Morning workouts?

jessica182517
jessica182517 Posts: 390 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
WHY cant i freaking pull myself out of bed in the morning so i can get my workout done before work?? No matter how many alarms i set i just keep turning them off and going back to sleep...then im stuck trying to cram my workout in after work between dinner cleaning up the house and chasing my 1yr old around. I would love to start working out in the morning but i literally have NO energy in the AM i wait till the last second to get up then im running around trying to get ready. I have never really been a morning person but would LOVE to start getting up earlier starting my day with an actual breakfast rather than taking it to work with me lol and a workout to get my day going...its not like i go to bed super late either usually around 10pm and get up for work around 7:20 am and leave by7:50 lol im seriously running around shower makeup hair babys breakfast all in 30 min! I would try going to bed earlier but my daughter dosent go to bed till about 9:30 ish anyway so i cant really go to bed before that...what helps you get up in the morning to do your workouts? any tips advice? I have alarms set for every 20 min...that dosent work either guess im just lacking the motivation..in the mornings idk.

Replies

  • Shtallionchick14
    Shtallionchick14 Posts: 61 Member
    My best advice is that if you're not a morning person, don't force it. I tried for a while to get up in the morning and work out and I just dreaded it. Now I work out right after work and I find it much easier. If you aren't a morning person, you may just be setting yourself up for failure.

    If you really do want to workout in the morning, pack your bag in advance then night before. If necessary, sleep in your workout clothes, so you literally just need to roll out of bed and go.
  • Amandatorie
    Amandatorie Posts: 93 Member
    For the past month I've been getting up at 5:40am to go to a 6am bootcamp class 4x/week. I never thought I could do it, but I am! The biggest help has been the accountability of knowing I'm supposed to go, and everyone is expecting me. Maybe you could do a class, or find a buddy to workout with in the mornings as motivation?

    Other than that, I've found I have to get EVERYTHING ready the night before. I check the weather, and then pick out the appropriate clothes, I fill my water bottle, I put some socks into my sneakers by the door, etc.

    I've been trying to go to bed around 9, usually end up actually ready to go to sleep by 10. That's still nearly 8 hours of sleep, which is good for me. I don't function well on less than that on a regular basis.


    Oh, and prior to this bootcamp class my schedule was usually that my alarm would go off around 7, then I'd snooze a bunch of times, and eventually get up by 8 and then frantically get ready and leave the house by 8:30. With bootcamp I don't snooze at all, I get home about 7:10, and am showered and ready to leave the house (usually having eaten something as well) by 8am. So I'm actually getting out of the house earlier even though I'm fitting in an hour of exercise! It's pretty amazing, and I've never felt better.
  • mindidily
    mindidily Posts: 196 Member
    If you really want to become a morning person, try getting up just a little earlier everyday until you are used to it. You could also download one of those alarm clock apps that force you to get up. I have one called "I Can't Wake Up" and for the alarm to stop, you have to complete the action you chose (example, finish a math problem or scan a barcode from somewhere).
    I know how busy it gets after work! I've got two little ones so if I don't work out in the morning, I probably won't later, unless it's one of our family walks or I put them in the bike trailer.
  • InspiredSAM
    InspiredSAM Posts: 98 Member
    I haven't tried doing morning work outs for years...but when I did, I found that they made me feel sick to my stomach. I didn't have the energy to do them without eating, but eating right before a work out wasn't good either.

    I liked the idea of wearing your workout clothes to bed!
    Also, signing up for something is a great way to hold yourself accountable.

    Good luck!
  • Richa_S
    Richa_S Posts: 78 Member
    Oh my gosh!! I am not the only one..but there is one thing that I am practicing nowadays... n thats I used wake up at 8 am and leave for office by 8.30 am (30 min.. something in common - lol) but I know deep down that I have activated snooze option so it will wake me up in next 10 min.. so I closed the option of snooze, which made me alert that if I don't get up now I might get late for office (as I don't have snooze n neither second alarm)

    Next step was to setting up alarm a l'il early than usual. If I used to set up my alarm for 7.30 am than I started setting it up for 7.15. I reduced these minutes every week n gradually I am able to make it up to 6.30 am as my habit n was into temporary phase of getting up early for 2-3 days.

    I am targeting for 5.30 am btw.. This method is slow but it works permanent.. like MFP ;)
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
    I can't do them. I opt for a mid-morning workout at the office instead.
  • pkinblue
    pkinblue Posts: 140 Member
    get a puppy that wakes up really early...I am up every day by 5am whether I like it or not else I am cleaning poop out of the dog crate instead of breakfast.
  • silverinc13
    silverinc13 Posts: 216 Member
    I don't exactly relish getting up at 4:30am everyday ... but I know that I'll get a better workout in the AM than after a long day of work - and I'll be much happier eating a good dinner that I have lots of time to prep at 7 than a thrown together concoction closer to 8. It's so nice to be able to come home after work and have time to do my thing instead of rushing off to the gym (which is always crazy crowded then too!). That motivation is enough for me. :)
  • kmbweber2014
    kmbweber2014 Posts: 680 Member
    I get up at 4:40 every morning. I set my alarm then put it across the room, I would dash out of bed so it didn't wake my boyfriend and by then I was wide awake. Now it's just natural.
  • Levinia2013
    Levinia2013 Posts: 30 Member
    Early to bed early to rise. you can't go to bed late and get up early.
  • Annette_rose
    Annette_rose Posts: 427 Member
    I had told myself that I would workout after work for a long time, but find myself just too tired, along with so many other things that need to be done. I get up at 5 a.m. and I have been getting up and either doing workouts on a site called fitnessblender or my elliptical. I just HAVE to make myself do it, no matter what. I am so tired when my alarm goes off at 5 a.m. (and I get to bed most nights about 11, so way too late to be honest). I drag myself out of bed and I leave my workout clothes on my bed for in the morning. I bring up fitnessblender on my laptop and do a variety of their workouts. I really like them and they don't cost anything! And, I have actually been going home after work and loading my dog up and walk/jog the creek after work because the weather has been so gorgeous. It isn't easy getting up in the morning but I found that I am more likely to get that workout fit in if I make myself do it in the morning. I have to be at work at 8 a.m. and get off at 5 p.m.
  • Annette_rose
    Annette_rose Posts: 427 Member
    I don't exactly relish getting up at 4:30am everyday ... but I know that I'll get a better workout in the AM than after a long day of work - and I'll be much happier eating a good dinner that I have lots of time to prep at 7 than a thrown together concoction closer to 8. It's so nice to be able to come home after work and have time to do my thing instead of rushing off to the gym (which is always crazy crowded then too!). That motivation is enough for me. :)

    I agree!!! I have a Y membership and going to cancel it. I just don't use it and every machine is taken when I get off at 5 p.m. And, if I go home at all, I am not as inclined to get back out to drive to the Y. I find I do better with morning workouts also and then if I have the energy in the afternoon after work to walk/jog along the creek walking trail, that is all the better.
  • eperezamora
    eperezamora Posts: 42 Member
    Get everything ready the night before. Gym Clothes, water, Toieltries ( if you shower at gym). i starting gettinup at 415 am 5 months ago to go to the gym, and I love the tha fact that i have more time in the morning before work to prep lunch and make myseld bkfast.. It was very hard at first, but the on the + side, I have my evenings all to myself and my family. Dont get me wrong, i do sleep in 2, sometimes 3 days a week, depending on my mood.
  • joe_d
    joe_d Posts: 73 Member
    Just 3 months ago I made the switch to early morning workouts after thinking I would never be able to do them. I was pretty sure I'd hate them. Last February I signed up for a 6am class that met for 4 weeks (what was I thinking?). I'm glad I did; I really liked working out early and now that the class is over it's my regular workout time. You go to work alert and feeling physically ready to go and it's nice to not have the need to work out hanging over your head later in the day.

    All of the advice mentioned above works! Before going to bed the night before, I pack a breakfast, work clothes, and get my workout gear ready for me to jump into when I roll out of bed. I make coffee, thermos it up, and I'm gone.

    Best of luck!
  • LydsVille77
    LydsVille77 Posts: 126 Member
    I know that most days, I will find an excuse after work not to go to the gym because my job is mentally draining. And I LOVE how i feel when i get to work and ive already done my workout. Its TOTALLY mental. I lay out my clothes the night before...

    and when the alarm goes off at 4am... i tell myself... there is no workout youll ever regret, only the one you dont do.

    And hey, 4 am isnt fun, sometimes i dont make it, but most of the time I do.
  • lcvaughn520
    lcvaughn520 Posts: 219 Member
    Try making plans with a friend to meet at the gym in the morning. That way you'll HAVE to get up.

    I also agree with everyone else who has said to put your alarm across the room so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off. Then RESIST THE URGE to get back into bed!! Get everything ready the night before. The last thing you need is any excuse, however small, to decide that you can't do it. Lastly, on mornings when it's hard to get up, I remind myself how much better I'll feel if I just get up and go. You will NEVER regret working out!!
  • laccy40
    laccy40 Posts: 136
    I'm not a morning person. My husband gets up at 4:45 every day and heads to work. Doesn't work for me. But I have managed to do one early morning swim each Monday. I think because its the start of the week I'm not so tired so its achievable. Perhaps you should start with one day a week and take it from there.
  • henn1230
    henn1230 Posts: 12 Member
    You have to decide ahead of time that the workout in the morning is not an optional event. If you ask yourself while laying in bed, "do I want to work out this morning?" the answer will always be no. Finding a work out buddy or a class helps, as does getting everything ready the night before. BUT, the big thing is to give yourself no choice and to avoid the snooze button. As soon as the alarm goes off, get up, put on your clothes and keep moving. Any hesitation will kill your motivation. Good luck. You will discover you love your morning workout.:smile:
  • janel867
    janel867 Posts: 53
    get a puppy that wakes up really early...I am up every day by 5am whether I like it or not else I am cleaning poop out of the dog crate instead of breakfast.

    ^^^^^^THIS!! My dog sleeps in our room and she wakes us up at 5am regardless of the day!

    I'm a morning workout person myself...if I don't wake up and do it first thing then I flat out won't do it in the evening (although I also walk about an hour everyday on breaks/lunch). I usually get to bed around 9:30-10pm and wake up 4:30-4:45am and this works for me but it isn't for everyone. Morning workouts require much planning for me though...I have to set out workout clothes, get water ready, pack my lunch and breakfast the night before, etc so it does require some setup in order for it to work.

    I can't imagine how hard it would be to juggle everything plus having a child so good for you for even getting a workout in regardless of when it is :wink:
  • Lisamarie1226
    Lisamarie1226 Posts: 335 Member
    So true!

    Our "youngest" pup, Samson is our secondary alarm ;-) He's about a year and a half and he likes to wake up super early. He screeches, so when he is ready to get out of his crate, believe me, I'm up, I'm up! it really helps.

    And I'm sooo not, nor have ever been, a morning person. But I was constantly getting out of work late and found myself just skipping the gym entirely rather than coming home so late in the evenings.

    I've been doing the morning workouts for a little over 2 months now and it does get easier. And I LOVE being able to just come home or run errands after work ;-)

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