Trying to be a Morning-Exerciser

Options
13»

Replies

  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Options
    One thing I want to add: Morning workouts aren't for everyone. Some people are just naturally way too groggy and disoriented when they wake up for a while to be able to do anything that would constitute higher intensity exercise. Don't force yourself to do it if you're just fine doing it in the afternoon. I know I tried it for a while and even after being up for 30-45 minutes AND popping a pre-workout I was still way too out of it to be able to safely do anything movement-intensive without tripping over myself. My form for strength exercises was shoddy.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    Options
    I work out at 5am before work. It was rough trying to make the transition to rising early. Having a friend who will text me to make sure my butt is up and on my way to the gym helps. Once I've gotten into the routine of waking up at 4:30, it isn't that bad. I find I have more energy throughout the day. It's nice getting to the gym when there are very few people there.
  • LastMinuteMama
    LastMinuteMama Posts: 590 Member
    Options
    Even with all of those tricks - Preparing everything the night before (sometimes even wearing my workout clothes to bed), setting the alarm clock in the hallway and going downstairs to let the cat out, I have still crawled back into bed instead of working out. I find the mornings super tough.

    The one thing that has worked to get me out of bed early is to make a "workout date". I walk with my neighbor before work several times a week and on the weekends I run with my runner friends. I won't stand up a friend...just myself.... sad, I know.


    My main problem is that I don't go to bed earlier enough. It's all good though, I have no problem starting a workout at 9:30 at night!
  • FitWarrior7
    FitWarrior7 Posts: 332 Member
    Options
    I like working out in the morning because it gets my workout out of the way, and typically it's the same dedicated group of people day in and day out. Not to say that I care who goes to the gym, but it's not a bunch of young guys and girls trying to impress one another jamming up all the equipment. Plus my gym is a mob scene anytime after 4 p.m. Mornings it is for me.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Options
    I am NOT a morning person. I am becoming one because I decided to become one. First and foremost, get to sleep early. Not 'get to bed,' but get to SLEEP. This may mean going to bed MEGA early a few nights to get the habit of falling asleep early. No playing on the phone or watching tv. SLEEEEP. I took melatonin supplements at first. There is some question to their effectiveness in clinical studies, so the jury is out on whether it helped me.

    Lay out your workout clothes the night before. This includes hair restraint devices (hair ties, etc), heart rate monitor, water bottle, etc.

    I find I feel better if I wash my face first thing. I know the grapefruit face wash commercials are cheesy (Wake up with a burst of Citrus Fruit In your FACE!), but I do find myself more awake and less gritty feeling after. A swig of ice cold water can also help. Turning on all of the lights could help as well.

    Turn off the snooze feature. It is no longer an option.
  • bootssowhite
    bootssowhite Posts: 93 Member
    Options
    I'm not normally a morning person, but this summer I've been getting up at 5:00 to run because of the heat (113 today, all my cries). Things that have helped me:

    - Enjoy what you're doing. There is zero chance I will get up that early to go to the gym and lift weights because I hate strength training and have to psych myself up for that, but I enjoy running, which helps propel me out of bed.
    - Have everything you need ready in advance. Have your clothes laid out. If you're packing a gym bag, do it the night before. If you want to eat before you go, have that prepared.
    - My alarm is my running playlist, which makes me want to move. Instead of turning my alarm off the second it goes off, I listen for a little bit until my toes are twitching and going for a run instead of sleeping doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world.
    - If you can, don't keep your alarm right next to your bed. I'm way more likely to stay up once I actually get out of bed.
    - Find some way to make yourself accountable. See if you have a friend who wants to meet you, go to a class you have to pay for in advance (if you can find one that early), etc. Anything that you can set up the day before when waking up early still seems like a good idea. And be creative. My best friend lives five timezones away and is a night owl, which means she's usually still awake when I get back at 6:00, so I set up Skype dates with her on mornings that I plan on running.
    - Revel in feeling smug and self satisfied all day long because you woke up early to work out, or maybe that's just me.
  • foodequalshappy
    foodequalshappy Posts: 31 Member
    Options
    I am NOT a morning person. Not sure if I like waking up in the afternoons either to be fair. I started T25 4 weeks ago and the only way I could do it was to wake up at 6:30. It is painful, it's hard in the beginning but what gets me up is the fact that it;s 25 minutes. Even if I go back to bed, it's only for 25 minutes of extra sleep. Not worth it, so I get up.
    I also lay out my clothes the night before. I make sure to include socks, towel and bottle. (The little things that throw me off.)
    I give myself 5 minutes to scroll through facebook on my phone, the light wakes me up.
    5 minutes to use the bathroom and dress up. 5 minutes to set up dvd and actually get started.
    Some mornings are better than others.
    Some mornings I would rather not, so I step on the scale and I am quickly reminded why I need to do it!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Options
    I had a lot of success switching to morning exercise. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I started out of necessity in late winter/early spring when a combination of changing jobs, short days and bad weather made it much harder for me to get my run in after work. I started by gradually getting up a bit earlier and a bit earlier without running for a couple of weeks until I was getting up at 6. It's just habit really. I still want to turn over and go back to sleep, but to be honest, I want to do that if I get up at 8 too!

    I still wouldn't classify myself as a morning person, but as others have said, it's just a matter of habit. I find that I'm quite productive in those couple of hours before work, even if it's a rest day. I have to go to bed earlier to feel properly rested, but that's only a problem if I have a late night planned. Those kinds of nights I view as occasional blips in my routine, same as with my food. I enjoy the productivity, and I enjoy the quiet of the morning, before everyone else has got up. I love the feeling of going to work having either run several km, or been to the gym, and having had time to check my emails, catch up on the news, read my book or do a bit of some hobby or other It makes me feel like I've experienced some "real" life before the work day has even begun. Even if I'm not at work (work in education - lots of holidays) I still end up getting up early and getting my run in. I now find that if I ever try to leave it til the afternoon/evening, I'm too tired and don't enjoy it as much.

    I would say, just do it. Make yourself get up a bit earlier and a bit earlier and force yourself out of the door to exercise for a few weeks. Either it'll quickly become habit or you'll hate it so much you'll just decide to find another way.
  • itsjustmish
    itsjustmish Posts: 107 Member
    Options
    I'm always super tired in the evenings and can't be bothered to exercise when I get home from work, so I've had to get into the habit of getting up early and getting it out of the way before work. I get up at 5.15am during the week, and as I work out at home its literally a case of pressing 'play' on the DVD player, throwing some workout clothes on, grabbing some water, and getting the job done. It was hard to begin with, but it's part of my daily routine now and I don't even think about it anymore.
    Things that help me are making sure I'm in bed by 10pm at the latest and setting out any equipment that I need the night before. Other than that, its just a case of getting out of bed when the alarm goes off!

    The only downside to this is that I find it impossible to sleep later than 6.30-7am even on a weekend now (regardless of what time I go to bed!), which is kind of annoying.
  • Craigtp91
    Craigtp91 Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    i did this last year,

    only way i could make myself get up early enough was to put my alarm the other side of the bedroom and with at least 4 timers set on it 5 minutes apart.

Categories