Any tricks for getting butt out of bed at 5:00 AM ?

CharlieBarleyMom

I work 2nd shift - so I don't have to wake up with the alarm clock. I get up at 8:30, get coffee going, do the morning "stuff" for the animals, have coffee, and by 10am I am finally awake enough (my legs need to get loose) to do cardio workouts.

I did have to go to 1st shift for some training this past winter and WHOA what a difference that is... having to set my alarm for 4:00 so that I could have the time before work to get in my cardio. I DID IT. I set my alarm clock across the room the first morning so that I HAD to get up. It was bleak and dark (very dark) outside but I turned on all the lights as I walked around in the house and I was able to wake up.

I think the lights were the key. If you can get an automatic light switch or a remote light switch that you can turn on as soon as the alarm goes off.. or one of those alarm clocks that emulates dawn? I have only heard about them but I truly believe that the key is the light.

And also KNOWING that it is only going to work if you get up and workout - otherwise you will fail like every other time you have tried.

coliema

I'm in the same boat, except I have to get up at 4:30-4:45 every morning. I would much rather stay in my nice, warm, cozy bed! My trick is that the second I open my eyes for my alarm, I don't hit snooze, I get up because hitting snooze 14 times only makes it harder for me to want to get out of my bed.

PeachyPlum

Set your alarm to wake you up to Ruff Ryders Anthem by DMX.

No, I'm not joking. I can go back to sleep through almost any alarm, at any volume. But that song wakes me up at 4:50 every morning ready to kick some *kitten*!

Sweet_Potato

hahaha...go to bed early

set you alarm clock for 4:45 so you can hit your snooze button once or twice haha

I do both of those things and it doesn't work. I will hit the snooze button a few dozen times before I actually get up. And I have dogs who start playing early in the morning and make an ungodly amount of noise. Doesn't matter.

My joints are so stiff and sore first thing in the morning that the thought of getting out of bed is hard to imagine... does anyone else have this problem?

sjohnny

As soon as the alarm goes off, sit up and put your feet on the floor. Don't eff around with the snooze button. Just...get up.

This right here. No trick, just do it. My alarm goes off at 4:10AM. I get up and stop it as quick as I can so I don't wake up my wife any more than I have to. When I first started this about 8 or 10 months ago my trigger was physically getting my feet to hit the floor. Once I had conquered that hurdle everything else was comparatively easy.

I work out in my living room most mornings or I go up to the Middle School up the street and run on the track there once a week. By 5:30 I'm done and in a(n annoyingly according to my wife) mood to wake everyone up to get ready for the day.

Two byproducts of being up at the butt-crack of dawn to work out are 1. - I've never slept better in my life (I have a very long history of insomnia prior to this schedule) 2. - Everything that happens that early in the morning ends up being pretty hazy by the end of the day so even if you had a killer workout you don't remember it being all that rough. Yesterday afternoon I was wondering what I did to make myself so sore and then remembered "Oh yeah, you did a ****load of chest and back exercises this morning."

amanda3588

It may be dorky but when I get home at night I block someone in with my car who needs to leave super early. Which means if I don't get up to excercise I still have to get up to move my car. Not super motivating but it works

mmsilvia

I put my alarm clock on the other side of my bedroom. This way I have to get out of bed to shut it off. The night before I lay out my workout clothes. So once I am out of bed I get changed & start my workout.

Good luck finding what works best for you

mdink620

As soon as the alarm goes off get up, getting out of bed and getting started makes it easier. It also gets easier the more you do it! And if possible work out with friends or get to know the people at the gym who are working out the same time as you, makes you more accountable!

angieleighbyrd

Yes.

There is an alarm clock that connects via wifi to your bank account. Every time you hit snooze it donates money to a charity you hate.

There is also an alarm clock that is a rug. You have to stand on it to get it to shut off. You can't just put a book or something on it because it has to record YOUR weight to turn off.

There is also an alarm clock on wheels, it starts "driving" around the room when the alarm goes off and you have to get up and catch it to turn it off.

No, I'm not making this up. They are all real.

classycouture

Go to bed early, and wear your workout clothes to bed! That way, when you wake up, all you have to do is put on your socks and shoes! Putting the alarm clock on the other side of the room might help (although it doesn't work for me, I just crawl right back into bed!)

va_va_voom

I work 2nd shift - so I don't have to wake up with the alarm clock. I get up at 8:30, get coffee going, do the morning "stuff" for the animals, have coffee, and by 10am I am finally awake enough (my legs need to get loose) to do cardio workouts.

I did have to go to 1st shift for some training this past winter and WHOA what a difference that is... having to set my alarm for 4:00 so that I could have the time before work to get in my cardio. I DID IT. I set my alarm clock across the room the first morning so that I HAD to get up. It was bleak and dark (very dark) outside but I turned on all the lights as I walked around in the house and I was able to wake up.

I think the lights were the key. If you can get an automatic light switch or a remote light switch that you can turn on as soon as the alarm goes off.. or one of those alarm clocks that emulates dawn? I have only heard about them but I truly believe that the key is the light.

And also KNOWING that it is only going to work if you get up and workout - otherwise you will fail like every other time you have tried.

I think the lights suggestion is the best one I've read in this thread and I'm going to try it.

amanda3588

Yes.

There is an alarm clock that connects via wifi to your bank account. Every time you hit snooze it donates money to a charity you hate.

I love it! Do you think I could get it to donate to the Democratic party?? Calm down people its just a joke...

sbfreak17

Yes.

There is an alarm clock that connects via wifi to your bank account. Every time you hit snooze it donates money to a charity you hate.

There is also an alarm clock that is a rug. You have to stand on it to get it to shut off. You can't just put a book or something on it because it has to record YOUR weight to turn off.

There is also an alarm clock on wheels, it starts "driving" around the room when the alarm goes off and you have to get up and catch it to turn it off.

No, I'm not making this up. They are all real.

This is hilarious! LOL!

va_va_voom

hahaha...go to bed early

set you alarm clock for 4:45 so you can hit your snooze button once or twice haha

I do both of those things and it doesn't work. I will hit the snooze button a few dozen times before I actually get up. And I have dogs who start playing early in the morning and make an ungodly amount of noise. Doesn't matter.

My joints are so stiff and sore first thing in the morning that the thought of getting out of bed is hard to imagine... does anyone else have this problem?

My husband has the stiff/sore joints in the morning, so he can be pretty slow moving. He says that stretching before bed helps and then stretching again when he wakes up. Maybe you can incorporate some stretching in your warm up to help loosen your joints.

va_va_voom

Yes.

There is an alarm clock that connects via wifi to your bank account. Every time you hit snooze it donates money to a charity you hate.

I love it! Do you think I could get it to donate to the Democratic party?? Calm down people its just a joke...

+100000

HealthyBodySickMind

Also, if you are a coffee drinker, get a coffee machine that you can set the timer on it to start making coffee right before your alarm goes off. I used to do this and set the machine up on my bedside table. Hard to ignore fresh brewed coffee smell. We used to have a machine with a timer that would grind the beans fresh. That coffee grinder was loud, but a good loud to wake up to.

BrianSharpe

You could also get a dog. They like to get up at the same time every day.

My dogs havebecome very unreliable as alarm clocks, fortunately my internal clock works pretty well and I wake up by around 5:00 most days.

JustJennie1

You could also get a dog. They like to get up at the same time every day.

My dogs havebecome very unreliable as alarm clocks, fortunately my internal clock works pretty well and I wake up by around 5:00 most days.

My dog too. While he is fairly consistent at coming upstairs at 4:30 it's really just to jump in bed and go back to sleep. :grumble:

My alarm goes off at 5:30 in the morning and we inevitably end up hitting snooze for half an hour before deciding to go in the afternoon. We really do need to get up when that alarm goes off and just get it done.

kalynn06

I have a dog that comes in my room at 5am every day to feed him and take him outside. :laugh:

Also works with cats . Feed them at 5 am every day for a week, and they will never let you stay in bed later unless you bar the bedroom door and invest in earplugs. It took me months to break them of 4 am after I finished clinical rotations.

ninerbuff

Put the alarm clock across the room.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition