How to become a morning workout-er?

I much perfer morning workouts over evening, for no other reason, than getting it over with lol.

When I first started with the am workout, I went to a gym that had a 5.30-6.30am bootcamp style class. Getting motivated was aweful. The only reason I made it every morning, was because I had a gf that I was meeting there and I couldnt just not show. If it had just been me, I would have stayed in bed.

Now I set my alarm for 4.30 every morning and workout before work. I like the added benefit of a fasted workout and being able to eat more through out the day. .

Good luck

I have been trying to switch to mornings for years. I don't even have to workout that early - my partner leaves for work around 9 and I work at home (with my kids). So I could even run at 8 and be fine.

The only thing that has motivated me lately is half-marathon training and the heat. If I don't run in the morning it will just be too hot in the afternoon or evening and I'd have to slog away on the treadmill for over an hour.

You just have to force yourself for 2 weeks... after that, it becomes more of a habit and gets easier (though I still dont LIKE it ahahah)

I get up 4 hours before I have to have enough brainpower to deal with people (aka: leave for work). I used to work PM shifts and/or over-night shifts. now I'm back on a morning shift (first time since high school ended).

the hardest part about getting into the routine of working out in the morning was making myself work out. once I got used to it, I realized how much better it made my day. when I have a serious case of the "I don't wanna's," all I have to is remind myself that I'll feel much more calm and willing to deal with people if I just get my workout in.

You just have to force yourself for 2 weeks... after that, it becomes more of a habit and gets easier (though I still dont LIKE it ahahah)

QFT!!! :drinker:

I am still a night owl. But I discovered working out first thing in the morning meant (a) more consistency, (b) better results over time, (c) feeling better during the day, and (d) less effort in maintaining my eating plan.

Two practical things I do: pre-plan my workout so I already know what I am going to do and put my workout clothes beside the bed so they are the first thing my feet touch in the morning. Nothing like a physical reminder when my groggy mind is suggesting I crawl back under the blanket rather than head to the gym.

The other good news? If you make your morning workout consistently for three or four weeks it will pretty much become a habit. It just gets easier with time.

So I did this whole get skinny thing before when I was in my twenties and have ALWAYS been a night owl... going to bed between 3:00 - 5:00 AM most of the time.

What worked for me last time, and this will likely sound heretical, is to ditch the coffee and just get out of bed and replace it with a quick run. It sounds nearly impossible to contemplate if you are as caffeine oriented as I am but the run was far more energizing than any cup of coffee could be.

Running might not be your thing or even a goal but it gets the whole body moving and even if you just do 10-15 minutes out there when you come back it's easy to finish up with any other exercise routine you enjoy. The point is, once you go outside and move, you are awake and ready to do more.

For me, I had a time consuming routine that involved getting up, slowly drinking coffee, watching the news, "waking up", that by the time it was complete sucked nearly an hour out of my morning. I had to look real hard at it to access the fact that the hour a day was doing literally nothing for me but wasting time.

Just something that worked for me. Hope you find a good routine for you.

Howdy, I'm a morning lark, have been for a long time. It's a ritual that you either naturally gravitate towards or simply build. It doesn't hurt to have some workout videos to help motivate you for workouts sometimes (or any great workouts available on youtube).

There's a great podcast on the subject by Chris Russell of RunRunLive interviewing Hal Elrod who wrote the book the Miracle Morning: The Not So Obvious Secret Guaranteed to transform your Life (before 8am). The podcast is available at itunes or rununlive.com website.

Link: http://runrunlive.com/episode-3-288-yo-pal-hal-elrod-and-the-miracle-morning/

Haven't read the book yet but have implemented some of the advice from both Chris Russell and Hal Elrod in this podcast. I do plan on reading the book to get help to move my 5:15 am wakeup alarm to 4:30 for the summer for early-morning running.

Set your alarm earlier (maybe 10-15 min. earlier every day) until you reach 5am. 4:30 if you have to in order to beat the heat & humidity in the summer. Set your workout clothes out the night before. Tell someone else you are working out then. Plan to work out at the same time as someone else either in person or virtually. Make an appointment with yourself to workout early and try not to break it. :glasses:

COFFEE in the morning sure helps me a lot (hopefully you are a coffee drinker)! :drinker:

Good luck, it's a tough transformation for night owls to "switch" to a "morning lark" routine but it's possible. Just takes meticulous planning and more than anything, DISCIPLINE.

Really the only advice I can give is just to do it. After a couple of weeks, it won't affect you anymore. I had to start getting up at 4:45 for work and thought it would KILL me. Now, I actually wake up before the alarm and it's fine. Also working out first thing in the morning means that you get to spend all day with the smug satisfaction of already knowing that you have worked out and accomplished something great. It's a good feeling!

I used to be a night owl, but the reality is, we ALL can trick our body clocks into changing. You have to WANT to do it.

Up until a year ago, I used to be on a Calgary--Toronto flight almost every week

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leaving sunday at 6pm arriving after midnight in Toronto, or later, and having to hit meetings ruining at 9am. I'd have long days on the road, work late at the hotel, and my sleep clock got messed up.

The key is this: When you exercise, you rev your body UP. So those of you who work out in the evening in all likelyhood are telling your body "I've got another 3-4 hours after this before sleep anyway".

Cell phones, computers, laptops, anything emmitting light that is not NATURAL light needs to be turned off / away a minimum of 1-2 hours before bed. Put your tablet down, move your phone to somewhere else, NOT in the bedroom. If you keep these around you'll never switch yourself to a morning person.

I was the guy who was at the bar until close, and up until 4am, and now I am the guy who gets 6-7 hours sleep (sometimes less) but up at 5 AM for the gym.

Morning workouts when you can switch your body gets you far more alert during the day, full of energy and turbo chargerd.

Start with cutting out the computers, phones, tablets 2 hours before bed, and try move your workouts to afternoons --- you'll find your body wanting to sleep earlier (following the natural light outside) which can then get you waking up earlier and moving to morning workouts.

The main trick to getting up is making sure that you're getting enough sleep to begin with. I get up at 4 am every morning to go work out (boot camp workouts or running) and the mornings when I'm really unmotivated are the nights that I didn't get enough sleep. It's REALLY REALLY important. I know you hear about it all the time, but getting enough sleep is really the most important part. That and just straight up commitment.

7AM? Girl, that's sleeping in for me! That's what time I naturally wake up on weekends. When I was in nursing school, I had to be at the hospital by 6AM for clinicals. Lucky you!

When I was in college (after I quit nursing school, hallelujah) and was able to schedule my own classes, I avoided 8AM classes like the plague. For my last two semesters, my classes didn't start until 11AM. It was awesome sleeping until 8 or 9. Getting up early to exercise then would've been easy, but I didn't do it. I usually got home around 4 and was able to work out before my husband got home from work. That is, when I felt like it - many skipped workouts back in those days.

Now, I work from 8:30-5:30 and have to leave the house at 7:45 to get to the office on time. It takes me a solid hour to get ready in the mornings, so I get up at 5AM on lifting days (MWF) now. I didn't think I'd be able to do it, but I've stuck to it for 3 months and now it's just a habit. At first,, you just have to force it. Don't even think about it - just get your butt up and DO IT.

I still do cardio at night, though. It's only two nights per week, but it allows me to wake up at 6:45, which is good for my sanity. I think I'll eventually switch it and do it in the morning as well. It's so nice getting it over with and being able to relax after work.

I hope this works for you Xjeanie! I started at a gym on the hospital premises - it was great, really cheap and opened at 6 am.

My shifts start at 7:30 am, and I do three a week, and so I go before due on the ward, and yes,.it was hard to get there at first, and for a while stay motivated to get up at 5 am to get there! Especially on the dark winter mornings!
But, I can honestly say that it became easier and easier as I got fitter and more energised. Unfortunately, I stopped going as life got in the way, but I really wish that I had continued and just gone whenI could and did as much as I could have, even though many of the exercises and lifts I'd have had to curtailed or adapted!

I now go to a gym with a swimming pool, as that suits my health better, although it is more expensive and not open at 6am ....boo!... I have built back up to having a fairly good swim and workout over these past few weeks. I am determined, now though,not to ever stop going again, even if I can't do a full workout as I'd like each time!

Go for it Xjeanie as I'm sure you'll start to feel much more energised after a short while!
Also, good luck with your nurse training!

Being awake for me was never the problem, it was getting up and moving. I found that if I had my workout clothes all ready it helped. I have a treadmill in the basement and I head down (sometimes before I'm fully awake). I have found I prefer walking outside, but it's still dark when I get going in the am and I'm not sure I'm up for walking in the dark.

As someone else said, once you get used to it (about 2 weeks) you will find you miss it on the days you have to skip, at least I do.

I've always joked I am a lazy exerciser, I don't want to work out in the pm because it would mean a second shower and that's just too much work!

You just have to force yourself for 2 weeks... after that, it becomes more of a habit and gets easier (though I still dont LIKE it ahahah)

I switched to mornings about 3 months ago. I had a hard time the first few weeks, but it does get easier. I figure I am just as tired if I get up at 5:30 as 6:30, and this way I workout too

I sleep in my workout clothes, I find the less I have to do to get up and going the better.

I also got my husband on board with morning workouts, and having someone to go with helps me, even if we don't workout together once we're at the gym.