Overcoming boring 4am cardio

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berryjk
berryjk Posts: 120
in Fitness and Exercise
I have the hardest time dragging my *kitten* out of bed at 4am to do my cardio. It bores the crap out of me even listening to music or watching tv. For the last 3 months I was participating in a muscle gaining contest and hit the gym mon-fri mornings and had no problem AT ALL! I'd wake up excited for my workout! BUT...the contest has come to an end (I won..YAY!) and it's time to shed some fat, but I can't bring myself to go. All I have to do is wake up, eat some oats and leave! I even sleep in my work out clothes to make it that much faster and easier, but NOOOOO....I get up, walk to my couch, grab a pillow, a blanket and reset my alarm which actually takes about the same amount of time as getting from bed to car!!! Anyone else have this problem? And if so, how do you push yourself out the door?
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Replies

  • RainbootsToBikinis
    RainbootsToBikinis Posts: 465 Member
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    Change up your cardio routine! I have a really hard time getting to the gym if I'm bored with what I'm doing. I'd get off the machines and either do some plyometrics (burpees, box jumps, jump roping) or if your gym has classes take a spin or step class!
  • berryjk
    berryjk Posts: 120
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    I absolutely LOVE the classes offered, but they are only in the evenings 5pm-7pm! Unfortunately I work from 6am-6pm and I have my kids so my work out time slot is vary narrow. Early morning 4am-6am. I train w/ my trainer Tues and Thurs from 5:30am to 6am and boot camp w/ trainer Mon-Wed-Fri 5:30am-6am. I make it to those, but it's the damn 90mins before! I think I need a cardio buddy! The gym's lonely @ 4 :(
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Is there a reason you feel like you need to do cardio on top of what you already do? You're doing a significant amount of strength training which is great, but have you considered giving up the cardio (holy 12 hour workday, batman, you must be EXHAUSTED) and just try to walk about more in your normal day?
  • KittieLea
    KittieLea Posts: 1,156 Member
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    Why are you doing so much cardio? That makes me want to sleep from boredom just thinking about it. I've been successful with around 75% strength training and about 25% cardio. I'm only in the gym for about an hour a day, 5 days a week.
  • redhousecat
    redhousecat Posts: 584 Member
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    all mandatory cardio bores me......It would certainly bore me at 0400.
    Changing up the times/routine may help. Or find something not boring.
  • berryjk
    berryjk Posts: 120
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    Is there a reason you feel like you need to do cardio on top of what you already do? You're doing a significant amount of strength training which is great, but have you considered giving up the cardio (holy 12 hour workday, batman, you must be EXHAUSTED) and just try to walk about more in your normal day?

    LOL...I run a home child care (11 kids, 2 are mine), so my day is pretty crazy! As far as the NEED for cardio, I base it on the fitness plan, put together between myself and my trainer, to reach my goals. I'm in good enough shape to handle it physically it's just the mental blah-ness of it that's got me down!
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    LOL...I run a home child care (11 kids, 2 are mine), so my day is pretty crazy! As far as the NEED for cardio, I base it on the fitness plan, put together between myself and my trainer, to reach my goals. I'm in good enough shape to handle it physically it's just the mental blah-ness of it that's got me down!

    Ok, so you already get cardio, but .. You enjoy torture? :)
  • unlocke
    unlocke Posts: 149
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    God bless you woman for your stamina!!! That's a LOT of go---go---go you got there!!
    If you feel like you need that cardio, maybe try mixing up your routine to break the boredom. Try some workout videos or running outside. Find something that you really like to do. Then it'll be much easier to wake up that stinkin' early. :yawn:
  • berryjk
    berryjk Posts: 120
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    God bless you woman for your stamina!!! That's a LOT of go---go---go you got there!!
    If you feel like you need that cardio, maybe try mixing up your routine to break the boredom. Try some workout videos or running outside. Find something that you really like to do. Then it'll be much easier to wake up that stinkin' early. :yawn:

    I've been considering the insanity work out or something like it to do at home and then going to the gym for my training! I'd just hate to spend all that $$ just to find out it sucks! I had a fun pilates based aerobic dvd that I just loved, but I can't find the darn thing anywhere!
  • MeeshKB
    MeeshKB Posts: 120 Member
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    Do you have an iphone? Try this awesome app. You load your music into it, tell it your stats, what kind of workout you want to do (walk, walk/jog or running), what intensity and how long you want to do it for. Then it creates a custom interval workout for you and syncs up your music to your pace.

    It has actually helped me enjoy my treadmill workouts. And with it I push myself much harder, and for longer, than I ever would on my own.

    http://www.lolofit.com/apps/beatburn_treadmill
  • timvet
    timvet Posts: 114 Member
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    I love Insanity! I also do Turbofire, which has great music and is a lot of fun! I would try something other than the gym, it could really make a difference!
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
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    why don't you just sign up for something else or pick a new goal - something else to work towards? I have done this kind of stuff over the course of my journey -- first it was a 6 month kickboxing program with a trainer at my gym.... then it was a 5k..... then a 10k..... plus various other challenges my gym does periodically..... now the whole reason I signed up for a half marathon and now I'm training for that..... Just something to work towards, something to motivate me - well not so much motivate me, I'm a bit addicted to exercise..... but something to keep it interesting! :)
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
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    Pick a new goal or routine like kettlebells. That's what I did after I finished NROL4W. I had to take a break from "traditional" weight lifting and did KB's for 8 weeks.
  • unlocke
    unlocke Posts: 149
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    God bless you woman for your stamina!!! That's a LOT of go---go---go you got there!!
    If you feel like you need that cardio, maybe try mixing up your routine to break the boredom. Try some workout videos or running outside. Find something that you really like to do. Then it'll be much easier to wake up that stinkin' early. :yawn:

    I've been considering the insanity work out or something like it to do at home and then going to the gym for my training! I'd just hate to spend all that $$ just to find out it sucks! I had a fun pilates based aerobic dvd that I just loved, but I can't find the darn thing anywhere!


    When I had good knees....I tried insanity. If you can keep up, it's an awesome cardio workout. I was too overweight to keep up, but I modified it and did what I could, and it still kicked my butt. Probably worth trying if you like it intense. <--- That it is!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Are you talking about cardio machine work? Yeah, that's boring. Find something more fun. Do plyometrics, box jumping, jumping jacks, jump rope, sprint intervals, kickboxing, high rep-low weight circuit training...
  • jyska
    jyska Posts: 728 Member
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    Sounds like you are a lifter at heart. :smile: I often find that I can't jump right into cardio first thing in the morning as easily as I can into lifting. (I have to force it) You may need to incorporate a slightly longer warmup that allows your body to wake up and get into 'cardio mode' and then just make sure you have some ROCKIN' music to get you moving! Oh, and I agree....find a cardio routine you LOVE....treadmills and such are sooo boring compared to kickboxing and plyo!
  • Henrye4185
    Henrye4185 Posts: 18
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    As for the workout videos, I have read on various forums that clips (and some entire videos) are on YouTube. Check it out and if they are clips you can practice to see if it is worth the money.
    You are amazing b/c 4 a.m. is sleeping time. I am playing with the idea of going at 5 a.m. but have yet to make the decision to dedicate myself to such insanity.
  • berryjk
    berryjk Posts: 120
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    Are you talking about cardio machine work? Yeah, that's boring. Find something more fun. Do plyometrics, box jumping, jumping jacks, jump rope, sprint intervals, kickboxing, high rep-low weight circuit training...

    yeah...machine cardio! I've tried every machine there is! but I do enjoy the elliptical for shorter duration cardio bursts!
  • selfmedicated2
    selfmedicated2 Posts: 37 Member
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    Do you have an iphone? Try this awesome app. You load your music into it, tell it your stats, what kind of workout you want to do (walk, walk/jog or running), what intensity and how long you want to do it for. Then it creates a custom interval workout for you and syncs up your music to your pace.

    It has actually helped me enjoy my treadmill workouts. And with it I push myself much harder, and for longer, than I ever would on my own.

    http://www.lolofit.com/apps/beatburn_treadmill

    I'm downloading that BeatBurn app right now, it sounds great! My trick is that I used VEVO (there's an app and a web site; the web site is sometimes easier for setup) to create a music VIDEO playlist. I love it! I made a playlist with 50 videos on it, and I pick videos that have fast beats but also lot's of skin and beautiful people for eye candy :-) It really helps me to make the time on the elliptical fly by.

    That and watching old seasons of Gossip Girl with my Netflix app, but you said that watching TV isn't helping much.
  • Penfoldsplace
    Penfoldsplace Posts: 159
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    Might not be your thing but I recently downloaded an app on my phone called zombie run, its a cool but kind of silly running game. I love it, it speaks to my inner geek. It makes running more interesting.

    Also this might just be because I am inherently lazy but 4 am cardio sounds crazy to me :))

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