All you morning gym-goers...

Mrbusterb

It's hard now because you're changing your routine,but it does get easier there will be times when you may have to force yourself,but it does get easier

erikapereira

I thought I was not a morning person but I started doing it 2 times a week and I love my energy levels thtough out the day!

Prettylittlelotus

Put out your gym clothes before bed, along with HRM, shoes, socks, headphones- EVERYTHING you need. Get 8 hours of sleep, set you alarm clock on the other side of the room, and don't crawl back into bed--just put your clothes on and get out of the house.

Jess22542

I made the switch to morning work outs earlier this year, so here is a few things that I learned.

1. Go to bed an hour earlier than you are now as often as possible. It makes a huge difference. This will get easier as you get in the habit of getting up, because you'll just be tired earlier.
2. Stop thinking it's optional. When you have to get up for work, you don't say "eh I'll just go back to sleep." Your mindset should be the same for your workouts.
3. You will ALWAYS have more energy after your workout, than after getting the extra hour of sleep. Seriously.

It's all about routine. It does get easier, once your body adjusts. I love it now.

Good luck!

meggonkgonk

Go to bed in your gym clothes. Keep all the things you'll need for the AM workout together and ready to go before you go to bed. Roll out of bed and start working out (or getting to the gym) before you know what's going on. Try to be excited about your workout in the morning - I like to set a goal, a speed or distance for my runs, a number of sets or reps for my strength workouts. Something to shoot for.

I also prefer to run outside, workout at home, etc. But the general strategy of being ready to go as soon as you get up still holds. Once you get into the pattern you'll find yourself jumping up to get your workout in!

loveYOUmore319

It gets easier. The first week is tough. I'm also in the bed by 7pm and hopefully sleep by 9pm. I get up at 4am to work out. I set two alarms. One for 4am and one for 4:10am. It helps. My motivation to get up in the morning and get my workout out of the way is that I know I don't have to do anything else for the rest of the day. I mean as far as exercise goes. LOL!! I like that I can come home in the evenings and give my family my full undivided attention. I love that I can come home in the evening and kick the soccer ball around with my sons if I need too and that I don't have to tell them I don't have time because I'm trying to get my workout in. I just think it's so much better to get it done in the morning.

I'm up at 4am. Getting my workout out on by 4:20am. At 5am I'm getting in the shower and getting ready for the day to include the kids. Drop my son off at daycare at 6:20 and I have to be at work at 7am. I work a regular 8 hour day and I get off at 3:30pm. From 3:30 pm until 7pm I have time to go to grocery store, or get my nails done, or check homework, or make an amazing meal, or pick up dry cleaning, or get a massage, or whatever else I want to do. I love to have my evenings. That's what keeps me motivated to git 'er dun!! Woot!

pgp90xer

Getting to bed early is the key. I am up for 4:30 so for me I try to get to sleep by 10-10:30, any later and it is very hard. Preparing all your meals at night like lunches for the next day also helps free up your mornings so you can concentrate on your workout and then get out the door. I try to keep to my morning workouts on the weekend too but just a little later like 6:00 am.

mcosme25

I can honestly tell you early morning work outs have the very best thing I have done in a very long time. I get up at 5:30 am everyday M- F and work out. This is the first time ever I have done it. Prior, I just worked out in the evening but never got results, since I made the switch, I have lost 69 pounds and several sizes and inches. My reccomendation is start out with group fitness at your local gym and get plugged in. Everything is easier when you have support. More than likely people getting up that early are dedicated and consistant. Make friends, dont be shy. It does get easier. But like any goal, you have to WANT it bad enough for yourself. Go to bed at a decent hour and set 2 or 3 alarms, have coffee pot set and clothes ready. You get to a point where when you dont work out early, your day doesnt even feel the same. There are times even now that when the alarm chimes,,,, I am like OH Lord but I know how it makes me feel and 9 out of 10 times if I say I am gonna do it in the evening I know there is a 50/50 shot of something coming up to interrupt my plans. You can totally do this!!!

fishgutzy

More than a decade ago I got up early and spent about 90 minutes at the gym every morning by myself and an hour at gym 3 times a week with coworkers. I didn't change anything about what I ate and lost 35 pounds in a year. But I couldn't keep that up.

Now I live where the Y opens even earlier. 5am. It is tempting to try again. After all, with DVR I don't have to stay up late to catch any show.
It is just a matter of actually doing the change and sticking with it.
Right now I am comfortable working out after work. But it is taking time away from helping the kids with their physics and pre-calc homework. So I may have to push myself to make the change to morning.

anemoneprose

Thanks to those who answered my tag-on questions

Fittabulous

Morning time doesn't work for me. I have to be at work at 6, so i already get up at 4:30 for work. I've tried!! I figured out that doing my Insanity workouts at home, I could do them in the mornings i didn't HAVE to wake up, like the weekend, and i'd be great at it.... otherwise, i actually do it just before i go to bed, thats when it worked best for me. Try not to focus on what works best for others, and make sure you listen to your body and find what works best for you - when you do, you'll succeed beyond what you ever imagined!

rfsatar

It does get easier... and I love it because it's largely empty and you get your pick of the machines, normally.
I saw a bit of a bump in attendance around the time of the Olympics and Paralympics and then it died down again.

I have to say - I have to make myself pack the night before now, as I was probably burning more cals running around the house trying to find swimming cozzie, water bottle, swapping orthotics from tennis shoes the night before...

It becomes routine after a while... and I set about the rest of my day feeling pretty pumped.

I was like you - I found that after a full day in the office, I was just too knackered to even contemplate the gym, which is how I ended up here!

MariaLivingFit

You need to do some type of workout that you are excited to get up for! I am in the middle of a 12 week weight-lifting program and never want to miss a day or else the whole schedule will be off (plus I like it!). I also got a new ipod shuffle which is motivation to get on the treadmill or elliptical some days. My alarm goes off at 4:45 am and I am at the gym at 5:05 am. I love being there when it's less crowded. It's doable if you give yourself the right kind of motivation. Good Luck!

jenniferleigh30

I struggle with this as well. This post has motivated me to try it again and hopefully make it a habit!

JulieDive

I signed up for a fitness / strength training class that was held 3 days a week at 5:30am. Since I paid $200 for it, there was no way that I was going to miss it. Even more, the gym was a 30 minute commute so I had to get up that much earlier, but after time I enjoyed the drive there so I was wide awake when I hit the gym floor. As everyone else says, prepare the night before. I would wear my work out clothes to bed and put my gym bag in the car. Next morning I roll out of bed, brush my teeth and head out, who do I have to impress at 6am?? After time it does become a habit, and the spike in energy for the day is phenominal.

Now with tha said I'll become a hipacrite ......I wish I could still do it. I LOVE working out at the gym. That was me a year or 2 ago. My child care has changed so I don't have the opportunity to go to the gym anymore, morning or night I'm struggling with doing work outs at home because I am the type that I have to leave the house in order to do something, My bed is too overpowering and I end up staying in bed.

Good Luck!

gdrmuzak

Personally, the decision has to be made in advance (the night before), then there's "no discussion" about whether or not you "feel" like it.

Like others, if I'm going to the Y to work out rather than staying home with a video or exer. bike, I try to pack my bag and lay things out for what I'll wearing so that it's only a matter of getting up, eating and heading out the door.

Ripley7006

My trick is to set TWO alarms. One is set for 30 minutes before the real alarm. When the first alarm goes off I always have the initial reaction, "NO!!" but then I remember it is the first alarm and I get another 30 minutes of sleep. By the time the second alarm goes off I feel like I had a warning and an "extra" snooze.

Then when the second alarm goes of I just don't think and throw myself out of bed and get dressed in my clothes that are already laid out. I tell myself if I am still not feeling it by the time I have dressed, brushed my teeth and gathered my gear then I can go back to bed. That has only happened a couple of times in the last year though because usually once I'm dressed and ready I can make it out the door.

It also helps that I know I have people in my workout group who will be looking for me. Avoiding the good-natured ribbing I get when I miss a workout because I slept in is a great motivator.