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

TheMoonMuse

Echoing what was already said. I work full time, have a family, my own business, and in the summer I am the floor manager for a local seasonal restaurant. The gym is packed at lunch and after work. I run over my lunch hour Tues/Thurs/ and also Saturday. Lucky for me there is a gravel road that follows the coast just right outside my work place. But the getting to the gym (free weight circut Mon, Wed, Fri) is a different story. It is about 10 minutes away and not really feasible to get a workout, shower, and back to work in time. Plus it is packed over the lunch hour. We are in a small town with 2 small gyms so they fill up fast. Likewise, after work it is packed. If I go any later it is hard to get dinner, double check homework, spend time with the fam, and still work out without being keyed up until 1 am

After the first couple of weeks it gets easier. I have grown to actually love working out in early am. The gym is quiet and the few that are there are regulars. It is nice because we all know our spaces and each others routines so rarely is there any competition or over equipment or showers. It has become my "me time" that I really enjoy. And the bonus is that when I get to work I am already pumped and ready to knock a lot out instead of waking up at work.

These are a few things that have helped me.

-Pack your lunch (after workout snack, snacks, and such) the evening before - actually all ready did that so no big change for me there.
-Pack your gym bag the evening before
-Set your change of clothes out and your work clothes out the night before
-Get a locker if available. Not having to lug a towel, shampoo, etc helps a lot. Plus it really sucks if you forget it and then stink all day LOL! I even have a cheapy blow extra blow dryer, hair products and such in mine. All I have to lug is make up and change of clothes.
-DO IT for 2 weeks. Seriously it does get easier.
-Go to bed early if that helps. I go to bed about 11 - 11:30 vs 12:00 to 12:30 and depending on my work schedule, I get up at 5:00 - 6 am to hit the gym. I'm more of a night owl and get a second wind by 9 pm so going to bed early doesn't normally work for me. But on rare occasion I do crash early
-Do some of the stretching at home if that helps get you moving

If everything is ready I can wake up, splash a little water on my face, grab a quick snack, and get out the door in 15 minutes. Also as said above me, my workout is done for the day. If I get more in later it is bonus. I started doing Fridays and Mondays first. Fridays because it meant there was no workout to worry about and my schedule was clear for the after Friday the week is over drinks with friends. And Monday because it meant the Monday evenings were free for the argh it was Monday drink with friends

Francl27

I couldn't do it because going to bed early is not an option most days.

famousmel

I sleep in my workout clothes too, and leave the PB out so I can have one tblspoon on my way out the door.
My biggest thing is I don't get to talk to myself until I'm out of the bedroom. Otherwise I start a conversation about 5 more min sleep or rearranging my day to work out some other time, etc. It's off with the alarm and feet on the floor in the same movement.
This is similar to "just do it" as others suggested, but found this exact mindset to be most helpful.

JonathanBB

Just do it.
It sucks for like 2 weeks and then it's easier.
I still have my off days but that's all I got lol

^^^This, though two weeks might be a little short. I am NOT a morning person but after struggling with trying to find a consistent time with very long hours at work, wife, two teenage daughters, I decided that was the only time that I could consistently do it so it is up at 5:30 - 5:45 Tuesday through Friday to take out the dog and do a 1/2 hour workout (all that I have time for without getting up even earlier) and then quick breakfast, shower, shave, kid to school and off to work. I sleep a little later on weeknds and do a 1 hour workout - still before the rest of the house is up and about but they are all lazy.

Navymustng

I am dealing with the same thing. I used to meet a buddy and workout and that motivated me, but if you work out alone you just have to get in a rythum. Not sure why 5 and 6 seem like a huge time difference in sleep, but I do the same thing up at 6. Want to get up at 5 and workout, your day is so much better when you do, you have energy.

Just read on FB a guy that was heavy and now is ripped simply

"Get up and get it Done"

Morning is the best time, the most peaceful and will give you rewards of energy through the day.

thrld

1. Go to bed early.
2. Work out at home (no wasting sleep time commuting to gym)
3. Do a short workout (30DS - it takes 24 minutes) .

I do this 3x a week and sometimes go running 1-2 times a week (usually on Sun morning around 9-10, or Thurs evening after work)

NavyKnightAh13

I am a night owl, so I gave up on trying to getting up early to work out. For me, I shower at night, and I have the most energy towards evening time, so it makes sense for me to work out after dinner rather then 6 am. :bigsmile:

criss1210

I have been trying to get up at 5 for a week now! It's def hard to avoid that snooze button!! I'm going to have to keep on trying hecause it's difficult for me to fit in my workouts later in the day Just need to get up and do it!

luckyjuls

Bumping for later. I really need tips lol.

Johnrbrown

The only thing that motivates me for morning workouts, is when I set an appt with one of the personal trainers. Otherwise, I go after work. Admittedly, I prefer the after work routine anyway, because with my job, I need to release a lot of frustration. But occasionally, the morning workouts are needed for the motivation, as well as learning new exercises and approaches to keeping the workouts fresh.

ironmanwannabe

1) Get everything ready the night before.
2) Go to bed early.
3) Move your alarm across the room so you have to get out of bed to turn it off.

This!

TheMattyExperiment

I get up at 5 in order to get to my CrossFit class at 6. It's not easy, but I've surprised myself with my consistency. Here are some tips:

1. Go to bed early. Seriously, if you aren't doing something important, just go to bed.
2. Find a workout you love.
3. Find morning workout buddies to motivate you.
4. Just do it! It takes a couple weeks to create a habit. If you can do it for two weeks, you can do it forever.

Ultimately, the feeling of knowing your done with your workout by the time you go to work is a reward in and of itself. Also, since I get it out of the way before I'm even awake enough to comprehend what's happening, I don't skip as much. I just don't have the time in between the alarm and getting to class to rationalize not working out.

#4 All the way... force yourself for about a week no matter how much it sucks. You want to train your subconscious to form this behaviour into a habit and then you'll actually want to go in the mornings. I used to hate going in the mornings and then I forced myself to and started training that way fasted for about a month. I loved it but unfortunately my work season started back up and between classes and work I can't be going to bed early enough for am workouts

nasa91

There is a website called sleepyti.me that will calculate the best time to go to sleep based on when you have to wake up. You can also do things like lay out all of your clothes the night before, and set up your alarm across the room instead of right next to your bed.

Tanisha0812

I agree with you Paige. I love getting up first thing in the morning and working out. I find it so refreshing to have a burst of energy at the beginning of my day while everyone else is sluggish LOL! Also at the end of the day I can relax without the pressures of being torn between staying at work to finish up an assignment or project or going to work out. I also find that the workout facilities are so congested that you often are not able to focus on the workout. My true motivation for working out in the morning is knowing that my day is truly over after I exit from work.

amylite

Excellent post! This was me too! I still dont make early mornings the norm, but I do go. Problem now is when I know I have to get up early, I am up way too early, for fear of sleeping in!

I get up at 4:30 in the morning to go workout. Back in 2006-2007 I was obsessed with working out and got up at 4:30 everyday to workout. I got out of the habit after a divorce and moving and then a baby. It took me FOREVER to get back into the habit of going. I know myself and I know how my mind works. I am not normally a snooze button person. When my alarm goes off for work, I get up right then and I go. So my thought was, If I kept setting my alarm for 4:30 i would eventually get up. So that's exactly what I did. I did that for like a month and hit snooze so many times or reset my clock. Then I told myself enough was enough and I was going no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So I went to bed thinking I'm going tomorrow. I got to bed early and set my alarm for 5am. I ended up waking up at 4:30 and decided I should just get up then and go so I've stuck with that since. When I came home I had like two hours before I had to leave for work so I seriously did everything I could in the morning. I did the laundry from the day before, washed the breakfast dishes and made the beds. When I got to work that day it was a great feeling knowing I not only worked out for the day, but I would be able to go home at 5pm and have NOTHING to do in my house except make dinner. With a toddler running around, this was great motivation! It's something you just have to set your mind to doing and once you decide you will go just keep pushing yourself until it's habit. Good luck!

Linkdapink

I'm going to start doing this! I have decided! I will need to get up at 5am, wake up a bit, and do my workout (30DS at the moment), jump in the shower, grab some breakfast, and run out the door.

Organisation has never been my strong point, so I'm going to have to get on top of everything I need to before Monday when I start back at work (Easter Hols for teachers - AWESOME!)

tinkerbellmad

I feel so lazy right now reading everyone's comments! I get up at 7am to do a workout I would have to get up at about 10 to 6! My gyms in the garage! I would struggle getting up early :-( it would make life do much easier though!!

ccburn5

I get up at 5 in order to get to my CrossFit class at 6. It's not easy, but I've surprised myself with my consistency. Here are some tips:

1. Go to bed early. Seriously, if you aren't doing something important, just go to bed.
2. Find a workout you love.
3. Find morning workout buddies to motivate you.
4. Just do it! It takes a couple weeks to create a habit. If you can do it for two weeks, you can do it forever.

Ultimately, the feeling of knowing your done with your workout by the time you go to work is a reward in and of itself. Also, since I get it out of the way before I'm even awake enough to comprehend what's happening, I don't skip as much. I just don't have the time in between the alarm and getting to class to rationalize not working out.

This EXACTLY!! I've been going to Boot Camp from 5:30-6:30 am M-W-F since Jan 16 2012 and have literally only missed when out of town or sick (I can count them on 1 hand). You truly do get into a routine that is hard to break. I had a late meeting out of the office last Friday so I went to the 6:45-7:45 class and felt "out of sync". You can do it!!

Laurenmp16

I make myself wake up in time to exercise no matter what. Even if I get out of bed telling myself I'm not exercising that day, I always end up doing it. You're already up...that's the struggle.

alysnyder

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.