MORNING EXERCISERS - What's the earliest you get up for a work out?

Balaru
Balaru Posts: 203 Member
in Getting Started
I guess I'm going to have to set that alarm clock for 5:30 a.m. It's only an hour earlier. It shouldn't make that much difference, right?

I tried a 5 a.m. spin class twice and it totally threw my day off. But I've got to get back to it.

What motivates you to get out of bed and get that body moving?

Replies

  • jvcjim
    jvcjim Posts: 812 Member
    i'm out the door by 5am, i wake between 4 and 4:30... have not used an alarm clock in decades... there is no rest for the wicked!
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
    3:30am sometimes it's the only way to fit it into a work day. Thankfully lately I've been averaging around 8am-9:30am though.
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
    I used to LOVE getting up at 5am and going for a 3-4 mile run. I haven't been able to do that in years though.
  • AgentFlex
    AgentFlex Posts: 211 Member
    My alarm is set for 4:30, usually warming up to lift somewhere between 5 and 5:15. What motivates me? Getting it done before I have a chance to not get it done.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I usually set my alarm for 5:15am. I have to be at work at 8, leave by 7:30. This gives me time to do a good 40-50 min dvd, shower, coffee and get all ready for work(even feed and walk the dogs) before 7:30. If I have an early meeting I might set the alarm for 5:05 and do a slightly shorter, maybe 30 min or so dvd and leave by 6:50. I try to get up by 7 on weekends, as to not disrupt my sleep schedule too much.
  • Kati9408
    Kati9408 Posts: 67 Member
    If I go out in the dark in my neighborhood I will have to be really fast so I prefer to go when the sun is up.
  • KKishaA
    KKishaA Posts: 160 Member
    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    Usually 5:30, sometimes if I don't need to be at work right at a certain time I'll push it to 6. I also try to be consistent, and wake up around that time even if it's a rest day. The consistency has really helped. So has getting everything ready the night before, like a workout and a work outfit, breakfast and lunch, etc.

    Same here. I find that prepping the night before was the trick to allow me to be consistent with early morning exercise. If I didn't prep the night before, I would find I woke up to exercise 60 mins but would waste time trying to decide what I should do. By the time I decided, I would have less then a half an hour to do something, which left me feeling dissapointed.
  • divcara
    divcara Posts: 357 Member
    My earliest session is 5am. I wrote something similar in a another post that fits a bit here -

    A big part of it is just making that commitment that you are going to do it. You have to do it even when you are NOT motivated. But the more you make it a habit and part of your routine, it just becomes something you "do." Like showering. Or making your bed. Required. Not an option. No excuses.

    I have found with that mindset, I end up conserving so much willpower and mental energy. Instead of this back and forth internal struggle of "I should go to the gym" vs "But I don't feel like it," I don't even give myself the option to not go. Now instead of making excuses in my head, it's become a stubborn pride and determination how to make it happen. It saves me so much mental energy trying to "get motivated" in the early am when I just want my bed. Because if left to how I feel in that moment, oh I'm going back to bed.

    I lay out my clothes, sneakers, fitbit, water bottle, car keys, literally everything the night before, set my alarms, and it's just a given. So much of it is just getting myself there. Because once I'm there, I'm there. But then I love leaving with that feeling of being awake and alive and energized, endorphins flying, feeling accomplished and ready to attack the day. Your workout is in and over before most of the world is even awake. I was NOT a morning person before this, but I have really come to appreciate and enjoy those early morning hours while the world is asleep. And I love driving in the morning with no traffic. Leave with the moon still out. Drive back from the workout and watch the sun rise. There's a routine and quiet peace to it.

    The other thing that helps me is having a set appointment with a trainer, or signing up online for a class that's going to charge me a fee if I cancel or don't show, or telling a friend I'll meet them there. Anything that gives that accountability factor helps. Even texting someone every day that you made it to your workout. Someone or something that holds you accountable.

    And get to sleep early. Shut down the computer, log off social media, turn off the tv. And after awhile you realize that you don't even miss the tv, you have your own time back, you sleep well, and haven't missed out on much. And the more progress you make in the gym, the more you start really appreciating that optimal recovery sleep and desire to get back at it the next day. ;)
  • Alienique
    Alienique Posts: 122 Member
    Wow, a lot of people on here are such early-risers :open_mouth:
    In order for me to be functional and wake up 5AM, I'd have to go to bed at 10PM at the latest, which is rarely possible for me.
    Which is why I wake up at 7-7:30AM, do half an hour of yoga, and on the days that I do exercise more intensely, it ends up being an evening workout.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    5am is about the earliest I'll do.
  • emmooney235
    emmooney235 Posts: 85 Member
    I have to be on the road at 6:30 to make it to work by 7. So, I get up about 3:45, at the gym about 4:10 (it's only about 4 blocks away), workout till about 5 then back home to shower and eat. It's the only way to get into the weight area. And there is something deliciously satisfying at having 5k steps by 8am.
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
    I think for me the greatest part of my early workouts is that when I get in my bed at night I sleep all through the night. I used to have pretty restless nights so when I started working out and sleeping well all night that is enough to motivate me to get up early. There are also other points, I feel that it starts my day off on a better note and the early AM gym people are the coolest ;)

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