GETTING UP EARLY

245

Replies

  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
    I work second shift and am a night owl, so I hear ya!:yawn:

    I get up by 6:00 or 6:30 to take my daughter to school and then I go work out.

    I don't think about it or give myself time to argue with myself. I just get up and start my day.

    Once I've been up and moving for a bit, I feel better.

    And I always feel better that I went and worked out rather than stayed in bed.
  • dluce2569
    dluce2569 Posts: 23 Member
    I go to sleep by 8:30 pm and I am up at 3:30-4am., when my alarm goes off...I jump right out of bed. First thing is coffee...while I put my meals together for the day. If any are cooked meals, I usually have already prepared them in advance. I do dishes, shower, and cooked breakfast for my Husband; he works graveyard and gets home around 4;30am. In the winter I start work at 6am, in the Spring at 7am and in the summer 6:30 - 7:00am. My start time is pretty flexible. I usally workout out in the evenings after dinner, that's when my Husbands leaves for work. I am totally a morning person, even on my days off...I'm up no later than 8am. Usually I get hungry, since I normally eat breakfast at 6am. Sometimes, on my days off...Have a glass of milk and go back to bed, so I can get extra sleep.
  • digressions
    digressions Posts: 19 Member
    I am the Queen of getting up early! I get up between 4:30 and 5 on workdays, have to be at work no later than 6:15. I am often there by 6.

    That being said, I do hate the first 10 minutes or so after the alarm goes off, but once that's over, you're good to go. There's no real trick to getting up before the crack of dawn - like many other unpleasant-yet-necessary things in life, you just force yourself to do it!

    Oh, and *always* go to bed early (even when you don't feel like it) or you will be kicking yourself in the morning! Been there...

    Good luck!
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
    I get up at 5:15, get to the gym by 6:00, workout for at least an hour and then go home to get ready for work . . . I start work at 9:30 and my commute is about 30 minutes which includes a 1 mile walk.

    I was already a morning person because I would come in early to do my homework, so it was not so bad for me when I started working out. The things that really helped me were:
    Being organized
    Going to bed by 8:30
    No late night snacking (after 8:00)

    It takes time for your body to adjust, for me morning works better because I am more focused on what I want/need to do as opposed the evenings. Start slow, commit to 2 days a week and work from there.
  • cutchro
    cutchro Posts: 396 Member
    After a few weeks it becomes habit.

    I pack my gym bag and lunch the night before when I get home before sitting down (if I sit down it is all over)

    My alarm goes of at 5:15am

    I make my bed. comb my hair brush my teeth. wash my face. get workout clothes on. Eat oatmeal and have a cup of coffee.

    I have a 10 minute commute to work arrive at the gym about 6:10 (gym is at my place of employment). work out until 7:20am. at my desk by 8am.

    I use to have an hour commute my alarm then would go off at 4:30 and I would be out the door by 5am.

    It was tough the first few weeks but then became habit. I find morning workouts are better for me since I do not get to use the I am tired, had a long hard day, am hungry etc that happens after work.
  • dluce2569
    dluce2569 Posts: 23 Member
    I go to sleep by 8:30 pm and I am up at 3:30-4am., when my alarm goes off...I jump right out of bed. First thing is coffee...while I put my meals together for the day. If any are cooked meals, I usually have already prepared them in advance. I do dishes, shower, and cooked breakfast for my Husband; he works graveyard and gets home around 4;30am. In the winter I start work at 6am, in the Spring at 7am and in the summer 6:30 - 7:00am. My start time is pretty flexible. I usally workout out in the evenings after dinner, that's when my Husband leaves for work. I am totally a morning person, even on my days off...I'm up no later than 8am. Usually I get hungry, since I normally eat breakfast at 6am. Sometimes, on my days off...Have a glass of milk and go back to bed, so I can get extra sleep.
    My commute is 30 minutes.
  • 08kat
    08kat Posts: 51
    I am NOT a morning person, but have made the commitment to workout each morning. I make sure that I am "unplugged" by 9pm, no computer, tv or electronics of any kind. I normally read for about 30 minutes before bed and sleep quite well. When I first started this schedule, I was taking melatonin to help regulate my sleep cycle, but after approximately a week, I am up and ready to hit the gym at 5am. Hope this helps. GOOD LUCK!!:bigsmile:
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    I wake up at 6:00 and immediately go exercise before anything else. The longer I procrastinate the less likely I am to actually do it.
  • 212ackley
    212ackley Posts: 431 Member
    It is so hard to get up early and find the motivation, but once you get in the habit (and it takes a couple of weeks) you miss it when you don't do it! I get up at about 5;30 am - watch some news and have my coffee...then either go for a walk or so some other form of exercises (wii fit, weights...whatever I feel like) until 6:45-7:00...get the kids up for school and I shower....we are out the door at 7:35 so I can drop them off at school and be to work by 8 am. 4 days a week I also go to Zumba from 5:30 - 6:30 and on M & W I stay after for Pilates from 6:30 to 7:30....

    I am happy to have a husband that helps a lot around the house and supports my weight loss efforts. May will be a slow down for me since he will be going back to work and I will have to cook dinner, but it will work out!
  • jonjmorgan
    jonjmorgan Posts: 1 Member
    I work out at night because I like it, but if i had to commit to other things in the evening, I would change my pattern. I used to work out in the mornings. One of the best tips I can give is have your gym clothes ready to go the night before..I have a friend who sleeps in his gym clothes, yeah that is weird, but whatever works!..
  • marciebrian
    marciebrian Posts: 853 Member
    I just do it. I don't know that there's any secret to it other than sitting up and putting my feet on the floor. That's the main thing - get your feet on the floor.

    It happens around 4:45 AM at my house.

    You truly just made me spit up my coffee I was laughing so hard! Got it! Feet on the FLOOR :laugh:
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    Not a morning person here, but forced to be one.

    I don't work out in the morning, but I do have to be out of the house before 7 (and at my last job, before 6)

    Since I just suck at getting up (I can hit the snooze in my sleep), I moved the alarm clock to the bathroom. Now It goes off, and I have to get up, head to the bathroom and shut it off. Then I just think .. well since I'm here already ...
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    I'm also in bed 10ish as I'm up at 5:40 Am for a 6:30 am gym class. Some of the women get up at 5 or 5:30 though.

    I think it's easier as we age and require less sleep.
  • uncbluci
    uncbluci Posts: 31 Member
    I'm as far as it gets from a morning person but have recently started working out in the morning to free up much needed time in the evening. things I do:

    -prep literally everything the night before. clothes laid out, breakfast assembled or even cooked already (as well as post workout snack and lunch), bag by the door or in the car
    -set a message on my phone to display when my arm goes off ("get up for abs" or something)
    -alarm ringer is one of my favorite upbeat workout songs
    -leave the curtains open on my window when I go to bed. the area of the brain responsible for sleep/wake cycle is sensitive to sunlight and will start waking you up in response to the light

    the #1 thing that gets me out of bed is thinking about the wonderful feeling of getting to go home after work instead of the gym!
  • ahammer77
    ahammer77 Posts: 18 Member
    2. When I felt like hitting "snooze" or resetting my alarm, I would say, literally out loud "I have never regretted a workout. I will regret it if I don't go to the gym this morning."


    Love this!
  • Lyerin
    Lyerin Posts: 818 Member
    I joined a boot camp that meets at 5:45 AM 4 days a week. I have to get up by 5:20 to make it there on time. It is easier in the sense that I know I *can* do it. I still hate getting up.
  • EvilFeevil
    EvilFeevil Posts: 95 Member
    I was never a morning person either because I used to stay up late. Now I go to bed earlier because I'd rather have more time to myself in the mornings before work. The second thing you need to do is follow your sleep cycles. Humans sleep in sleep cycles of 90 minutes. If you wake up at the wrong part of the sleep cycle you'll feel groggy; if you wake up at the end of your sleep cycle, you'll feel rested.

    So to combine going to bed early with sleep cycles, if you go to bed at 8 pm, you could get five sleep cycles (1.5 hrs x 5 cycles for 7.5 hrs) and get up at 3:30 am, leaving you plenty of time to do what you want and wake up slowly, eat, exercise, get ready for work, etc. Or if 8 is too early, go to bed at 9:30 pm and get up at 5 am. For someone who starts work at 9, that's still a decent amount of time. :smile:

    The old school thought of "we need 8 hrs of sleep" is wrong; we are better off getting either 7.5 hrs or 9 hrs so we wake up at the end of a sleep cycle, well-rested. I hope this helps!
  • vivaldirules
    vivaldirules Posts: 169 Member
    In bed by 8:00 with the intent to get at least 8 hours of sleep. I have given up nights in order to get healthy. My alarm is set for 5:00 am seven days a week to keep my head consistent but I usually awake before it goes off and often before 4:30. I have clothes, toiletries, things for breakfast and lunch out the night before. I either eat, have coffee, and go for an hour run or else do an hour elliptical and then eat. About four days a week, I add 15 or 20 minutes strength exercises. Then I shower, dress, spend a few minutes with my wife and read emails and news and I'm off to work at 7:30. If I were to sleep in, I can't work out, my head feels groggy, I feel fat, lazy, unproductive, and life quickly becomes miserable. If I get up and do it all, I'm energetic for the entire day and life is good. One day soon, I hope to be able cut my exercising back by half an hour and I can sleep in every day....all the way to 5:30!
  • grandmastime
    grandmastime Posts: 57 Member
    I have to get up between 5 and 5:30 am. To be to work at 6AM. I am usually in bed by 9pm every night. It is all in routine. The more you do it The more you get use to it. It was easier on me I have never been a night owl. Lived on a small farm growing up. Up with the roosters and to bed with the sun.
  • roxy08fox
    roxy08fox Posts: 37 Member
    I also need to be at work by 9am and I have a 45 min commute. I split my workout into AM and PM so that I don't have to be up too early (6:25am) every day. My morning workout is a DVD so I literally roll out of bed and get moving. Not letting the snooze button go off and placing the alarm to where you have to physically get up to shut it off also work for me too :smile:

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