Early morning working out - Need motivation

Fitness Magazine just posted this quote today: "Exercise in the morning...before your brain figures out what you're doing."

I'm up at 4 am three times a week to get ready and to the gym by 4:30am. I alternate those days with 5am wake ups for runs/cardio/yoga. I have a three year old. And with a lot of help from my husband we have developed a routine during the week. We are well oiled machines. We get home from work, cook, eat, play, bath time for my little monkey, and i am in bed no later than 8:30pm.

Once you develop the habit it becomes easier. Good luck!

We should start an early morning group.
I keep starting and then stopping my early-morning routine. I just end up saying "screw it" and turning my alarm off. Yet I know I have no time in the evenings.
I need to start getting back up at 5:15. At least a couple days a week.
I definitely agree with being in bed by ten, and already having workout clothes on.

I need motivation too!!! I had a good lifting routine going for a while, then slacked. :sad:

have set it up. good call.

one thing that helps, and is basically a reiteration of what everybody else is saying:

plan ahead: workout clothes ready. organized for next day (briefcase packed, lunch planned if not made). workout is organized (have idea of what you want to do).
start out easier. work a sweat without drama. get used to it. you'll get there!

yay!

I am a snooze addict.. and only recently was able to break the habit by trying out different alarm clocks on my smart phone.

The one I am using currently is called "Morning Routine" .. and it has an option to turn off alarm's via bar code scan. So I created two bar codes one by my night stand and one in my basement next to my weight bench. The first alarm goes off at 5am and I have to scan the bar code next to my bed.. then 15 minutes later the next alarm goes off which requires the bar code in the basement to be scanned..

It's the only alarm clock I found that consistently gets me out of been on the first alarm..

As others have said, preparation is KEY. My alarm goes off around 4:05am so that I can get dressed, have my pre-workout meal and get to the gym by 5-ish. I get EVERYTHING ready the night before - workout clothes, pre-workout drink, post-workout protein shake, work clothes, etc. I am on a very tight schedule in the morning because I have to catch a train into work. I have found that with my night before preparation, I can get ready for work in about 30-35 minutes.

I have been doing it this way for 3.5 years, and I love the routine and starting my day off by working out. Plus, there aren't that many nutjobs that voluntarily get up early to workout, so I almost never have to wait for any equipment at the gym! Just suck it up long enough for it to become a habit and you will be glad you did!

ETA: I am usually in bed by 8:30pm! Just call me "Grandma"! LOL

I was in this routine about 14 years ago. I lost a lot of weight and my routine was awesome. Now 14 years later I would try anything to get back in the early morning work out session. I am reading each suggestion one by one and hope I can find the one or two ideas that will work. It's funny what used to come to me so easily is now so dang hard. Age, hormones, job, stress may play a role who knows but I've got to find what works..Wish me luck :drinker:

Sorry I am just catching up on everyone's responses! Everyone has great great ideas, most of which I have used before. My biggest issue is getting to bed early enough. I am definitely tired enough to go to bed by 9:30 but I feel compelled to do a load of laundry, catch up on emails, or just visit with my husband. I have a 3 year old and a 10 month old and work FT. Excuses, excuses, I know.

Right now I am up at 5:45 to shower and get ready before I get the kids up at 6:30, dressed and ready to go to daycare. Then off to work til 6. From 6 to 9 PM it's dinner, baths, bedtime. And repeat.

Its definitely a juggling act that I have clearly not perfected but this is the only missing piece! Thanks to everyone for their support and suggestions though - I am definitely feeling like I CAN DO THIS!

Of course we can do it. You starting Monday?

I get up at 5 to make it to my gym by 6, for class at 6:15. My gym is about a 20 minute commute (on the way to work).

Sleep is really important to me and I don't have kids, so I'm usually in bed watching tv or reading by 8:30, lights out 10 at the latest.

When work got really hectic I had to start working out in the morning or I'd end up doing it at 8pm and that was affecting my sleep. Monday-Friday I get up at 4:30ish, mix up some BCAA powder in water and drink it while I'm setting up my mat & weights for my workout. On Saturday I sleep in a bit and eat breakfast first before I work out. I'm currently doing Jillian Michaels Body Revolution ... It's only 30 minutes but it definitely gets my blood pumping and it feels sooooo good to know that my workout is done and anything else I do that day is bonus.

I suck at going to bed early and much of the time I can't sleep when I do. On those mornings when I absolutely don't want to drag myself out of bed I have to admit that my motivation is that if I don't get up I'll have to restrict myself to 1200 calories! I love food too much for that so it gets me moving. :happy:

My biggest issue is getting to bed early enough. I am definitely tired enough to go to bed by 9:30 but I feel compelled to do a load of laundry, catch up on emails, or just visit with my husband.

This is going to sound crazy, but I will sometimes set an alarm to remind me to go to bed. Nothing loud or jarring, just a quiet chime on my phone. Like a previous post said, treat it like a regular appointment. My husband is so used to this routine now that he'll often ask why I'm not in bed yet. He also is a motivation to get up in the morning because I know it disturbs his sleep if I hit snooze several times the next morning!

The other thing that helped me get back into a morning exercise routine after having my kids was to ease into it. So I went for a week of getting up 15 minutes earlier than usual, then I just kept subtracting 15 minutes each week until I got to the time I wanted to get up for my workout. I'm starting a longer workout in the next week or two, so I'm starting to ease myself into an earlier wake-up this week and next.

Good luck!

I just do it. I roll out of my bed and do it. I notice I am sleeping early now. I work 1st shift. So I wake up around 5-7 and work out for 30 minutes. When i get home from work I spend mommy time with my kids until they are asleep and then I go do some strength training with dumbbells

Maybe this is odd since it is supposed to be about weight loss but I use food as my motivator. I absolutely love Quest protein bars. The only time I allow myself to eat them (cuz they are so expensive) is my snack before my early morning work outs. Knowing I get to eat a Quest bar gets me out of bed.

I wake up at 4-4:15 to work out Monday through Friday, as I have to leave for work by 6 AM. I have been doing this for about a month, and I have to say it feels great. So many days I just want to turn off the alarm for another hour, but I know once I am into the workout, my energy will change. By the time I am in the shower I feel so energized and ready to start the day! Getting out of bed and downstairs is the hardest part, but I set out my clothes so they are ready to go. For me, I know that if I sleep in and skip the workout, there will not be time to complete it later in the day, and I will feel unaccomplished all day.

I work full time and I am going to graduate school in the evenings until about 7 PM. I prepare all my meals on the weekends, so when I leave for work I take lunch, dinner, and 2-3 snacks with me. By the time I get home from school at 7, I am exhausted. I barely have time to change clothes, clean up the house a bit, possibly prepare a night time snack... then it is lights out! I am so tired by the end of the day that going to sleep early has never been a problem. Sometimes I find myself falling asleep on the couch as early as 7:30. (So sad, I am only 26 but I feel like an old lady!!)

Now my situation is a little different, I don't have kids and I am not married yet... so it is definitely easier for me to control my own schedule. But where there is a will, there is a way.. and you will see the earlier you wake up, the earlier you will want to go to sleep!

Great question, I bought a Polar Watch that helps calculate my calorie burn so I get up looking forward to using it and putting the calories into myfitnesspal. I set the watch to the time I need to wake up to remind me to go. I have my workout clothes on for bed so I can just roll out of bed, use the restroom, brush my teeth, comb my hair and go. I found that after a while I started naturally getting up early for the work out. Once I started going I was in the groove. If I ever stopped for a week I found myself sluggish to get up and go but once I got back in the groove again I was wide awake and ready to go. I can not stress enough to find a class you LOVE not just like. Team motivation really helps and something to be accountable for other than yourself. I also found a work out partner a few days a week in the same boat as me. One that is reliable is a must otherwise its a bust. Good luck, you can do it to coming from a former slug like me!