waking up early to workout?

kerbyd13
kerbyd13 Posts: 46 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How do you do it? what time do you wake up? how do you stay motivated to wake up early?I find myself falling back asleep instead of getting up to work out. any tips or suggestions? also what type of workouts do you do?
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Replies

  • april_mesk
    april_mesk Posts: 694 Member
    Have always wanted to get up early to do this but, just can't seem to do it. Not a morning person. Would love to get it out of way but, after a million failed attempts, I force it at night.
  • canadiangirl014
    canadiangirl014 Posts: 58 Member
    My hubby gets up at 5:20 every morning to get ready for work and leaves at 6:00. I usually wake up when he does and get up at 6:00 when he leaves so I have a little help, I guess. I have a coffee, check my emails and then do my workout by 6:20 or so. I find it easy to stay motivated and get up in the summer, when it's light out but hate doing it in the winter.

    Mornings are really my only time to get my workout done - I work full time and my evenings are usually filled with shuttling kids to skating or dance, sometimes I work evenings, attend trade shows etc and sometimes I just want to lounge on the coach after a full day. I also prefer morning workouts because I find they leave me feeling exhilarated and full of energy - there's no way I could get to sleep anytime soon after working out. I do Jillian Michaels DVDs, usually 45 minutes to an hour.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    go to bed earlier than normal. lay out your work out clothes to get changed into right away. set up the coffee so all you have to do is push a button, or set up the automatic timer.

    it's hard to wake up early and immediately go work out. i usually have my alarm set for about 45 minutes before i actually have to leave. i like to sit on my couch and drink a cup of coffee as i wake up.

    for instance, i know that i have to leave for a work out with my triathlon club by 5:20 the latest. i'll set my alarm at 4:20am (note: this is actually ten minutes earlier then i wake up on days that i work). i might hit snooze ONCE. coffee is already made in the automatic pot. i pour it and as it cools to a drinkable temperature i go to the bathroom and shrug on my clothing that i had laid out the night before. the night before i had also added air to my bike tires, filled my water bottles, and in other ways prepared my bike.

    i don't like to rush in the morning. and preparation is the key to success.
  • ADixie4You2Know
    ADixie4You2Know Posts: 47 Member
    I work 6 days a week. I have a very physical job so by the time I get home I'm too tired to workout soooo I get up at 4:30 every morning, start my ripped in 30 by 5 am then on the treadmill usually by 5:30. I work out for an hour each morning, shower, cook breakfast, eat and then its off to work at 7am. If you want it bad enough you will find the time. Im down about 60 pounds so far, 17 lbs since starting back up June 1st with mfp. It's yours to have all you gotta do is go get it.... the body you' ve always wanted that is :wink:
  • confusedperson
    confusedperson Posts: 18
    i don't think everyone is made to workout early in the morning. if this is your case, then just find a different time to do it! in my case, i work out in the morning if i don't have any other choice, as I don't really enjoy running with an empty stomach! ;)

    when i do, i go just when i've woken up!
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    I did this morning for a 3mile walk ...just depends if the chance comes around for a good workout I don't pass it up...6am
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    For me it was a matter of getting past the excuse of finding time to exercise. I had to MAKE time.

    I get up at 4, at the gym by 4:45, in the shower by 5:45, at work by 6:30. I don't go to bed until 10 most evenings. My alarm clock is across the room so I have to get up. Once I'm up I just start moving. I make my breakfast to take to work, I make a pre-workout snack and eat it, I get my things ready and go. It took me about 2-3 weeks to get used to the routine but now it's just that - routine. I love getting it done first thing so I have my evenings free for my husband and other activities.
  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
    I find that making an appointment with someone else gets me out of the bed. I do really long bike rides and in the summer it is easier to do early before the heat sets in ... now in the winter I wait till later, so it warms up.
  • smpreston
    smpreston Posts: 262 Member
    After a week or two, it almost feels natural to get up early and work out. It's the only way I can remain consistent with my workouts. Lay out your workout clothes before bed. If you take a pre-workout supplement, keep it in a cup by your sink so you can drink it right away. By the time you get dressed, go to the bathroom, etc., it takes effect.
  • muddyevil
    muddyevil Posts: 31
    I tend to do a very short workout in the morning - about 5-10 minutes of intense activity. As I try to get 60 minutes in a day, I then follow that up with 30 minutes right after work, and another 20 before I go to bed.

    I find breaking it up a lot easier to get it done and motivated. I do Pilates, by the way (a lot more fat burning than people give it credit for, if you know how to do it right!)
  • kerbyd13
    kerbyd13 Posts: 46 Member
    you prefer to work out at night it's just not realistic with our schedule if I want to work out it has to be in the morning. all last weekend we manage to work out once and I can feel myself getting on motivated and I don't like that
  • kjenks123
    kjenks123 Posts: 16 Member
    I like to workout early in the morning. I often fight the urge to fall back asleep but what does it for me is having a couple friends that I'm meeting at the gym for a 6AM spin class or meeting my trainer. Another thing I find is if I post on my facebook wall that I'm getting up early the next day to go to the gym, there's no way I'm going to stay in bed and skip the workout. For me it's the little tricks of accountability that make me do it. In the end, I feel way better about it. I'm not perfect though and there have been times that I've just reset the alarm and gone back to bed. Once you do it a few times it will be easier. And I agree with Capt_Apollo, laying out your workout clothes the night before and getting everything ready so you have less to think about helps a lot! Sometimes I don't eat before working out, but I always take a preworkout boost like Neurocore so after I have had that, I can't fall back asleep anyway. :) Good luck!
  • bubblygoldfish
    bubblygoldfish Posts: 213 Member
    Where i'm living, it is getting over a hundred degrees outside w/ humidity and altitude. I am trying to run more outside, and i found the ONLY time I can run without feeling like s**t is to run in the morning before the heat and humdity kick in. That's my motivation to getting out the door, knowing it will be way worse later in the day. :) I run, walk, do "calistenics" (pushups, situps, squats, lunges, etc), and non-traditonal weight lifting (tire flips, sledge hammer swings).

    Good luck figuring this out! Prepping the night before sounds like a great idea too. Plus if your workout clothes and shoes are laid out, next to your bed. If you skip the workout to have a snooze, you'll see your gear in the morning, feel the disappointment. Might motivate you for the next day!
  • AmyMgetsfit
    AmyMgetsfit Posts: 636 Member
    I go to bed early, like around 10pm. Then I am ready to get up at 6am. I do have my oatmeal and coffee first while I check on here and read the news. Then I am ready to work out. Sometimes I do have to finish it up when I get back home later in the day, especially on cardio day. I can get weights done in 45 minutes or less. Cardio can take me 1 1/2 hours. Luckily all I need to do afterward is shower. I don't have to do hair and makeup, all I am doing is going over to watch the 2 grandkids for about 7 hours while my daughter and her husband work. I am eastern time zone, so it will be more difficult to go to bed at 10 when the new fall programming comes back on. A lot of my favorite shows come on at 10pm.

    ETA: I have a nicely equipped gym in my basement. So I don't have to go anywhere but down the stairs.
  • jesseg1989
    jesseg1989 Posts: 49 Member
    I'm usually up around 4 22 am or 5 am to start my cardio workout, then I do weight training in the evening. What keeps me motivated to keep doing that is determination.
  • engakwasdky
    engakwasdky Posts: 19 Member
    I agree with what many have already posted. I usually think about my motivation just before I got to bed the night before - new workout clothes, new shoes, new music on my iPhone, or (the free one!) how good I'll feel to get my workout done for the day AND how I will feel energized and refreshed the rest of the day. It's also easier for me in the summertime because it's so hot and humid later in the day, so I'll basically die from sweat drowning if I don't walk/run in the morning. I usually give myself at least an hour to work out in the mornings, so I'll get up an hour to an hour and a half (depending on if I'm running outside or going to the gym) for my workout.

    And I'm not gonna lie... in the wintertime, I would get up at 5am to go to the gym just because there was a cute guy there. Whatever works, right?!?! But I did use the other motivators I mentioned before... so just find what works best for you :)
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
    I'm a slacker. It depends on how warm the bed is. If I'm traveling, I'll get up super early, hit the gym and then have a nutritious breakfast. If I'm home, I get up, empty the bladders (mine and the dog's), crawl back into bed, wait for the dog to jump up and nudge my husband, and then he and I lay there and sleepily pet the dog until the alarm goes off for the 10th time and I need to get to work.

    So, to answer your question seriously, I can only exercise when staying in bed is less tempting. I also don't like exercising when he's sleeping, because I don't know if the TV or exercise equipment will wake him up.
  • michael1976_ca
    michael1976_ca Posts: 3,488 Member
    i get up between 6 and 7 put in jmbr so 30 min work out get it done so i don't have to worry about it later. i like haveing the rest of the day to my self
  • JudieJudes
    JudieJudes Posts: 174 Member
    I used to be a true morning person and up with the larks ..... these days I am more an owl.

    Getting up for exercise is so difficult :noway:
  • laele75
    laele75 Posts: 283 Member
    I do my workout after I put my son on the bus for school or after I wake up on weekends when he's home. I get up, make his breakfast, put on a pot of coffee, then do my yoga. Then I eat breakfast, check my email and then do my 30 minutes of biking if it's an exercise day. Because of my medical condition, I do two days on, one day off on the biking.

    Sometimes, I cannot do my biking in the morning and I use it to wake myself up from the afternoon dead brain that comes from fibro. Workout when you feel like you have time. If you're not a waking up early person, don't try to get up early to workout.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    I don't, mostly because that would involve me getting up at like 12pm? Plus I prefer to run outside so daylight is a plus in that aspect.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    I actually have a solution that worked pretty well for me a few years back.

    I divided the contents of a can of my favorite every drink into 4-5 little screw-top mini bottles (they were those 1 or 2 oz little water bottles that you fill with water and freeze to keep packed lunches cool) I kept them in the fridge and every night before bed I put one on my nightstand next to the alarm clock. When the alarm went off in the morning I drank the mini bottle, and laid back down. Ten minutes later the caffeine would kick in, and I couldn't go back to sleep even if I tried. Then I'd get up, go for a run, and start my day on a good note.
  • doug_pierce
    doug_pierce Posts: 255
    My trick is sleeping with a night light. Falling asleep with one may take a little getting used to. But it makes getting up when the alarm goes off a lot easier.
  • prdavies1949
    prdavies1949 Posts: 326 Member
    At the moment here in France it is pushing 80 deg by 09:00 so I have no choice but to get my *kitten* out of bed and go for my run early. I will be up and running soon after 06:00 I have a great alarm system if I don't get up she kicks me.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I go to bed between 9-10pm and I wake up (myself) between 5:00-5:20am. I dunno, I might be the odd one out, but I always feel suuuuuper energized for my morning walk. Like, I seriously cannot wait to go do it. I go to bed thinking about my morning walk. I guess I'm just super motivated :)
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
    Most of my workouts are in the evening, the exception being when I run. I run three days a week - two days before work and once on the weekend. The two days before work I set my alarm for 5:15, hit snooze once or twice, then get up and try to be on the road by 5:45 after feeding the cats, pulling on the clothes that I've also set out the night before, drinking some water, etc. I like to run in the mornings because it's cooler and the roads have less traffic. Beyond that my primary motivation is both of those weekdays I see my trainer in the evening and while a couple times I've done training & my run back-to-back, I like to break them up - otherwise whichever workout is second I start losing energy about halfway through and I don't feel like I'm giving it enough effort.
  • spottedkathy
    spottedkathy Posts: 196 Member
    I get up between 330 and 4 am. I can motivated by the scale. I have a small goal each week for the scale and until I meet that I need to workout daily. This week I met it on Thursday I don't have to work out Friday-Sunday just stay under calorie goal.
  • sub10orbust
    sub10orbust Posts: 706 Member
    morninig workouts are the best
  • migueltavares
    migueltavares Posts: 122
    I wake up 8.30am, I like it because if you wake up early you feel more energetic and you can be more productive.
    Therefore after lunch I can do whatever I have to do.
  • heatherrose9
    heatherrose9 Posts: 122 Member
    Sleep in your workout clothes....have an automatic coffee pot brewing just prior to your alarm...go to bed early. ..


    Make sure you want to do it! I can only workout if I do it first thing in the am but I know thats not for everyone!

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