Getting up early to work out

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  • lorenzovonmatterhorn7549
    lorenzovonmatterhorn7549 Posts: 495 Member
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    How do you do it?!? I want to work out in the morning, so it's out of the way and I have time for other things in the evening. But I just can't pull it off very often, and when I do I feel so slow and clumsy. Share your tips if you can do this successfully!
    I know what you mean. I set my alarm but that damn snooze button is just so easy to press
  • Legs_McGee
    Legs_McGee Posts: 845 Member
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    I get up at 5am. I used to get up at 4:45 but the class I started taking a couple weeks ago starts later so I get to sleep in - woo hoo! I'm not a morning person but I have a pretty reliable internal clock so I wake up without an alarm about 95% of the time. I usually experience a moment of WTF?! and wanting to cry but then I just get up and go. It helps that I either have a scheduled class to go to or that I'm meeting a friend at the gym.
  • rumplesnat
    rumplesnat Posts: 372
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    5am M-F and 6am on the weekends or when on vacation.

    I am a horrendous wench until my daily workout is complete...hate having it looming over my head all day until it gets done. It's best for everyone if I do it early. :blushing:
  • lisalu20
    lisalu20 Posts: 35 Member
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    I set my alarm for 6.30. Get up almost immediately - and yes it is an effort! Then put my gym gear on, have a little cholesterol lowering drink, feed the cat and go out to our garden shed where I have a treadmill and do 20 minutes of fast walking while listening to music and reading my kindle. The combination of exercise, music and reading wakes everything up and I feel ready to tackle the day. Fruit for breakfast always gives more energy than cereal. For me it's the only time to do it in the summer as it's too hot once the Sun comes up.
  • Juniper3411
    Juniper3411 Posts: 167 Member
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    Just started morning workouts again and yes it is HARD. I used to be a competitive figure skater and sometimes my practices started at 5:45 am (and with travel time and gearing up I usually had to be out of the house by 4:45, so up even earlier than that).

    As others have mentioned, set everything up the night before (workout bag with workout clothes, clothes for work etc.) I've been setting two alarms one regular alarm clock and the alarm on my phone. I put the phone alarm well out of my reach so I have to get up to get it. As long as I can convince myself not to grab my phone, hit snooze and hop back into bed I'm golden.

    And I've been going to bed at 10:30 instead of almost 12:30 like I was doing before. Which sucks cause I get less "me" time after the kids are in bed, but it's worth. I also like getting the workout over in the morning becasue I don't miss time with the kids since they are most definitely not awake yet!

    Hopefully I can keep it going, it's only been 2 weeks LOL
  • cadaverousbones
    cadaverousbones Posts: 421 Member
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    Tomorrow I am going to set my alarm for 6 am and try and do some yoga! I am always too tired when I get home from work to do any exercise.. I am hoping if I start getting up early and doing a little something in the morning then I will actually get my exercise in and have more energy throughout the day. The problem is that darn snooze button!!!
  • Jenny775
    Jenny775 Posts: 108 Member
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    It's definately a hard habit to get started with but once you force yourself it does get easier!
  • appygirl84
    appygirl84 Posts: 105 Member
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    When I start working out in the mornings I have trouble. After I have done it for a few days I enjoy it.

    The same thing with cooking breakfast.... I was to tired. Then I cooked breakfast before bed for a week. I got used to waking up and eating a hot breakfast... so the day I woke up after not preparing breakfast the night before, I got up and cooked breakfast.

    Just make it a habit!
  • Alisha28
    Alisha28 Posts: 406 Member
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    I have 5 kids so if I do not get up at 5 am I will not fit it in. I set my alarm and have a neighbor meet me to run, if I know someone is waiting for me I gotta make it out there :)
  • happyindian
    happyindian Posts: 89 Member
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    I work out early in the morning and am done and over with it. U never know what turn ur day might take and chances are the first thing sabotaged is ur workout. Why risk that. I just get out of the bed as soon as the alarm hits, no snooze. tht's it. Once u workout in the mornings , the feeling of hvng accomplished something stays with u thru the day and tht make sthe day all the more better.
  • benum21121
    benum21121 Posts: 200
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    I get up at 2:30am and run, bike, or work out for over an hour. Then I get ready for work, which I arrive for at 5:10am. It's what I have to do to ensure that I get my burn sessions in on work days. Other days- I can get up early (at like 4:30-6:00am) and work out before the kid is up, or I can wait and take him to the gym with me later in the day- he enjoys it, and I like to be a positive fitness role model for him. :-)
  • elizamac123
    elizamac123 Posts: 11
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    I can't even tell you how I did it. I used to snooze for a solid half hour after my alarm went off, until I started running. (turning off the snooze option also helped). Now, I get up and run no problem. It wakes me up like nothing else.
  • delyn356
    delyn356 Posts: 145 Member
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    I try to get up around 5:45AM weekdays and 6-6:30 on the weekends to go workout. It's not easy, especially when you're first starting out. When my alarm goes off, I just get up. I don't think about how tired I am or how I don't want to exercise right that moment, but I get my butt out of bed. The longer I take to think about it, the less likely I'm actually going to go.

    Another thing that really helps me is I have two alarms. My phone which is next to my bed, but I also use another alarm clock & I put it on the other side of the room so I actually have to get up out of bed to turn it off. Once I'm out of bed, then it's easier to just go.

    Also, cause your muscles may not be as warmed up in the morning, try to do an easy warm up on the treadmill or elliptical to loosen & warm up your body. Good luck!
  • sub10orbust
    sub10orbust Posts: 706 Member
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    hard the first week but afterwards u will be looking forward to it everyday!
  • teaparty75
    teaparty75 Posts: 170
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    very hard in the beginning - but after a few weeks it'll be like second nature , i love seeing the "regulars" at the gym or on my walk trail ....go to be early and watch what you have for dinner - too heavy or a greasy meal makes you feel like crap at 5:30 am trying to get out of bed !
  • Fuamami
    Fuamami Posts: 38 Member
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    You all gave me such great advice that I wanted to reply with an update..

    Unfortunately (sort of), I still have not been able to pull it off, though! But now, I think that's okay.

    I tried for two weeks to get up at 5:15 so I could work out, and I was only able to twice. Those days my workouts were miserable slogs, like it usually is. I think I would have to just do it every single day to get my diurnal rhythm reset, but then I am so exhausted by the end of the day that I fall asleep reading to my kids at 7:45. My hubby doesn't particularly appreciate that, and I don't get the rest of my evening chores done.

    So, I went back to working out in the evenings. I change into my workout clothes as soon as I get home, and then as soon as the kids are in bed (8:30ish), I work out. And it feels great. My job is very sedentary, basically sitting in front of a computer with an almost two hour commute to boot, so I have plenty of energy at the end of the day. And then I clean up the house for a cool-down and am asleep by 10. It's working for now, so until I can wake up later and still work out, I'm going to stick with it.

    I guess the moral of the story is don't mess with success!:)

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