Morning workouts

heidispideymfp
heidispideymfp Posts: 179 Member
edited November 11 in Motivation and Support
for those of you who have to workout in the morning : how do you motivate yourself to get moving so early??

I'm finding the only time I have for a workout is 5:00 - 5:30 or 6:00 am . I'm struggling though. My brain is foggy before my coffee, and my body is sluggish. How do I get myself up and moving, when the prospect of rather drinking my cup of coffee in peace, before the chaos of family life starts?
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Replies

  • scottwheeler75
    scottwheeler75 Posts: 31 Member
    I have 6:00 am workouts Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. All are swim workouts with a local Masters Swim Team (usms.org). What helps me get moving in the morning is, 1st thing instead of Coffee, get into the shower, that helps wake me up. Second thing that helps is routine, I basically do the same thing each time. 5:00 am, shower, pack my swim bag, leave at 5:30, arrive about 5:45, stretch for a few minutes before, get in the pool at 6. The third thing that helps is the social aspect of the workout. There are usually, 3 to 4 of us in each lane. Getting to know others in and around my lane helps motivate me to be there. I suggest finding people to workout with. Lastly, things like MFP, can help create accountability if you allow it to, tell your MFP friends what your goal is and ask them to check in with you to see if you have accomplished your goal.

    I hope this helps! I find that it is much easier to get up on swim days than the off days, even though I am getting up much earlier.

    -Scott
  • Daisies86
    Daisies86 Posts: 12 Member
    I work out at 6:30 three days a week. My main motivation is to have my evenings free to spend with friends or chill out after WOR. I tend to just jump out of bed, put on my friend work out clothes and go to the gym. I prep my meals the night before and get home for a quick shower and coffee before work. I do small group weight lifting classes so the social aspect really helps plus the accountability from the trainer also. But I made the decision for the morning workouts to have my evenings to myself.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    edited February 2015
    I jump out of bed when the alarm goes off at 4am, without even thinking about it. If I let myself think about how early it is, I'll 9/10 talk myself out of it and go back to sleep.

    I also make sure I get to bed early enough so I'm not wearing myself down with sleep deprivation. No later than 10 is my bedtime, and that means IN BED with the lights out.

    If all that's not working out, I keep a 5 Hr Energy Shot or similar on my nightstand and take a hoot of that when the alarm rings. I hit 'Snooze' once, and by the time it goes off again, the caffeine has kicked in and I'm ready to party.
  • scottwheeler75
    scottwheeler75 Posts: 31 Member
    Another thing, make that morning workout a time that is set aside for yourself. Getting the workout done before family chaos kicks in is easier than trying to do it in the middle of chaos. Once it becomes a habit, you may find that you start waking up before your alarm goes off!
  • Soulfood77
    Soulfood77 Posts: 211 Member
    I would stress the point alloutof_bubblegum made about going to bed on time. It is so much easier to get out of bed after 8 hrs of sleep than it is after 6 hours of sleep.

    I know when I do morning workouts I feel so much better all day knowing that I am done with my workout!
  • palwithme
    palwithme Posts: 860 Member
    I get up at 4 a.m. and am on the road by 4:15. I pack my bag the night before so I am ready to go. I work out for 2 hours, then go to work. It took a few weeks to get used to but now it has just become my regular schedule. I stop at the same gas station each day and have a large coffee. If I don't have the coffee my work out blows. :)
  • heidispideymfp
    heidispideymfp Posts: 179 Member
    Thanks everyone ! I guess I just have to do it . The thing is, I LIKE. working out, I just have to make time for it
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Drink a cup of coffee before you work out. Research shows that people who drink a cup of coffee before exercising, burn more calories during and and extra almost 100 calories during the day. Also they tend to eat about 100 calories less for the day. It's not a lot, but it could be significant in the long run.
  • heidispideymfp
    heidispideymfp Posts: 179 Member
    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Drink a cup of coffee before you work out. Research shows that people who drink a cup of coffee before exercising, burn more calories during and and extra almost 100 calories during the day. Also they tend to eat about 100 calories less for the day. It's not a lot, but it could be significant in the long run.

    Well that's just an awesome fact!!
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
    Think less. The more I think about it, the more I hit the snooze button.
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    I get up at 445 to have time for coffee and workout before all 4 kids wake up
  • ramdettmer751
    ramdettmer751 Posts: 13 Member
    Before you workout that early make sure to get in food otherwise youll end up with a headache. You do burn more calories going on an empty stomach but its unhealthy since the body needs food for energy. If I find it hard for me to get out of bed I do a light stretch and then go for 50 pushups to get my blood going then I make a meal high in complex carbs and proteins then workout. I hate getting up early in the morning :pensive:
  • dragyou
    dragyou Posts: 83 Member
    Try to rest and go to sleep by 9pm.. That way you have gotten 8 hours of sleep by 5am.. This is what I do.. You wake up well rested and ready to go!!
  • tjcuts339
    tjcuts339 Posts: 188 Member
    Love morning work out ,.Putting the day in prospective. GREAT way to start the day!!
  • mhausler93
    mhausler93 Posts: 83 Member
    I'm having trouble with this too. About 6 months ago, I was in the routine of waking up at 5am to work out M-F. Then, we moved in October. Since then I haven't been able to get back in the habit of working out every morning. For the past couple of weeks I've been trying desperately to get outta bed and just do it. But so far, I haven't. Right now, I'm making excuses. I had open heart surgery 8.5 weeks ago, so I'm in a cardiac rehab program and workout 3x a week after work, so I keep telling myself thats enough. But its not, and I need to do more.

    I suppose just building a habit of it is key.
  • tmoser512
    tmoser512 Posts: 28 Member
    I too share your dilemma as I am used to getting up around 7:30/8am during the week. I'm currently on week 2 of getting up early for a workout and I have found these things help:

    1. My husband committed to helping me get out of bed at 5:30 before I even started this program. He's been wonderful!
    2. Join some type of group. I have found that if I have to be at a specific place at a specific time, I'm more motivated to get up so I won't be late.
    3. It helps to have all of your clothes ready to go.
    4. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee between the time I wake up and when I get to my workout at 6:30am.
    5. I eat a little something for breakfast. The first day I skipped and had a huge headache after.

    I hope it all works out! If you need someone to keep you accountable to morning workouts, shoot me a friend request.
  • heidispideymfp
    heidispideymfp Posts: 179 Member
    Thanks.
    I have a few challenges though. My husband works in a different country so he can't watch the children while I workout , that's why I must do it before they wake. Also can't join a group, go elsewhere to workout , for the above mentioned reason. I suppose I'm just gonna have to get up , and get moving .
    Thanks everyone for all your tips and advice
  • MustLoveCats21
    MustLoveCats21 Posts: 137
    I get up at 05.30 to work out. It's habit. I've been doing it for 2 years.

    For me it's not much of a challenge because I'm already awake that time of the morning. :)
  • kmfc17
    kmfc17 Posts: 4 Member
    For me i either do it in the morning or never because of my kids. So just try to sleep early and dont give yourself a choice.
  • tjcuts339
    tjcuts339 Posts: 188 Member
    If you can do it you will feel ready to challenge all that is brought to you! You have already kicked it. ' Life wil seem somewhat more manageable???
  • heatherannh23
    heatherannh23 Posts: 71 Member
    I listen to podcasts as I work out. Lately it's been Serial. I get up excited to listen to it that I don't go back to sleep once I'm up. Although I'm almost at the end of the season and don't know what to do when it's over.
  • tjcuts339
    tjcuts339 Posts: 188 Member
    heatherannh23 wrote: »
    I listen to podcasts as I work out. Lately it's been Serial. I get up excited to listen to it that I don't go back to sleep once I'm up. Although I'm almost at the end of the season and don't know what to do when it's over.

  • tjcuts339
    tjcuts339 Posts: 188 Member
    Listen to music that gets you going. Rep your fast run Sprint s to your favorites .Pandora as well as others has work out tune s. It helps
  • cupcakebiatch
    cupcakebiatch Posts: 5 Member
    I set my work out clothes out at night and have my coffee ready to go. I set my phone out of reach so when my alarm goes off I have to get out of bed. I also pick exactly what work out routine I'll do the night before. I think if you prep before hand all you need to do is wake up and get that coffee in you and realize you didn't just do all that to skip your work out lol. It takes s couple weeks and then it'll be second nature and just be part of your daily routine :)
  • PositivelyFlawed
    PositivelyFlawed Posts: 316 Member
    edited February 2015
    So funny I was considering posing this exact same question. I'm coming to the conclusion it might just be mind over matter. Ofc i also have an irrational fear of the gym which isn't helpful at 5am. I have tried setting clothes out at night and preparing my meals and such for the day the night before, but all that seems to do is encourage me to hit snooze.

    I think one morning (perhaps when t here isn't 2ft of snow on the ground) i hope i just wake up and it happens because I really think that first time is the hardest.

    Watching this thread with interest
  • notyourkid
    notyourkid Posts: 7
    I tried the whole coffee+podcast+530 am workout. Man, I have to say, I feel so fresh and relieved that I have the rest of the day to run other chores. The biggest worry I have now is to get in bed by 10. That's going to be a challenge. Any tips on that? Also, if you happen to skip one or two days, how do you get back in routine?
  • alyssalaurenniem
    alyssalaurenniem Posts: 6
    I scrolled through and didn't see a mention of it but I use a pre-workout called Energy and Endurance. It's sold by Beachbody; I bought it at the suggestion of my friend. I've known other pre-workouts to be just as good, as well. I wake up at 6:15, mix and drink it in bed, lay down for another ten or so minutes, then get up and work out. I've really noticed a difference! It perks me up (B-vitamin complex can do that!) and improves my workout. I'm not quite used to that early of a schedule yet, I usually wake up at 7:15, but it's made a marked difference.
  • annika_grace
    annika_grace Posts: 2
    I use my treadmill time as my "check Facebook time". Gives me something to look forward to. If that gets boring, I hit Hulu or Netflix.
  • txfatburn
    txfatburn Posts: 7 Member
    I LOVE my THRIVE Plus - Activate. It really does give me sustained energy and better performance. It also is all natural, GMO-FREE and helps with immune support too so killing two birds with one stone. Check it out at http://www.txfatburn.com

    I also drink bulletproof coffee (organic coffee w/ Coffee++ and coconut oil), works amazingly!
  • susi88star
    susi88star Posts: 8
    scottwheeler75 wrote: »
    I have 6:00 am workouts Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. All are swim workouts with a local Masters Swim Team (usms.org). What helps me get moving in the morning is, 1st thing instead of Coffee, get into the shower, that helps wake me up. Second thing that helps is routine, I basically do the same thing each time. 5:00 am, shower, pack my swim bag, leave at 5:30, arrive about 5:45, stretch for a few minutes before, get in the pool at 6. The third thing that helps is the social aspect of the workout. There are usually, 3 to 4 of us in each lane. Getting to know others in and around my lane helps motivate me to be there. I suggest finding people to workout with. Lastly, things like MFP, can help create accountability if you allow it to, tell your MFP friends what your goal is and ask them to check in with you to see if you have accomplished your goal.

    I hope this helps! I find that it is much easier to get up on swim days than the off days, even though I am getting up much earlier.

    -Scott

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