How do others motivate themselves for early workouts?

Steel6981
Steel6981 Posts: 154 Member
edited September 28 in Health and Weight Loss
I know the best time for me to workout that will not get interrupted is about 4:30 in the morning, a half hour before I usually get up. My husband works third shift and my daughter will be asleep so it's guaranteed "me" time. Anyone else get up early and how do you stay motivated to do so?

Sue

Replies

  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    I dunno, but if you find out the answer let me know ;).
  • 5weeks
    5weeks Posts: 38
    The same way I wouldn't skip work, I just get up at 5 am and do it:flowerforyou: Plus then it is over with for the day and you don't have to worry about it:smile:
  • nlshell
    nlshell Posts: 2
    I'm in college, so waking up early goes against the trend. However, I joined a class that allows me to workout with the ROTC, without an enlistment commitment. It's three days a week at 6am. I get a credit for the class, so that is part of the motivation. If I don't show up, I won't get the credit. I also love getting the workout out of the way, so I have the afternoon to do whatever I want to get done.
  • rundgrenfan
    rundgrenfan Posts: 211
    I've started getting up at 5 am (when my husband wakes up) to "jalk"(jog/walk), but only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. My motivation is partly that it will be nice and cool and quiet outside, and that I will let myself sleep in until 6 am the rest of the week. Now that I've been doing it for about five weeks, I think about the feeling that you get when the workout's over and how it will be so great to start the day with that feeling!
  • lcs1211
    lcs1211 Posts: 121 Member
    I also get up around 4:30 or 5:00 am to start my workout. I feel better all day long and I don't have to keep thinking I have to make time to workout. IT'S DONE!!!! It becomes a habit after a while. I still get up earlier on Saturday and Sunday so I can get my workout in before I get started with my day!
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
    Are you doing a workout that you enjoy? That really helps with motivation to get out of bed! I HATE getting out of bed early for anything. But, last week, I rode my bike to work a few times and found myself willing and able to get out of bed because I was looking forward to that bike ride!
  • dcmat
    dcmat Posts: 1,723 Member
    SImple for me - i cycle 21 miles to work and back again, so if i didn't get up at 5.00 to sort the animals I wouldn't be able to leave by 6.20 to get in just before 7.45!
  • Nanadena
    Nanadena Posts: 739 Member
    I work out in the morning because it is just the best time for me physically.:happy:
  • mikeyrp
    mikeyrp Posts: 1,616 Member
    By doing it with a friend. Its much harder to let someone else down!
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    i also have to get up around 4:30 or 5am, before the kiddos wake up, to guarantee quiet time when i know I won't be interrupted! I set my alarm and just do it! Once I'm up, it's easy. I also go to bed early, most days I wake up on my own before the alarm goes off! not getting enough sleep will make it nearly impossible to crawl out of your warm bed while it's still dark out......I also know that if I don't do it, I will feel like a slug the rest of the day.....
  • dmoses
    dmoses Posts: 786 Member
    I also get up around 4:30 or 5:00 am to start my workout. I feel better all day long and I don't have to keep thinking I have to make time to workout. IT'S DONE!!!! It becomes a habit after a while. I still get up earlier on Saturday and Sunday so I can get my workout in before I get started with my day!

    Exactly this!
  • lindsaylove07
    lindsaylove07 Posts: 444 Member
    We're in a heat wave in Texas (which means instead of the normal 100*, it's 115* by 1030am)

    So the *50 degree weather at 6 is what gets me up at 8 on a Sunday, I end up running in comfortable 80 degree heat
  • Soccer_Chick
    Soccer_Chick Posts: 204 Member
    I get up at 4:10 AM to go to the gym. On those days that I'm having a hard time getting out of bed I think about how great I will feel the rest of the day knowing that I have put in my workout and it is in the books. No way I can "get too busy" later to do it, or get off track if something else comes up later in the day. It's done and the rest of the day is mine. Also the endorphine rush from the workout stays with me all morning and makes the day that much nicer!
  • stephilderton
    stephilderton Posts: 25 Member
    Precisely. The greatness of getting up that early to work out is the fact that when your day is nearly over and you're dreading the idea of the gym, you can take a deep breath and know that it is already DONE!
  • happy_jax
    happy_jax Posts: 289 Member
    Yeah...like everyone else - no "special secret" I'm afraid. I think the main motivation is just that you've set yourself up for the day in the best possible way. Okay, so you had to get up a couple of hours earlier than normal but you feel even more energised (at least for the morning!!) :laugh:

    Plus I tend to find that even in my most 'hardcore' of working out periods, there is always something that gets in the way of an "after work" workout. A meeting over runs, the cat has to go to the vet, you need to clean, you get a better invite with your friends... if your workout is already done, you can do all of those things as well!
  • fsugirl26
    fsugirl26 Posts: 207
    It's hard to get that initial motivation, but now that I've been working out in the mornings before work, my body is used to it! It's so nice working out first thing and getting it over with so you can just relax at the end of the day!
  • Section117_Zolos
    Section117_Zolos Posts: 71
    I did my spinning class at 6am because that's when I can fit it in.

    Everyone thinks I'm crazy for that early, but I'm usually up anyway...
  • dlpnrn2b
    dlpnrn2b Posts: 441 Member
    I workout in the AM because I know myself, If I do not do it , it will not get done that day... well I have worked out in the later day but it absolutely drains me being weighed down by eating all day, sitting and watching tv, playing with kids etc etc.. but if I workout in the mornings, it seems to give me all kinds of energy :) the motivation is when I can pull up my size 10's and they actually go past my thunder thighs..lol and just this week I have caught myself having to "tug and pull them up" throughout the day so even though the scale has stopped the inche took over!!
  • veggievixen
    veggievixen Posts: 36 Member
    Getting to sleep early. I didn't work out that early but I got up to go to work between 4-4:30 for work for many years and the only things that kept me going were getting to sleep by 9:30 and not hitting the snooze button ever. I usually put my clothes folded right next to the bed, so that I didn't have to waste minutes groggily searching for items when I could have been sleeping.
  • Atthea
    Atthea Posts: 53
    I work out before I take my shower !
    That way, it is impossible to get out of the house or to get dressed before I have worked out !
    It's a bit like brushing my teeth !!!

    Depending on my day I do more or less of a long workout...

    AND I tell myself that it's only 5 days...Week-ends will be week-ends......:wink:
  • HappyathomeMN
    HappyathomeMN Posts: 498 Member
    The first few weeks are the hardest! But once you get used to the up early part, you can enjoy the fact that you have already accomplished your exercise and no matter what happens in the day, you have those available calories in your bank.

    I have found that it has helped with the afternoon sleepy feeling, it's not nearly so bad on days when I have gotten up and done my thing. I am happy for the rest of the day once I am done with my morning run!
  • ShaeDetermined
    ShaeDetermined Posts: 1,525 Member
    pretty much what everyone has been saying:
    just do it!

    i set my alarm for 5:15 mon-fri and its part of my routine. <snooze is NOT an option!>
    even if i'm exhausted to the core once i start working out i forget all about it.
    its a great feeling.

    as a side note, on weekends i am so much more sluggish in the mornings because i dont get that 'first thing in the morning' workout....
  • sassycurlzss
    sassycurlzss Posts: 47 Member
    I'm NOT a morning person!! I set my alarm 30 min earlier then I want to get up! So I can get up lol! It's true if you get it done in the morning then you don't have to worrie about it later and you can eat correctly for the day and not have to cram in good to meet your goal. Still I can't do it everyday. ;)
  • Frozenmango
    Frozenmango Posts: 207 Member
    These are some great suggestions! I too like to work out in the morning, i love having the workout out of the way before breakfast (or shortly after) but I am SO not a morning person. I know a lot of it has to do with the time I go to bed though. I've always been a nightowl, and trying to break that pattern is hard. I'll have to make a solid effort into going to bed earlier so I can get up and get that workout done early. It's true that when you do, you feel better and have good energy for the day - and what better way to start than to have your body burning calories from hour one?
  • dodd319
    dodd319 Posts: 228
    I get up at 5:45am and walk 2 miles. I go to work from 8a - 1:30pm, come home to my 2 kids & 2 kids we babysit, my husband leaves for work at 2:15pm and gets home from work at 11:30pm.

    I'm not a morning person but it's the only time that my husband is home with the kids so I can go.
  • melzteach
    melzteach Posts: 550 Member
    Same here. If I wait to "work it in later" sometimes there's never time. Plus since it's summer my kids will watch me, which weirds me out, and /or comment on how I'm doing compared to the people on the DVD. They even know some of the names form when I did P90X. :-)

    During the school year, I'm a teacher, I have to get up at about 4 so I've got time to wake up, grab a quick protein shake, and drink some water. If I get up any later then I'm rushing to get ready and then the kids have to rush and we most likely will be late to school...which I HATE.

    I like getting my metabolism revved up at the beginning of the day, too. Then I don't have to worry about what I'm eating and how hard I have to work to burn it off. I know exactly how many calories I can have at each meal. Since I live in South Texas it gets pretty hot in the summertime and I'd rather workout when it's a little bit cooler. We don't have central heat/ac, so during the winter I'd start working out with warm jammies, at least two t-shirts, several pairs of socks, a sweatshirt, gloves, my bathrobe and sometimes a hat! Then I'd gradually shed layers as I got warmed up.

    I think you HAVE to be dedicated and have your head in the right place. I know that I will never get the results I want if I don't put in the effort on a consistent basis. Plus at this point, 170 days of exercising, I love the feeling. In one of my Turbo Fire workouts Chalene says that you get addicted to intense exercising and the endorphin high you get when you're finished. "We're here to support you in your new addiction!"
  • beverlyl64
    beverlyl64 Posts: 381
    Same here. If I wait to "work it in later" sometimes there's never time. Plus since it's summer my kids will watch me, which weirds me out, and /or comment on how I'm doing compared to the people on the DVD. They even know some of the names form when I did P90X. :-)

    During the school year, I'm a teacher, I have to get up at about 4 so I've got time to wake up, grab a quick protein shake, and drink some water. If I get up any later then I'm rushing to get ready and then the kids have to rush and we most likely will be late to school...which I HATE.

    I like getting my metabolism revved up at the beginning of the day, too. Then I don't have to worry about what I'm eating and how hard I have to work to burn it off. I know exactly how many calories I can have at each meal. Since I live in South Texas it gets pretty hot in the summertime and I'd rather workout when it's a little bit cooler. We don't have central heat/ac, so during the winter I'd start working out with warm jammies, at least two t-shirts, several pairs of socks, a sweatshirt, gloves, my bathrobe and sometimes a hat! Then I'd gradually shed layers as I got warmed up.

    I think you HAVE to be dedicated and have your head in the right place. I know that I will never get the results I want if I don't put in the effort on a consistent basis. Plus at this point, 170 days of exercising, I love the feeling. In one of my Turbo Fire workouts Chalene says that you get addicted to intense exercising and the endorphin high you get when you're finished. "We're here to support you in your new addiction!"

    I like to work out in the morning also, so no one watches me. My husband likes to make his cute little comments, nice but......hard to concentrate. Plus it does get my metabolism rev'd up, and I feel so much better. I get so much more done during the day and I lose the "I don't want too's" Chalene also says "You can do anything you tell yourself you can do" One of my favorite sayings. I hear her voice in my head all the time and this keeps me motivated. I agree with others finding a workout you love to do is another great way to stay motivated. I feel like I have missed something when I don't do my Turbo Fire workouts, like a missed a day w/my best girlfriend.
  • Steel6981
    Steel6981 Posts: 154 Member
    Thanks everyone! It seems determination and discipline are the answers until it becomes a natural occurrence. It helps to see so many who are doing it and getting results. Thanks for the input:flowerforyou:
This discussion has been closed.

Categories