Getting up early to exercise... how do you do it?

I have to get up at 6 am to take my daughter to school and some days I hate it. I drag myself up and tell myself I'll go back to bed when I get home, but I never do. Then I work out. After I do it awhile my body adjusts and I wake up at 6 whether (sp?) I want to or not. Have to make it a habit.

I prefer evening excercise as too lazy in the morning plus getting kids to school and me to work takes all my energy I work 9-5:30.. I usually have my dinner at 5:45 when home from work then do my excercise at 8. Only change thus if going running which I would do directly after work. Works for me but my kids are 10 and 12 so let me at it.

I have tried getting up in the morning to workout now that I have a treadmill in my living room but I just cant get my *kitten* out of bed. The two days I did it, I felt great afterwards all day, wide awake and all that...Buts its the initial get myself out of the covers and on my feet that is the hard part

I'm usually up at 5 and fit in my walk (my current workout) before I punch in at 7. My cat is extremely helpful in this aspect of my day. She doesn't even take weekends off.

I already have my alarm set for 4:50am so I can be at work on time for 7:30. There's no way I'm exercising before I go to work. I do it at night before bed.

I love working out in the morning. Usually wake up at 5 for work at 8:30. One thing that really helps me, and it's not for everyone, is sleeping in my workout clothes. There are literally no excuses then. You just get up and go.

IMHO, you just have to want it. If you want to make the change, you will....

I only get up an hour earlier. I literally roll out of bed, put my clothes on and walk out the door. I don't brush my hair or anything, I just go.

I am not a morning person. But I joined a triathlon club that worked out 6 days a week early in the AM forcing me to get up as early as 4:30am some days and no later than 5:30 am on others. I had to adjust or see my money go down the drain by not attending the workouts I paid for.

This is what I found:

When I just was going to one workout a week, it was hell. Even 2 was kind of hell. 3 was still hard. But once I hit 4 workouts a week that I had to get up before 5:30am, everything clicked. I found myself even getting up early on mornings where I didn't have to. One Sunday I decided to "sleep in" and I couldn't stay in bed past 7:30am! I was a morning person!

However, to make this work, I had to really force myself to get up and go every day and I had to force myself to go to bed early. Going to bed early was as important as getting up early. If I just got up early, at some point, I'd break down and have to sleep and then the whole process would start over at ground zero.

In fact, I found that any break in the routine and I'd be right back where I started. It never became a lifetime thing.

All the other suggestions I saw and tried -- laying things out the night before, moving your alarm clock, sleeping in workout clothes, etc. -- weren't the make it or break it things. Sometime I prepare everything the night before, sometimes I do not, for example. The only things that made it work for me were to force myself to do it at least 4x a week and to force myself to go to bed earlier.

Inch it back gradually. You won't suddenly be able to get up hours earlier. Take it back little by little in fifteen minute chunks and it'll feel much easier. Good luck!

I found it easier to just jump right in to the early time than to ease in to it because your adjustment time will be shorter then.
My husband gets up at 530 am. So I get up at 6 am when he is about to leave the house. I then jump on the tredmill for 30 mins. Then shower and get the baby up.

@OP

... I don't LOL

I've also had to for 11 years in military service so that probably tapped the morning workout right out of me.

Consistent exercise was always a challenge for me to begin with. So I didn't see a point making it even more difficult by forcing myself to not only exercise but exercise during a time I rather be snoozing.

I like to workout right after work in the afternoon. The hubs has found working out during lu works for him.

I think if working out at 'o-dark-thirty' is something you want to try then you should totally go for it. Plan ahead, have your gym bag packed & ready to go - the less fuss the easier it is to just roll out of bed and go. Give yourself a good 3-4 weeks to acclimate the new routine. The one thing I did enjoy about working out super early is that most of the time I'm half asleep & literally by the time my brain started working it was over. And also, I get it out of the way which is nice but not enough for me to do it on my own.

At the end of the trial period reflect on what works & what doesn't. If you find that you are missing more days than actually going then working out super early might not be for you. Like with many things in this journey it's a lot of trial & error so don't be afraid to experiment to find something that you will be able to sustain for the long run.

Best of luck to you!

I just jumped straight into it. I get up at 5.30-6am, and literally get into my gym gear and go.
It didn't take long for me to naturally start waking at that time, which surprised me.

I get up at 4 am every morning to exercise or I wont have a chance to workout. Having a toddler and being a full time student on extern I find it to be a great stress relief and gets me ready for the day. There are days when I have to force myself out of bed and there are days I just give myself the day off. You have to do what works for you.

I started by adjusting my schedule, going to be an hour earlier, getting up and moving when the alarm goes off. I never was a morning person, but I forced myself to become one. It works out well for me now that I am in the cycle. Been doing it for years now. It also helps when you have a trainer waiting for you at the gym, the last thing you want is an angry trainer showing up at your down to hall you off to the gym.