How to find the motivation to work out in the morning?

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  • learnerdriver
    learnerdriver Posts: 298 Member
    bump for later
  • Astephens1984
    Astephens1984 Posts: 57 Member
    great tips everyone, Need to keep this in mind and get my butt out of bed.
  • AnnInTexas
    AnnInTexas Posts: 75 Member
    This has become a pretty motivating thread!

    I usually wake up between 5:30-6am every morning, though I don't know why. I will turn on the morning news and watch it and usually drift off back to sleep before getting up for the day at 7am.

    I think tomorrow when I wake up early, I'm just going to get out of bed and go to the gym!

    I know I always feel better when I work out in the morning, rather than the evening.

    I'm GONNA DO IT!

    Ann
  • magmama23
    magmama23 Posts: 21
    Good for you, good luck!!:bigsmile:
  • JenCatwalk
    JenCatwalk Posts: 285 Member
    For me, all in honesty I sometimes fight the urge to skip, stay in bed, too cold outside, too hot, whatever. But I just think about how good and relieved I will feel just getting it over with and then get up and get going. Eventually it becomes routine and hard to want to get out of it! It took about 3 weeks for me to get to that point of consistency.
  • Linkdapink
    Linkdapink Posts: 128 Member
    When I was really struggling, I made myself a custom alarm on my phone. It was my own voice, reminding me of why I made the choice to get up at this hour, with a favorite song playing in the background. It was long, and I liked the song, so I didn't hit snooze right away, but just let it play. Super cheesy, and incredibly effective for me.

    This is an AWESOME idea! I just got up for the first time today for a 5am workout (woo!) and I had to remind myself that if I do it now, I won't have to do it again later! But if I had an alarm that just said "Get Up, Get Out of Bed, Do it now" It's kind of a kicker that I've let myself get to this weight by thinking "I'll deal with this another time" so its a good mental change for me too... I can't keep putting off working out and losing weight!
  • HSingMomto7Kids
    HSingMomto7Kids Posts: 345 Member
    I usually put my alarm on. At first it was hard, but most days it is just part of my day now.
  • VBnotbitter
    VBnotbitter Posts: 820 Member
    Those of you who say to go to bed early, how early is early for you? I'm up at 5.45 already and crawl into bed exhausted at 9pm with a husband complaining that I'm a wimp! Also do you exercise before eating, as I find I never seem to have the energy resources to exercise when Im hungry.
  • borichfan
    borichfan Posts: 208 Member
    I used to do this, I used to workout in the mornings early before I left for work on the bus. But then I got out of the habit, I need to get back in the habit, If I get in the bed earlier the night before it is easier to get up in the mornings.
  • VegKate
    VegKate Posts: 55 Member
    I get up at 5:30am every morning to work out and it's really hard every single morning. The things that help are some of the things other peope have said, like:
    1. Go to bed early, it's so much easier to work out at 5am if you've gotten 8 hours of sleep.
    2. Work out at home. I do DVDs, that way I don't have to wake up extra early to get to a gym.

    Also, every morning when I feel like not doing it today, I remind myself that if I take today off, I'll want to take tomorrow off too.
  • wllwsmmr
    wllwsmmr Posts: 391 Member
    Everyone said it! Heck I'd say reading this thread is enough motivation!

    It gets easier but there will be some (or most) days where you dread it but you know you will get it done!

    I like to get my workout in first thing because I know I'll feel crappy and bloated if I didn't.
    I also drink ice cold lemon water once I wake up and it wakes me up!
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
    Chapter five about making willpower automatic in the book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg touches on that willpower can be non-existent at the time your alarm clock rings in the morning which was set because you thought the day before it would be a great idea to do the daily running then. Willpower is a finite resource anyway, and no one has it all day long.

    It would help getting used to going to bed earlier, which allows for the sleep you need. Jillian Michaels, a fitness guru, wrote in one of her books, might have been Slim for Life, that if she had the choice between six hours of sleep and a workout on one side and eight hours of sleep on the other, she would not hesitate to pick the eight hours of sleep.

    Also, be aware of the danger of feeling that you have already reached the goal due to the talking that we do here and because of that you don't have to act on it any more. When you wake up, don't think of us, rather look forward to the beautiful fresh air out there, grab your running or walking shoes and enjoy the beginning of a brand new day.

    The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
    http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-What-Business/dp/1400069289/ref=sr_1_1

    Slim for Life: My Insider Secrets to Simple, Fast, and Lasting Weight Loss
    http://www.amazon.com/Slim-Life-Insider-Secrets-Lasting/dp/038534922X

    Want to lose weight? Shut your mouth
    http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/14/health/lose-weight-mouth-shut-secret/
  • Goldilocks726
    Goldilocks726 Posts: 5
    any chance you can work out on your lunch break? I recently started running 2-3 miles on mine and it is AWESOME!
  • PlumCrazyGirl
    PlumCrazyGirl Posts: 1,463 Member
    Well, today was the first time I have done a morning workout -- did a 10 min Pilate Ab DVD and a 30 min 2lb weight ball DVD.
    The only reason I was up earlier to do this was H2B stated as he was leaving at 5:15am that I would probably go back to bed and hit snooze many times.

    Proved him wrong
  • CavemanPapa
    CavemanPapa Posts: 10
    It took me a good 2 weeks to get in the habit but it works and now I get up at 4am and have fun doing it. I feel great getting the fitness in before my commute to work and I actually sleep better at night.
  • rumplesnat
    rumplesnat Posts: 372
    If I don't get it done first thing in the morning, I am a miserable, grumpy ***** because the task is looming over my head until it gets done. :bigsmile:
  • dorianaldyn
    dorianaldyn Posts: 611 Member
    I have a full time+ job, I have two preschool-aged kids and a husband that travels extensively for work. For me, the only time that works consistently is the morning - so, everyday, my alarm goes off at 4:05. This allows me to fit my exercise in and shower before getting the kids up to get them ready for preschool. I'm training for a marathon right now, so I absolutely have to get my runs in. Thankfully we have a gym in the basement so I can run on a treadmill if my husband is out of town.

    Getting up at 4 sounds awful on the surface, but in reality, I traded TV watching time for exercise time. I used to watch tv before bed and now I just fall asleep. I don't miss the tv and I've benefited so much from the exercise. Eventually waking up early becomes habit and you'll find you're grumpy all day on the days you don't get a morning workout in. It's become something I need now rather than an awful chore.

    Another thing in your favor - the warming weather. It's always harder to climb out of bed when it's cold out. Take advantage of the warming weather and form some good habits now!
  • kimazoo
    kimazoo Posts: 33 Member
    For those of you who went from working out in the afternoon/evening hours to an early morning workout schedule, did you notice a difference at all in your energy, appetite, weight loss, strength gain, etc? I recently had a friend suggest that I tweak my workout schedule and go at 5:30am instead of 7pm....thinking that it would help me in the long run. Basically I strength train 3 days a week. I lift weights during that time and then do 20-40 min of cardio afterwards. I also do 1-2 days of just cardio and then I rest on the other 1-2 days. Just wondering if something that small (changing my workout time to the morning) would make an impact on my progress....
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    I just make myself do it. I know it's the only time I can get in a good, dedicated regular workout. I don't like getting up at 4:30, but I know I feel like crap if I don't work out, so I do it. You just have to do it regularly for a month or so, and, while it doesn't make it fun, it becomes a habit.

    Damn Jen every post you make is spot on. "...while it doesn't make it fun, it becomes a habit.". The straight dope.


    Now... I could never get up early. Period lol
  • tinkerbellmad
    tinkerbellmad Posts: 25 Member
    Yaaaay managed to get up at 6.30 (I know your probably thinking that's not early!! Lol) did my workout & felt amazing all day! Full of energy & motivation not to eat too much crap! I'm going to attempt to get up at 6am Monday! Wish me luck guys xx

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