Making myself get up early to exercise

kirdyq
kirdyq Posts: 165 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've attempted exercising in the evenings before. With my full time work schedule and two small children at home, it doesn't work. I need to wake up by 4:45 or 5am before work to get it done. EVERY morning I set my alarm. EVERY morning I hit the snooze...for 45 minutes at least! What is wrong with me! How can I make myself get up?!?! I'm usually asleep by around 10pm on weeknights. Will it get easier to get up after I've done it for a week or two, or am I doomed to be un-toned and lazy? :) I wish they made a mattress that could send an electric shock through my body when the alarm goes off, throwing me out of the bed!
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Replies

  • schmenge55
    schmenge55 Posts: 745 Member
    I am up to workout at 4:44 AM. When I first made the transition to getting up earlier (was not that early at the time, but no matter) I kept my alarm clock on my dresser so that I had to get out of bed to shut it off :)
  • jamiesillimandunn
    jamiesillimandunn Posts: 270 Member
    Never NEVER hit the snooze...lol. Force yourself up ....maybe place your alarm clock out of arms reach so you are forced up out of bed to turn it off , there are also some alarms made out there that are made to get you up in sitting position and place your feet on them but it's too easy to lay back down haha...so my advice get that alarm as far fm your bed as possible !!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Just get up and do it...that is the only way. Put the alarm clock where you can't reach it without getting your *kitten* out of bed. Once you're up, you're up and it's all good.
  • TammTammS
    TammTammS Posts: 55 Member
    "I am up to workout at 4:44 AM. When I first made the transition to getting up earlier (was not that early at the time, but no matter) I kept my alarm clock on my dresser so that I had to get out of bed to shut it off :)" quote



    O great Idea, but my husband is going to hate it. I love getting up early on the weekends but during the week with work its just hard and i have no idea why....This I am going to try
  • nrsblc
    nrsblc Posts: 85 Member
    I know how you feel :( But doing the workouts in the mornings is way better than doing it in the evening and plus it helps your body feel soo good and fit during the day. Im a college student and sometimes i have to get up early at 5.50 to do my workout. But after doing it, i feel refreshed and very very proud of myself! Keep pushing!
  • kharbaugh29
    kharbaugh29 Posts: 11 Member
    I am up at 5am every week day. It was hard at first but you can do it. Now I don't even attempt to hit the snooze.

    Now I am in the habit of making sure that my workout clothes are picked out the night before so that I don't wake my husband up. I also pack my lunch and my gym bag every night before I go to bed so there was no excuse for not getting out the door in time to do a minimum of 45 min at the gym.
  • ZyheeMoongazer
    ZyheeMoongazer Posts: 343 Member
    If you have a smartphone, take a look at an app called "I Can't Wake Up". Its a free app. There are different tasks you need to perform before it will allow you to snooze or turn the alarm off. Puzzles, passwords, etc. My favorite is the barcode scanner. You can program several items and it will randomly select one each morning. You must scan the barcode before the alarm will turn off.

    I like to pick things from my kitchen since its all the way on the other side of the house from my bedroom. Normally once I'm out of bed, I'm good.
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
    I can't do it. I use to get up at 5:30 for a 6am spin class (3 children ago) and I did it for a long time, and I loved it but I just can't do it anymore. I'm not much help with the early morning, sorry. :(

    I know it's so hard to figure out what works when you have small children. Walking with a stroller? Biking with a bike trailer? A dvd during naps?
  • IronFiend
    IronFiend Posts: 44 Member
    You have to want it badly enough.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
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  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    Two words: Workout partner.

    Find someone to work out with you. You might be okay with sleeping in when it doesn't impact someone else, but if you know someone is meeting you, you'll get up.
  • amj3303
    amj3303 Posts: 111 Member
    I usually press play around 4:15 am.. lately it has been a bit later and it is easier now that my daughter is getting older. She is able to do a bit more and I don't have ot stop completely and get her situated before I can continue if she wakes up. I am a single mom But it works easier for me because then I have the evenings to play with her and get ourselves ready for the next day. It does get easier for sure and when I was seeing results, I was so excited to wake up and workout. Lately, I have been a bit more tired but just keep it up and it will def. pay off!! GOOD LUCK!! :)
  • TravisBikes
    TravisBikes Posts: 674 Member
    You can't *make* yourself get up and work your *kitten* off.

    You have to **want** to get up, and bust a move.
  • USLJH10
    USLJH10 Posts: 22 Member
    Put your clock where you have to get up to turn it off. Put a picture or a out fit by your clock to give you a little extra motivation. I have a quote by my clock , refrig and my locker at work. It helps!
  • fitnh
    fitnh Posts: 238 Member
    You have to just WANT it....when you WANT it bad enough....you'll get up and go. Try putting your alarm clock on the other side of the room so you have to get out of bed hit snooze or to shut it off and put your workout clothes on and kill it at the gym. Good luck!!
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    I pretty much bully myself out of bed. Sad but true. I tell myself to get my lazy @ss out of bed, remind myself of my goals, etc. And by the time I'm done with all of that, I'm so awake, there's no chance of me going back to sleep anyway, so I might as well get up!
  • Isakizza
    Isakizza Posts: 754 Member
    If you have a smartphone, take a look at an app called "I Can't Wake Up". Its a free app. There are different tasks you need to perform before it will allow you to snooze or turn the alarm off. Puzzles, passwords, etc. My favorite is the barcode scanner. You can program several items and it will randomly select one each morning. You must scan the barcode before the alarm will turn off.

    I like to pick things from my kitchen since its all the way on the other side of the house from my bedroom. Normally once I'm out of bed, I'm good.

    ^^^ barcode scanning, lol.... GENIUS!
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Is seven hours per night enough sleep for you long-term?
  • beckirenes
    beckirenes Posts: 5
    I have recently started getting up at 5am to do workouts because I can't guarantee having time after work to fit it in. There are days where it's rough, but I've discovered that i feel SOOOOO much better after a morning workout. It really gets me going in the mornings and even though I've burned more calories, i feel fuller longer than if I don't work out.

    i would recommend setting your alarm clock out of reach so you have to get up to turn it off. After a week or so, you'll be use to it and like the way you feel after a morning workout.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Also, train for something specific. In my experience, it's easy to slack off when you're just working out to workout. The motivation and intensity get kicked up a notch when you're actually training for with a purpose.
  • Krista916
    Krista916 Posts: 258
    I'm up at 4:30 am Monday-Friday to work out. I run 3 days and lift 2. Sometimes I'll do a walk or lift an extra day as well. I have been doing this for so long it's just second nature for me. It really does start coming easy the more you do it. You just have to get up and make it happen.

    I do go to be relatively early compared to most people my age, but it's not that big of a deal to me to go to bed early. I'd rather go to bed at 9 and get my work out in the next day then go to bed at 11 and sleep in and feel guilty.

    For real, once you get use to getting up that early it's not hard.
  • Jmchao
    Jmchao Posts: 27 Member
    I, too, cannot get out of bed no matter how many pep talks I give myself before bed. I've even set my alarm for 4:00 am hoping that I'd hit the snooze enough times to wake up enough to get out of bed by 5:00. Alarm went to another part of room. Went to bed with workout clothes on so all I had to do was roll and go. Nope..I am just not a morning person. I never have been, either. My mom shared with me, just recently, that she signed me up for afternoon kindergarten because I was always so hard to wake in the mornings. She' d spend all morning waking me up and getting me ready for school! (I'm now 36!! So it's been a few years ;))

    So, I've come to appreciate working out at night. I have 2 kids, work part time, and go to school. What I do is go out after they go to bed. I leave hubby home with them, let him know the route I will be taking and how long I plan to be out for (I'm a safety-first geek), etc. Then i take off. I find I am so much more relaxed and enjoy it so much more. In the mornings, I'm too busy running around getting ready for work, getting girls ready for school, planning day, plotting attack on errands, etc. I'm so rushed that I feel as if I am rushing my workout and not enjoying it; it feels like another chore in an already busy morning! At night, nothing's waiting for me; laundry can wait till morning, dishwasher already running, girls showered and in bed with clothes picked out for morning, no phone calls, no trips to store/bank/etc. needing to be done. It's just me and the road, and the peaceful sounds and smells of a cool night.
  • eclong
    eclong Posts: 12 Member
    It gets SO much easier. I started waking up at 5:45 to work out a week and a half ago and now I don't even need an alarm. Just be consistent!
  • xayles
    xayles Posts: 32 Member
    When I need to get up for work at 4.30 in the morning I set the alarm on my phone and then I place that far enough from my bed that I have to get out of it.
  • xayles
    xayles Posts: 32 Member
    When I need to get up for work at 4.30 in the morning I set the alarm on my phone and then I place that far enough from my bed that I have to get out of it. Good luck!
  • jivitasa
    jivitasa Posts: 150 Member
    Have EVERYTHING ready the night before. Clothes picked out, gym bag, lunch packed. Do NOT push snooze! Just get out of bed before you have any time to think and wash your face. Get dressed, and I like to listen to my ipod as I get everything together out the door. I brew coffee the night before for a quick iced coffee as well, and out the door. I am up at 5 and out the door by 5:30...

    It's not always easy, but that is why I literally don't think about it until I'm out the door. It's like, what if I had to be at work? This is my job, I have no choice. I don't think of it as an option. And once I'm done and on my way to work I feel amazing, accomplished, and ready to take on the day. I wouldn't have it any other way.
  • RickiD530
    RickiD530 Posts: 15
    I get up between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m. every morning to fit it in. Night time is too crazy. There is never enough time for a workout. My little tricks that help me are that I set my clock 20 minutes fast and set my alam clock for 30 min before i actually need to get up. It is never "easy" to get out of bed, especially really early to do a sweaty workout, but after awhile you just get into a groove and you are on a kind of auto-pilot. Plus I feel really guilty that I didn't just get up and get it done. There will always be days when you just can't force yourself to get out of bed but most days you really can. Good luck!
  • emma19797
    emma19797 Posts: 18
    I work out around 7 a.m in the weekends and in the afternoon of evening during the week...but i somehow feel better when i work out it the morning..i am more lively throughout the day
  • pinkpatron
    pinkpatron Posts: 154
    I'm up at 4, bike to the gym by 5AM M-F

    Ive gone in the afternoon before and its just an entirely different vibe. Idk, cant do the afternoon lol the earlier the better.
  • HannahJDiaz25
    HannahJDiaz25 Posts: 329 Member
    I set the alarm VERY loud and put it in the hallway. Then you HAVE to get up to turn off that awful sound. For me just rolling out is half the battle. Once I'm standing up I'm usually good to go. :happy:

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