Waking up early for the gym.. What works for you??

For me, I just can't think about it. Just decide to do it, and get the hell out of bed when the alarm goes off.
Don't look at is as an option. You don't really want to get up and go to work every morning, do you? And yet you make that happen since you consider it non-negotiable.

There is no hope once I lay there waiting for motivation or trying to reason with myself - that's not happening. At that moment there is no drive stronger than staying in my nice cozy bed.

All the tips here are great! If you can succeed in doing this even 2-3 times per week then you are ahead of 98% of the population!

I am about 20 lbs in to an estimated 50 lbs weight loss. I am losing slowly 1-2 lbs per month and I refuse to go hungry. That means I gross over 2200 calories per day. The only way I can do this and still lose weight is that I have to burn about 4000 calories a week in exercise. My family and I talked and we all came to the conclusion that the early AM was the best time.

I made it a game:

My contest with myself is to see how many weekdays (I sleep in on the weekends) I can get up between 5:15-5:30 and be out the door by 6:00. It doesn't matter what I do, go to the gym, run, walk... as long as I do something. It seems to work.. I just completed a stretch of 26 weekdays in a row.

I will be dead honest.. I like to eat pizza, ice cream, chips etc. - To do that I need a little "wiggle" room" in my calorie budget and the best way to make a deposit in that account is to do it early!

And.. you just have to want to do it! :drinker:

2 things work for me. First, get enough sleep. Its a lot easier to get up early if you have gotten 8 hours of sleep instead of 5-6. Second, I get up and force myself to turn several bright lights on immediately after my alarm goes off. The longer you lay in bed in the dark, the more miserable it is going to seem.

Ultimately, its hard for a week or two but you get used to it. At this point, its harder for me to stay up past midnight on Saturday night than it is to get up at 5:15 on Monday morning.

I have not tricks, I guess. I get up at 4:15 M-Th and 5 on Friday.

IMHO, either you want it, or you don't.

this. If you're struggling to get up, look at your bedtime.

I get up at 4 on workout days. The key for me is going to bed on time and having everything laid out the night before. My alarm goes off and I get out of bed before I can start to talk myself out of it. Momentum!

I have not tricks, I guess. I get up at 4:15 M-Th and 5 on Friday.

IMHO, either you want it, or you don't.

/thread

I know that there are a lot of pros to working out first thing in the morning, but my body isn't flexible enough and I can't move or do the things like I can in the evening. So, morning workouts don't do it for me. It does mean that I have to make it a priority so it doesn't slide into not working out. I have several workout options that I look forward to doing so I do exercise.

You just need to figure out what works best for you and not get caught up with what is best practice.

I get up at 4:30 every morning because I have to work out before my kids (twin 5 year olds and a 9 month old) wake up.

I set two alarm clocks. That way if I snooze my real alarm clock, my phone alarm will be ringing within 5 minutes. And like others have said, I put my workout clothes out the night before.

MFP has really helped me wake up early too. I very rarely have an option to work out unless I work out early in the morning. But I can see the benefits of my early workout all day in MFP. After I log my calorie burn from my heart rate monitor, I feel better about myself during the day, and I get to eat more!

I do workout dvd's at home so I don't have an accountability partner, and MFP has helped me fill that void. My friends know I'm working out, and if I don't post my workout for a few days, they start asking. That has really helped me. If I were you I'd find one or find friends on here that will do that for you.

Good luck! You can do this!

I have told many that folks fail at working out because scheduling conflicts get in their way and/or they are not motivated to workout at that particular time. So YOU have to find the right time for YOU to consistently workout 4-6 days a week. For me there are no scheduling conflicts at 5:30 AM in the morning! I also lose motivation in the evenings so mornings fit me just right.

So here is my routine and tips:

Pack and organize your workout gear the night before - I go to a gym and then go directly to work so I am also organizing my work cloths for that day. I store/hang it all in our mud room, ready to go straight out the garage door.

Go to bed early - I try my best to be in bed by 10 PM.

5:30 AM Wake-up - No snooze button, just roll out of bed, pee, put on workout clothes, brush your teeth, and get out the door by 5:40 AM and drive to Gym. I do not eat or drink anything but I know some folks have to, they can do that on the way.

Workout from 6 AM to 7:15 AM - M, W, F = Strength Training + Abs, T, Th, S = Cardio + stretching. Sunday is my day of rest but I've been known to go on a run or hike.

Shower, Shave, Dress for Work - Some folks have issues justifying the expense of a gym membership. I have always included the cost of my gym being my daily morning bathroom 6 days a week.

I have told many that folks fail at working out because scheduling conflicts get in their way and/or they are not motivated to workout at that particular time. So YOU have to find the right time for YOU to consistently workout 4-6 days a week. For me there are no scheduling conflicts at 5:30 AM in the morning! I also lose motivation in the evenings so mornings fit me just right.

Pretty much this. When I got a full-time job it completely screwed up my previous exercise schedule (about 6 am). Between getting kids ready for school and getting myself ready for work that just wasn't going to cut it anymore. I tried a variety of things, including working out in the evenings but there are always so many random things happening in the evenings between myself, my husband and my kids that my exercise schedule kept getting blasted to smithereens.

Turns out, the ONLY time when there are no scheduling conflicts for me is 4 am! I set my alarm for 3:45 which gives me enough time to roll out of bed, throw on my exercise clothes (which I lay out the night before as many others do), quick brush of the teeth, grab water/towel/cellphone/headphones and then go. I work out for about an hour before heading home and starting to get kids up (high schooler especially) and getting myself ready for work, breakfast, etc.

I'm going to a different gym now but one thing that REALLY helped me was going with someone. We would alternate weeks on who would pick up who and it worked great. We both felt we HAD to get up because the other person was depending on us...either to pick them up, or to be ready to be picked up! Now I just have to force myself out of bed...I don't really have any hints. This morning was especially hard. The bed was wonderfully warm, and soft, and fabulous, and EVIL. I hit my snooze and during those few minutes told myself "I do NOT SKIP WORKOUTS. I DO NOT QUIT." When the snooze went off I dragged myself up (still grumpy mind you) and got moving. I knew I would be glad I did and I was!

You can do it!