percentage of success with early morning exercise?

risak
risak Posts: 79 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I keep thinking about doing this and I just can't bring myself to get up early. So I'm thinking about it again. Thinking I could try to jog outside for 15 min in the morning.

Anyone have any secrets on how the hell you motivate yourself to get up early?
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Replies

  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
    It's not easy to start, but you can do it. I work out in the mornings.

    I spent several days getting up at the new time (1 hour early) before even actually working out.

    I lay out my workout clothes the night before.

    I use some of the extra morning time to "relax" (linger over my cup of coffee) before preparing for work.

    I feel great on days I workout in the morning. I have more energy, less stress, and feel more productive. I also am less stressed in the evenings because I don't have to "fit in" a workout. I remind myself of all these benefits when I want to hit the snooze button.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    Go to bed at an appropriate time.

    When the alarm goes of, put your feet on the floor and get up before you turn it off.

    Sleep in your running clothes.

    So cliche but, Just Do It.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    It's easy when you're an early riser (I must have been a farmer in a previous life) but if you're not a lunatic like me set out your running gear the night before, go to bed a little earlier and set your alarm. After a while it just becomes part of your routine.
  • risak
    risak Posts: 79 Member
    Thanks for the encouraging words. It's so very very hard for me to get up in the morning.

    I'm trying to lower my body fat percentage. I know that jogging will help that immensely.

    I think I'll try next week getting up early and jogging for about 10 min (with a 5 min warm up). I can't even jog straight through for 10 min. So that's my first goal. Then I can sneak in a yoga class or a workout DVD after work. But I just can't do both and walk my dog the distance he needs. I'd be eating dinner at 10pm every night.

    I constantly stop and start with jogging. I think I'll like it this time, then I hate it. But when I notice progress I get very excited and it pushes me further.

    The idea of getting up at 6:30am gives me the shakes. But I'm gonnal try it and see how far I can get. If it's not for me then it's not for me.
  • SavCal71
    SavCal71 Posts: 350 Member
    Do it everyday.

    I used to get up at 5:30/5:45 on MWF. It was soooo hard to get up after not doing it on T and Th.

    But then I started doing it everday (weekdays, M-F) and it is soo much easier.
  • SavCal71
    SavCal71 Posts: 350 Member

    The idea of getting up at 6:30am gives me the shakes. But I'm gonnal try it and see how far I can get. If it's not for me then it's not for me.

    6:30? That's sleeping in for me, lol. My alarm rings at 5:05 M-F.
  • lesle1
    lesle1 Posts: 354 Member
    I get up at 4:25 to join up with our running club at 5:00 a.m. Maybe you can find a buddy? It makes it easier if you know someone is counting on you to be there.
  • AimersBee
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    Yeah I get up at 4:20.. to go to work...... there's no way I could get up earlier than that to go for a run and then shower.. then be off to work.... noooope.... lol
  • Mummyadams
    Mummyadams Posts: 1,125 Member
    My alarm goes off at 5.30 on the dot and I get out of bed, no lingering, no snooze because if I do that it's all over. My gym bag is already packed in the car from the night before and my work out clothes are laid out ready for me to step into,I flatten down my hair and off I go. I look like *kitten* but who cares! I get to the gym at 5.45 and work out for an hour, shower at gym and am at work at 7.30.
    No-one said it was easy and no-one likes getting up before the rest of the world but I know that at the end of the day I have worked out and I feel fabulous for it!
  • Mummyadams
    Mummyadams Posts: 1,125 Member
    P.S. - my motivation? The mirror :-)
  • scott1646
    scott1646 Posts: 110 Member
    I go to the gym 3 to 5 times a week. If I don't go to bed by 11pm, I know it's going to be a bit of a struggle for me when I get up at 5am. I actually have 1 cup of black coffee right when I get up, followed by a protein shake, just to keep my body alert and somehow for me it works every time. I set off for the gym at 5:30 and workout for about an hour or more. I come back home and eat breakfast. My energy level after I work out is burning for like the next 3 to 5 hours in my day, and due to that feeling, it motivates me to follow through and do it again.
  • barbie1000
    barbie1000 Posts: 32 Member
    Awesome outlook. I feel much the same way. GET IT DONE :>)
  • guacamole17
    guacamole17 Posts: 109 Member
    Two things 1) the dogs need exercise and 2) the fact that its really really hot in the afternoons!

    5:30 AM is much more pleasant than 5:30PM
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
    Right now because it's summer vacation I am having a hard time getting up early and working out first thing. When September rolls around though I'll be able to pull it off because I know it I won't want to when I get home in the afternoon/evening.
  • fit_librarian
    fit_librarian Posts: 242 Member
    I only exercise in the morning. By the time my day gets started, I don't really have time to keep work out until the evening. And in the evening, I'm just too tired. Plus, it's too hot to workout in the afternoon. Waking up really early is hard for the first week--but then you're body starts to adjust. Mine did!
  • peachyxoxoxo
    peachyxoxoxo Posts: 1,178 Member
    I used to go to bed way late and had an awful time with morning workouts. I've started going to bed around 10pm and I wake up at 5:25 to exercise. I set my exercise clothes out the night before, and I have my morning getting ready routine down, so I never feel rushed.
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
    P.S. - my motivation? The mirror :-)


    Yeah, when I'm feeling "uhhhhh I dont wanna work out today" I go to the mirror and roll my shirt up to check out my belly. That last bit of flab gives me the boot in the behind I need.
  • RumOne
    RumOne Posts: 266 Member
    Go to bed at an appropriate time.

    When the alarm goes of, put your feet on the floor and get up before you turn it off.

    Sleep in your running clothes.

    So cliche but, Just Do It.

    Very true! I don't like getting up but I find once the fresh air hits me, I'm glad I did it. Hot coffee is helpful when I get back :)
  • Brandi0418
    Brandi0418 Posts: 63
    Lucky for me I'm an early riser and love working out before my work day. However I am in bed super early and I sleep much better now too! Good luck doll.
  • therealjanelle
    therealjanelle Posts: 41
    I'm a morning person and my work shift begins at 6. Since I have a long commute, I wake at 3:30 to fit in 20 minutes on the treadmill and a 20 minute workout video.

    At first it seemed crazy to get up so early... without exercise time I could sleep until 4:20! But I realized that it was much easier to be motivated to work out in the morning instead of the evening. I'm just too beat after work. I almost never skip a workout. In fact, the only time in the last 28 days that I didn't exercise was the day I couldn't figure out where I had put my sneakers.

    Good news. I found them in time for my workout the next day. LOL!

    Try getting up an hour early for a week and see if it works for you. Even if you have to tumble into bed a little earlier at night it will be satisfying if it helps you reach your goals.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I'm also lucky to be an early riser. The only thing is my gym doesn't open until 6am. Right now I do physical therapy exercises for a broken wrist until the gym opens.

    However, if your body clock is that of a late riser don't sweat it - go with what is comfortable for you.

    It IS possible to reset your body clock and become an early riser. My mom helped my dad learn how to get up in time to go to work when they first got married. What she did was refuse to wake him up and let him oversleep until he learned to set and alarm clock or change his habit of sleeping late. It can be done.
  • bluebug53
    bluebug53 Posts: 86 Member
    I find that if I don't work out first thing in the morning chances are I won't work out! That helps to motivate me, I know I need to do it, and if I do it first thing I am done with it, and can go on with the rest of my day. Of course in the summer I love to cycle, so getting up to do my 23mile a day ride is a pure joy. Winter is when I struggle more, and I find that if I can talk someone else into going to the gym at 5:30-6 in the morning, I have better luck, I also have learned to do workouts at home like p90x, turbo fire, for the winter time! Mostly it is finding something you enjoy doing!
  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
    I am so not a morning person. There was a brief period one year where I somehow got in the habit of waking up at around 5:30 or 6:00 and working out for an hour before my morning shower / etc, but then Thanksgiving / Christmas vacations came, and when I got back home, I was sleeping late again. Now, I just exercise in the evenings.
  • davisrl0
    davisrl0 Posts: 93 Member
    You get up once. Then you get up twice. Then you get up again...and again. Its terrible, awful at first....but I promise you get used to it. I never EVER wanted to work out in the morning. But with two small children and a full time job, I just didnt have it in me at the end of the day. So I started gettign up in the mornings. It does help that I wake up easily. Im one of those people that once Im awake, Im awake for good. (sometimes its helpful, sometimes its a curse!)
    I get up between 4:45-5:30...depending on the type of exercise. If Im going for a run, I need less time to exercise, but more time to loosen up. I need to piddle around for a little bit before I work out...otherwise I'll end up straining my back.

    Like a pp said, I put my work out clothes out the night before. I grab them as soon as my feet hit the floor and put them on. Its also nice for me to have my exercise DONE and out of the way...and I dont have to think about it for the rest of the day!

    Its my lifestyle now and exercise is just as much as part of my morning routine as taking a shower/ getting dressed/eating breakfast. I know that if I stop., I'll gain weight. Thats my motivator.
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    I detest waking up early, making 8 a.m. for work is hard enough. I've recently started getting up at 5:45 so I can get in 20 on the elliptical every morning.

    To be honest, it's not incredibly hard, but I'm not exactly coherent until about half way through. It's amazing what you can do on autopilot.
  • hbm616
    hbm616 Posts: 377 Member
    Be sure to go to sleep earlier! If I don't get at least 6 hrs of sleep then there is no way I'm going to feel ready to workout super early. For me, knowing that the morning will be the only time I can get to the gym is usually enough motivation. I hate missing out on a perfectly good chance to workout.
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member

    The idea of getting up at 6:30am gives me the shakes. But I'm gonnal try it and see how far I can get. If it's not for me then it's not for me.

    6:30? That's sleeping in for me, lol. My alarm rings at 5:05 M-F.
    Haha this!! I wake up at 4am! It's not easy, but if you want it bad enough you'll do it.
  • Wanderlost
    Wanderlost Posts: 7 Member
    They say for a runner, the hardest step is out the front door. I don't think it matters if it's Day 1 or Year 10. For me, getting into a routine has been the only way I can do it.

    I know I won't go after work because I'll be physically and mentally exhausted. So, I get up, and go to the gym. No excuses. Once I'm dressed and out the door the rest is easy.
  • reggie2run
    reggie2run Posts: 477 Member
    I love working out in the morning....my alarm goes off at 4:30am, I hit the snooze once or twice and then I am up at the latest by 5am. I've been doing this for about 4 years and find it so much better than working out in the evening, so much so that I've carry it over into the weekends. I get my workout done and I still have the entire day ahead of me.

    My motivation comes from a picture I have of me next to my alarm clock....the picture was taken when I was 204 lbs. I don't want to be that person ever again, so I kick my *kitten* out of the bed, rain or shine, every day by 5am (or before).
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
    I love working out in the morning....my alarm goes off at 4:30am, I hit the snooze once or twice and then I am up at the latest by 5am. I've been doing this for about 4 years and find it so much better than working out in the evening, so much so that I've carry it over into the weekends. I get my workout done and I still have the entire day ahead of me.

    My motivation comes from a picture I have of me next to my alarm clock....the picture was taken when I was 204 lbs. I don't want to be that person ever again, so I kick my *kitten* out of the bed, rain or shine, every day by 5am (or before).
    this is awesome :)

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