burn more calories when I work out later in the day. I guess it takes my body a couple of hours to really wake up and have the energy to work hard. Maybe experiment a little and see what it's like for you.

That said, it IS easier to be consistent with a morning workout...but sleep ALWAYS overrules my good intentions.

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

Morning is really a tough battle for me. Usually I find it hard to drag myself out of bed to get ready to work at 5:30am. Not to mention that I usually sleep past midnight because it is during those times that my boyfriend & I can chat since he is far away & so I still have to battle our different time zones. I'm more a late afternoon exerciser but lately my workout routine has been affected (except when I'm at the gym) because of the hot, humid weather. Right now I'm still adjusting myself to wake up an hour earlier just to exercise.

waterwing

Mornings can be hard but it's so nice knowing all day long that your workout is done! I would say it's a good idea to get your morning planned out the night before.. lay out your work out clothes.. sit your shoes by the door.. have the coffee ready in the coffee maker or whatever else goes on in your mornings. Then no matter how zombie like you feel.. you can get yourself up and working out.

Just force yourself to do it a few times and eventually you'll love starting your day that way. The mornings I work out almost always guarantee a good healthy happy day!

KristysLosing

I'm starting out small. Giving myself about 10 minutes in the morning. I don't have to wake up much earlier for that. I'm not a morning person and I would love to do more in the morning. I feel great when I do!

phresh21

The first week or so was MISERABLE. I love my snooze button so having to get up at 530 instead of 7 sucked balls. But after about a week or so it wasn't to bad and now it feels funny not getting up and working out. Hell even if I don't go work out I'm still up before 6. I guess I can say that working out in the mornings has turned me into a morning person and it's kinda nice

hiker282

Go to bed early and have everything you need ready so when you wake up so there's no excuse. Just get up and go!

CharityEaton

I get up every morning Mon-Fri at 520 am to workout for about 45 min. Then I also workout in the afternoon for about an hour.

To start the morning routine I just started out getting up about 15 min. earlier each day to just read or get onthe computer. Once I was in the habit of getting up then I started getting up 30 min. earlier and did some really easy workouts.

Eventually it gets easier but it takes about 3 months to really establish a good early morning routine. I also did this over the summer while my kids were out of school. I didn't have to get up as early so all summer I worked on making sure I got up before them and then a few weeks before school was due to start again I slowly made sure I got up 15 min earlier each week until I was finally getting up at 520. If they have a day off...I sleep in until 630 but still make sure I get up before them and workout.
You will get addicted to how focused you are for HOURS after a morning workout. I get sooooo much done in the early mornings now.
BTW, I'm a stay-at-home mom so I really have no reason to drag my butt out of bed this early but it has worked so far and I love the way I'm focused and ready to go in the mornings.

holly3585

I agree with force yourself!! I have to leave for work at 6 am, and I get up at 4:35 and knock out a 30 min routine EVRY MORNING! I honestly have my workout clothes layed out, my t.v. and wii remotes side by side (I have this wonderful Wii Fitness trainer program that I love!! Tons of variety for cardio/strength all over body/flexability & yoga!) When my alarm goes off I have trained myself to roll out of bed, and throw on the clothes. I hit the coffee mchine so it'll be ready when I am done, grab my water bottle out of the fridge, and turn on the TV. I am seriously at least 5 min in before I actually *wake up* and by then my blood has started pumping and I am SOOO happy that I am burning calories! I feel GREAT all day, and have even realized that the days I let myself feel lazy and turn the alarm back, I just don't feel as good all day long. I even get up on the weekends now (at 7--not 4:30!) and do a workout to get my weekend days started. It is addicting.

PRprincess

I used to have the hardest time. I now have a routine and I feel bad when I don't get up and workout. The first couple weeks were the hardest for me after that it got much easier.

Jazzyjules71

Thanks for all the advice! I forgot to mention, I have to get up for work at 5:30, so when I say "get up early" it's 4:45 or so. I like the idea of starting with 10 minutes early, then gradually increasing it to more (at least 30!). It's so early, I would workout at home so maybe I can find a "text message" accountability person.

It's good to hear that it becomes easier with doing it a while. to be honest, I haven't ever done it more than a few times because it's so hard!

ONe thing that might work.......setting my alarm to my ipod, so jamming workout music wakes me up!

Thanks everyone!

kristen__

The only thing initially that would motivate me to get up early (before 6:00am) was if I knew that was the ONLY time I could fit a workout into that day. There were still mornings I could not be bothered to get out of my warm and cosy bed but lately I started doing Insanity and the fact that I literally roll out of bed and turn the dvd on to start exercising makes its so much more doable. The idea of having to get up and make myself look mildly presentable to go to the gym and pack my work gear and breakfast and lunch at that time of the morning before even getting to the gym was too much for my brain to comprehend that early and I couldn't do it every day long term! I vote if this is the hardest part for you to get an exercise dvd or make a workout plan that you can do at home for yourself without any equipment (unless you have some) or go for a run/bike outside that is easy to prepare for. Also I don't let myself hit snooze. As soon as my alarm goes off I get up so that before I even realise what I am doing it is too late. Once I hit snooze it is all over haha. Good luck!

pdworkman

I had a hard time getting up for work in the morning. I started to exercise during the day over a holiday, and started to get more energy and be more awake when I got up. We got a wii fit, and I started getting up a few minutes early to get a chance to play wii fit games without anyone hounding me and was actually waking up excited to start my workout. Started inching back my wake up time by 5 minutes every couple of weeks, until I felt like I was getting enough time to work out and play my fit games in the morning.

js370

On my third week of working out in the morning. Feeling tired has gradually diminished. Biggest problem I had was falling asleep when going to bed early. I don't snooze my alarm. I find that I feel more tired if I do. Once it sounds, I get right up, drink something, get ready and I'm out the door by 4:55. My reward, is being able to go straight home from work.

DAMNCHARLIE

I am not a mornng person (before my cup of hot tea), now i get up like clock work and go to excercise. My routine is an 80 min walk. I get out there by 8am (or the weather will kick *kitten*). Its better than my tea and gives me energy for the rest of the day. once you start you will not be able to stop.

JNick77

I am so NOT a morning person, and every morning hit my alarm multiple times before dragging myself out of bed with heavy lids and a foggy head......just to get to work.

But, I really want to be a morning exerciser!

My question is......are there any anti-morning people like myself that have successfully established a morning exercise routine? I need tips! How did you do it??

Yes. I get up at 3:30am on days I lift and 4:30am on days I only do cardio. I do take a decent stimulant to help me get going but it's doable. You just really need to get yourself to bed at a decent time is what I found.