Morning Motivation
brenstar05
Posts: 70 Member
How do people who work out in the morning motivate themselves to get up out of bed and to the gym (or outside or in front of the DVD player, etc.)? I have such a hard time waking up in the morning when the alarm goes off. No matter how prepared I am... clothes set out the night before, bag packed, go to bed early... nothing helps.
Looking for suggestions on how to train my body to wake up earlier....
Looking for suggestions on how to train my body to wake up earlier....
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Replies
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Get to bed early regularly- one or two nights won't do it.
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And then I set like 5 alarms- and I tell myself I'm a fat lazy a22hole if I don't get up.
it works about 25% of the time.0 -
I second the going to bed early and regularly. If I don't get to bed early, then all bets are off. I also try not to make it a choice. Like showering in the morning - not really a choice I make every morning, I just do it. I try to get up and work out without thinking of it as a choice.0
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My problem is I go to bed early ONCE- toss and turn for like an hour- don't sleep well- wake up a lot- then complain
- "SEE I WENT TO BED EARLY AND IT DIDN"T DO ANYTHING.
reality is- REGULARLY going to bed early is the trick- one night doesn't do anything for you.
And of which I'm horribly at doing that- which is why getting up in the AM is complete and utter torture.0 -
I gave up trying to get up as I have never been a morning person and getting to work at 8am is a struggle. By accepting that I am not a person who can wake up at 5am and workout and finding time to do it during lunch and after work with my kids and all, I have found greater success because it is sustainable for me. You got some great feedback from the early risers above, so I thought I would offer another option :-)0
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Set your phone/alarm clock away from the bed. Put it somewhere far enough away from you that you have to get up to turn it off. At least this is what I do and once I'm up I go to the bathroom, and by that point I'm too awake to go back to sleep. But everyone is different.0
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Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Set your phone/alarm clock away from the bed. Put it somewhere far enough away from you that you have to get up to turn it off. At least this is what I do and once I'm up I go to the bathroom, and by that point I'm too awake to go back to sleep. But everyone is different.
My BF called and woke me up- so I got up- walked into the kitchen (still on the phone) made coffee (like the filter- the water- not just turned on the pot) and after we hung up I walked back to my room and fell back asleep.
Yeah- that trick DEFINITELY doesn't work for everyone LOL0 -
Step one, commit to a fitness goal. Now, when I say commit, I mean commit like you would when you tell your best friend you’ll pick them up at the airport at 5am. Guess where you are at 5am? Yes, because you committed to something (or in this case someone) you care about.
Step two, plan ahead. Have everything set up for a quick dress and go. Also, go to bed early enough to ensure you’re getting enough sleep (very important).
Step three, know thyself. I set my alarm clock where I have to stand up and walk across the room to turn it off. I also have a wife who I don’t want to wake up. The result, I usually wake up before the alarm goes off.
Other things that can help:
- Have someone else who will hold you accountable (work out buddy, trainer, or MFP friends).
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol or anything else that will disrupt your sleep.
- Don’t beat yourself up if you miss here and there. If I didn’t rest well, I value sleep over the workout (it is a stress, cortisol and testosterone thing). Just re-establish your priorities and hit it the next morning.
- Hopefully, the workouts are something you generally enjoy. If not, explore whether there are other things you can do to meet your goal that you’d enjoy more (e.g., a group class vs working alone).0 -
Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Set your phone/alarm clock away from the bed. Put it somewhere far enough away from you that you have to get up to turn it off. At least this is what I do and once I'm up I go to the bathroom, and by that point I'm too awake to go back to sleep. But everyone is different.
This is what I do, or at least I used to before insomnia started waking me up at 2 a.m. every.damn.day. If my alarm was within reach, I'd hit snooze over & over & over again.
Now that I'm always up before the a$$crack of dawn, I figure I might as well use the time to work out.
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Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »But everyone is different.
My BF called and woke me up- so I got up- walked into the kitchen (still on the phone) made coffee (like the filter- the water- not just turned on the pot) and after we hung up I walked back to my room and fell back asleep.
Yeah- that trick DEFINITELY doesn't work for everyone LOL
My husband is like. But like I said, everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you.0 -
I gave up working out in the morning. That time just was not good for me because I would hit snooze all of the time and tell myself well if you get up in 5 minutes you can have X amount of time to work out. The workout for me never got done. I had to switch to the evening.0
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I have to set 2 alarms because I rarely wake up on the first one & I hit snooze in my sleep. I have my clothes & shoes right beside my bed so it's easy to pull them on. Hit the bathroom, then put the DVD in & get water while it loads.
The biggest thing was having a workout I was looking forward to doing. I have DVD workouts that I really enjoy so they're a great way to start my morning.
That being said, there's no reason you HAVE to get up in the morning. It won't work for everyone & if working out in the evening works for you, stick with that
*edited for spelling0 -
I've always been a morning person, so I don't know if this will help. But it's more of a mental thing for me. I like to exercise, but for me it's nice to know that doing my workout first thing in the morning means I won't have excuses for not doing it later in the day (too much homework, want to hang out with friends, etc.). After 8 months of MFP it's just a habit to wake up at 7:30, change right into exercise clothes, and work out.0
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Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »But everyone is different.
My BF called and woke me up- so I got up- walked into the kitchen (still on the phone) made coffee (like the filter- the water- not just turned on the pot) and after we hung up I walked back to my room and fell back asleep.
Yeah- that trick DEFINITELY doesn't work for everyone LOL
My husband is like. But like I said, everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you.
Yeaaahhh when BF dearest and I move in- we are going to have some problems- mostly because he's a one alarm kinda guy- and I have like... 5. It's pathetic.
if you look up "not a morning person" in the dictionary- you'll see something along the lines of "see also Jo"0 -
Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »But everyone is different.
My BF called and woke me up- so I got up- walked into the kitchen (still on the phone) made coffee (like the filter- the water- not just turned on the pot) and after we hung up I walked back to my room and fell back asleep.
Yeah- that trick DEFINITELY doesn't work for everyone LOL
My husband is like. But like I said, everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you.
Yeaaahhh when BF dearest and I move in- we are going to have some problems- mostly because he's a one alarm kinda guy- and I have like... 5. It's pathetic.
if you look up "not a morning person" in the dictionary- you'll see something along the lines of "see also Jo"
He'll probably do you like my husbands sometimes does me (especially during the week days lol). Help you get up by just pushing you out of bed lol.0 -
Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »But everyone is different.
My BF called and woke me up- so I got up- walked into the kitchen (still on the phone) made coffee (like the filter- the water- not just turned on the pot) and after we hung up I walked back to my room and fell back asleep.
Yeah- that trick DEFINITELY doesn't work for everyone LOL
My husband is like. But like I said, everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you.
Yeaaahhh when BF dearest and I move in- we are going to have some problems- mostly because he's a one alarm kinda guy- and I have like... 5. It's pathetic.
if you look up "not a morning person" in the dictionary- you'll see something along the lines of "see also Jo"
He'll probably do you like my husbands sometimes does me (especially during the week days lol). Help you get up by just pushing you out of bed lol.
probably- LOL- when i DO get to sleep in- and he is up (very rarely) before me- he'll make me breakfast and coffee and bring me coffee. Which is a hell of way to wake up for sure LOL
Regular days- I guess I'm *kitten* out of luck.0 -
Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »But everyone is different.
My BF called and woke me up- so I got up- walked into the kitchen (still on the phone) made coffee (like the filter- the water- not just turned on the pot) and after we hung up I walked back to my room and fell back asleep.
Yeah- that trick DEFINITELY doesn't work for everyone LOL
My husband is like. But like I said, everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you.
Yeaaahhh when BF dearest and I move in- we are going to have some problems- mostly because he's a one alarm kinda guy- and I have like... 5. It's pathetic.
if you look up "not a morning person" in the dictionary- you'll see something along the lines of "see also Jo"
He'll probably do you like my husbands sometimes does me (especially during the week days lol). Help you get up by just pushing you out of bed lol.
probably- LOL- when i DO get to sleep in- and he is up (very rarely) before me- he'll make me breakfast and coffee and bring me coffee. Which is a hell of way to wake up for sure LOL
Regular days- I guess I'm *kitten* out of luck.
Ha at least you found one who can work the coffee machine lol. He can scramble some darn good eggs though.0 -
bah- the pool is full of really crappy fish- if you find one good at something and makes you happy- you take it and learn to make your own coffee- and or alarm clock LOLMrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »But everyone is different.
My BF called and woke me up- so I got up- walked into the kitchen (still on the phone) made coffee (like the filter- the water- not just turned on the pot) and after we hung up I walked back to my room and fell back asleep.
Yeah- that trick DEFINITELY doesn't work for everyone LOL
My husband is like. But like I said, everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you.
Yeaaahhh when BF dearest and I move in- we are going to have some problems- mostly because he's a one alarm kinda guy- and I have like... 5. It's pathetic.
if you look up "not a morning person" in the dictionary- you'll see something along the lines of "see also Jo"
He'll probably do you like my husbands sometimes does me (especially during the week days lol). Help you get up by just pushing you out of bed lol.
probably- LOL- when i DO get to sleep in- and he is up (very rarely) before me- he'll make me breakfast and coffee and bring me coffee. Which is a hell of way to wake up for sure LOL
Regular days- I guess I'm *kitten* out of luck.
Ha at least you found one who can work the coffee machine lol. He can scramble some darn good eggs though.
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bah- the pool is full of really crappy fish- if you find one good at something and makes you happy- you take it and learn to make your own coffee- and or alarm clock LOLMrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »Mrsallen6_11 wrote: »But everyone is different.
My BF called and woke me up- so I got up- walked into the kitchen (still on the phone) made coffee (like the filter- the water- not just turned on the pot) and after we hung up I walked back to my room and fell back asleep.
Yeah- that trick DEFINITELY doesn't work for everyone LOL
My husband is like. But like I said, everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you.
Yeaaahhh when BF dearest and I move in- we are going to have some problems- mostly because he's a one alarm kinda guy- and I have like... 5. It's pathetic.
if you look up "not a morning person" in the dictionary- you'll see something along the lines of "see also Jo"
He'll probably do you like my husbands sometimes does me (especially during the week days lol). Help you get up by just pushing you out of bed lol.
probably- LOL- when i DO get to sleep in- and he is up (very rarely) before me- he'll make me breakfast and coffee and bring me coffee. Which is a hell of way to wake up for sure LOL
Regular days- I guess I'm *kitten* out of luck.
Ha at least you found one who can work the coffee machine lol. He can scramble some darn good eggs though.
lol true
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following.
for me, setting an alarm clock far away helps most. i saw one that goes off and has wheels, it literally rolls away and you have to find it to shut it off lol
i usually open my blinds up too, bring the sunlight in. however, in the winter that isn't always helpful.
i find making my bed helps too. it gives me satisfaction knowing i completed a task so early in the morning. plus, if my bed is made, i am a lot less likely to jump in it and go back to sleep bc im a lazy *kitten* that hates making beds....and no, i wasn't always a bed maker lol
if all else fails, force yourself to take a shower. that usually works for most.0 -
or, hey, if the first thing u do in the morning is take your bedding to wash all of it, then you probably wont find going back to sleep appealing..that would take a lot of effort to find the linens and plus even if you did do it, id be willing to bet you would be too awake to go back to sleep
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Falling2Grace wrote: »following.
for me, setting an alarm clock far away helps most. i saw one that goes off and has wheels, it literally rolls away and you have to find it to shut it off lol
I've also heard of one that is a puzzle and it explodes when it goes off, and you can't shut if off until you've put it back together.
If either of them were in my home, they would be destroyed after the first use.
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I just started doing this. What worked for me was setting my coffee maker on a timer to brew at 5. Lol.
Yep
Also I get up early every week day, whether I'm going out or not. I think that really helped my body get used to the new schedule. I actually really enjoy getting up early now because now I can have me time before I have to go to work. And I also have time to get some things done like laundry and dishes so I don't have to when I get home at night.
I'm so proud of myself lol0 -
Falling2Grace wrote: »following.
for me, setting an alarm clock far away helps most. i saw one that goes off and has wheels, it literally rolls away and you have to find it to shut it off lol
I've also heard of one that is a puzzle and it explodes when it goes off, and you can't shut if off until you've put it back together.
If either of them were in my home, they would be destroyed after the first use.
I down loaded a math one- thinking it was going to be like I dunno- 5-12 or something.
No- that bish was like (5*62/7^2)/42.
like- *kitten*.
It was so bad I had to get my fcking calculator out- and then- even THEN when I got it right- it still wouldn't' shut off- was going for like 2 hours.
that got uninstalled promptly.
I use sleep by droid now- and it has basic math- has a shake one (you shake the phone for a specified time/filling up a % essentially) and has one that's like- pick the one sheep with its' eyes open of the 15 that are sleeping (and they move).
It's not to bad- it's been my favorite thus far.0 -
Thanks everyone!! These are good tips and I appreciate the encouragement. I have never been a morning person. When I was in college, if a class was only offered at 8am, I took a different class. I just have never been an up-with-the-sun kind of person. But I've noticed that as my life gets more and more hectic with my chosen career, I have less and less energy to workout in the evening. So, then it turns into another day where I didn't work out at all. I appreciate all the input!!
I took some of the advice and moved my alarm clock to the other side of the room, so I would have to actually get up and out of bed. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well last night so when the alarm went off this morning, I got up and reset the alarm and went back to bed. But hopefully I can keep working at it and make it more of a habit.
Thanks again!!
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I pack my bag the night before, put my alarm on the other side of the room on the loudest setting and get right up when it goes off. I also disabled the snooze feature. Once you're out of bed it's way easier to go make coffee and head out the door.0
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I am absolutely NOT naturally a morning person.
You have to go to bed early every night and get up early every day. After a couple of days of being exhausted all day, you get tired enough to fall asleep earlier.
The thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is knowing that I would have to do it after work otherwise. I always think about all of the other things I want to do after work and decide I had better get it out of the way.
I'm going to look into those puzzle alarm apps. I bought a Ramos alarm clock through their kickstarter campaign a couple years ago but gave it to my daughter. It has a separate keypad, you have to go to the keypad and enter a numerical code that changes every day in order to get the alarm to shut off.0 -
I meet with my personal trainer at 5 am twice a week. Having an appointment that I can't miss is the best motivation for me. I also have to be in bed by 8:30, asleep by 9:30 the nights before.0
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I'm another that found I had to give up the dream of working out in the mornings. I always considered myself a morning person and watched my father get up and swim 1 mile each weekday for my entire childhood. I assumed I could do this, too. BUT, I found I could not. Since I have switched to working out after work, I find myself going 4-5 (usually 5) week EVERY week this year so far. Sometimes, morning just isn't best.0
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Just do it every day until it's a habit. once it's a habit u don't even think about it. It's like having coffee every morning ....you do it without thought. Same with the workout after coffee.0
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