How do you wake up early for exercise?

haley129

I wish I could get up at 5 am and excerisize but I just can't. I tell myself everynight before going to bed wake up at 5 and do insanity!!! I am in such a deep sleep at 5 am though ugh!

Doesnt your metabolizm go all day if you exercise in the morning too?

brvzfan13

My alarm clock music is something motivating. Right now it's Eye of the Tiger.

Also, i know myself. I can't sleep until 5:55am and walk out the door ready to exercise five minutes later. My gym opens at 6am. I wake up at 5:30 and have coffee and watch the news. By six I'm getting dressed and starting to head out the door.

Ditto! I wake at 4:45 and have a little me routine that helps me get started and awake. I dress in my workout clothes (if I didn't wear them to bed), go to the bathroom, weigh, flip on the news, drink a glass of water, turn on my iPod, and then get started! I try to be on the equipment by 5:00.

As far as to the original poster, I won't be adding anything new that has not already been said. It really is routine. A habit. A good habit for me as I feel like I have accomplished something to start the day. And, now that it is a routine I have found that on those mornings when I miss I feel really crappy--not because I missed the workout, but becuase I don't have the energy.

The first few mornings were brutal. Now, as I have increased my workout time I am getting up even earlier. I find that I am more refreshed and energetic. I am a much happier and healthier person because of my morning routine. It is my alone time. My iPod is blaring and I get lost in my thoughts while I am getting exercise.

I will say that I have never considered myself a morning person. I haven't changed my evening routine too much. At first I would find myself napping while watching TV, but as time as gone on because of the extra energy I think my system has adjusted.

I would highly recommend morning workouts. Good luck in getting started. Don't get discouraged. Just do it. Once you start to feel the benefits you won't want to miss out. :-)

wanttolose40lbs

Put your alarm clock across the room, so you actually have to get up to shut it off. Once your up, you might as well stay up.

Cassierocksalot

I have my gym clothes laid on the side of the bed and go to bed early enough that I can get 7-8 hours of sleep. Also, it helps that my husband gets up with me. He doesn't work out with me (I don't want him to, he's too bossy and opinionated :bigsmile: ) but knowing that he's still laying in my nice warm bed is an absolute motivation killer. Also, as soon as the alarm goes off, I hit snooze but I remove all of the comforts that would entice me to stay in bed; I turn off the heated blanket, take off my socks and pull my arms out of the covers.

But all of this is what works for me, everyone is different. Find what works for you and keep at it until it's just part of your routine!

shaypearl

I hate working out in the mornings, but I have to or my working will not get done at all. These are the steps I take.

1) Put the alarm away from me so I can't just turn it off.
2) Drink about 2-3 sips of a 5 hour energy drink that I placed on the night stand next to my bed. (So even if I do get up and turn off the alarm that adrenaline boost will make me get up anyways.)
3) If I'm not already sleeping in my workout clothes they are right next to my bed.
4) Go the bathroom.
5) Make an angry face at the awesome picture I found online of this chic with this incredible body, that I posted on my wall and say to her 'I'm coming for you girl'.
6) BAM!!!! Let the workout begin.

MostlyWater

If waking up early doesn't work for you, then try something else - during your lunch break, etc. It doesn't pay to torture yourself. I am up by 5:50 AM and I'm always in bed by 10 PM !!! But I know that doesn't fit everyone's lifestyle.

For the record, I keep my exercise stuff ready to use in bags to grab and go - pants or shorts, a top, a headband, socks, and a bandana. After I wash, I match up. I have enough stuff for a long time which is really helpful.

BurtHuttz

I don't really know what to say, everyone; I wasn't expecting four pages of well-thought-out, helpful advice and perspectives. This is a lot to ingest. Amongst all of this feedback, I am certain that I'll be able to find a combination that works for me.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to help.

yoovie

throw the blankets off you as if they personally insulted you

krokador

Well, more often than not I wake up hungry around 5AM (or earlier depending on when I had my nighttime snack xD) so if anything I need to get up because of that.

My setup otherwise is 3 alarms spaced out by 5 minutes each (view it as some sort of auto-snooze). 2 of which are on my watch, so rather gentle. The third one is my phone shrilling and rattling on my bedside table. At that point I'm well awake. Then it's just a matter of rolling off the bed, putting on the gym clothes and going at it since I workout at home xD

As soon as I get going the energy boost kicks in somewhat. But I may go for some caffeine to help the process.

Akumu

My cat wont let me sleep past 5.

Lol, true story

timarii

There's so many great responses, especially the ones that said just DO IT. I'm not a morning person either but I'm learning that working out in the morning is the best for me so I'm in the process of making it a habit. This is what I'm doing:

...sleeping in my gym clothes
...set an alarm on my phone to start getting ready for bed at 10pm then another on to be in bed at 11pm
...cue, routine, reward - something I learned in a book about habits. The Cue will be waking up and going to the bathroom, the routine will be going to the gym obviously and the reward will be reading and/or a protein smoothie after the gym.

mlwatts2

The trick is just do it. That simple. I have learned there is only and excuse if I make one. Yes I do things to help myself ie. get my clothes out the night before along with whatever I will eat prior to my workout, try to go to bed a little earlier, put alarm across the room so I have to get out of my warm bed, and a few other things. I also know though that I feel so much more accomplished if I get my workout in early. It gives me more time for family at the end of the day or even time for another workout Do it you won't regret it. We can sleep when we are dead.

1960HikerDude

You motivate yourself the same way you meet life's other commitments such as work or school. Adopt the mindset, EXERCISE IS NOT OPTIONAL. If you fail to get up on time and go to work consistently, you'll get fired. If you fail to get up on time and exercise consistently, your health will suffer. And, everything else you've worked so hard for in life won't be worth a damn if you aren't healthy.

As others have suggested, going to be early and laying out your workout clothes and gear the night before helps. But, the most important thing is to throw back those covers and put your feet on the floor when that alarm goes off. No exceptions. No excuses. After a while it becomes part of your routine and becomes much easier.

yummymummy65

I'm not a morning person either... but I guess my desire to be lean is greater than my desire for sleep. I've recently added an additional 10 minutes to my morning cardio. So now, I'm geting up at 5:20am to workout. How do I do this, I set my alarm clock. When it rings, most of the time, I don't want to wake up. But then I trick my mind into thinking how "chubby" I am or how chubby I'm going to be if I don't wake up to work out. (I know I'm not chubby but I tell myself that I am.) This usually gets me going. My biggest motivation right now is my upcoming trip. Having to wear a bikini and wanting to look HOT in it, is a huge motivation. Priorities is what gets me up early for exercise.

Mtitanium

I have an app on my iPhone that monitors my sleep called "Sleep Cycle" (no I don't have any affiliation with the company). As you sleep you go through cycles of deep sleep and light sleep. Most alarms wake you up whenever. The app waits until you start coming out of your deep sleep to wake you up. Then it starts softly and slowly increases in its annoyance until you have to do something about it. I have been using it for almost a year and I really like it. Even on nights when I don't get the required sleep I feel better than if a standard alarm wakes me. Well worth the money in my opinion.

BurtHuttz

throw the blankets off you as if they personally insulted you

SPIDERS!

Spokez70

I'm not much of a morning person either so I usually just work out in the afternoon or evening. I do however have to be at work waaaay earlier than I'd like to be- so for that I just put my alarm clock across the room so I'm not tempted to just turn it off and go right back to sleep.

freezerburn2012

www.sleepyti.me

Use this to enter the time you want to wake up and it will tell you when to go to bed so that you can wake up at that time more easily.

beduffbrickie

*kitten* and coffee mate!

deniseblossoms

i sleep in mine sometimes

roll out the bed and get my *kitten* moving

what she said:)