Early morning workout people....

I'm a morning person anyway, so it's not to hard for me to get up that early to exercise.

Plus, with two small children and working full time, it's really the only time I can fit it in!

I've always been a morning person, too, so this wasn't a big stretch for me. I work out at home, so I get up at 4:30, drink a smoothy/shake, and am on my elliptical by 5. I tried eating just a little something - banana and some PB - but that made me sick. I have to stick with the liquids! It only took me a few days to get used to getting up a little earlier. I LOVE the way I feel afterwards, knowing I've done good for myself so early in the day. If I get another workout in, that's a bonus. Otherwise, I know I have it done for the day!

Good luck!

I personally like to do my cardio while fasting but if you get dizzy maybe have a half cup of oats before hand, I eats egg whites and veggies about 15 minutes after cardio. I just got used to doing my cardio early in the morning and strength train in the afternoon

I have been thinking about this as well. I only get to see my son for a couple hours a day when I get home from work so I hate to take time in the evening to workout. My only issue is that I am naseous in the AM and I have terrible back pain for about 30 mins in the morning from my bed..

I am NOT a morning person at all, so I understand completey. But for the past month I have been getting to personal training by 5AM twice a week and to my gym to work out a few other days by 6 AM. I set both my alarm clock and the alarm on my cell phone (15 mintues apart), in case I shut one off and fall back to sleep. I also have a "work out buddy" who will sometimes call in the morning to encourage me to get my butt up!! I do find it necessary to go to sleep by like 10 pm to be able to function by 5 AM, and acutally I would like to get to bed even a little bit earlier. The biggest thing though, is that once you get into this routine, it will come easier and easier to you. GOOD LUCK!

I use to think that I didn't have time in the a.m. to get my butt up and around and work out.

I go to bed about 10 ish. I get up about 5 ish, use the bathroom weigh myself, throw on what ever grab my water bottle and just do it!

It feels good knowing I have a decent workout in the a.m. before my day begins. I work 9 hours days 6 days a week. I am a also a mom. I think the key is you want to want it, and no excuses.

The first few mornings I felt foolish, thinking I am nuts I could be sleeping!!!.....But then I soon realized how much better I felt. It gave a great boost to my mornings!!!

Best wishes!

I have been getting up at 4:15am on week days to work out for the past three months. Some days are easier than others. It really depends on what time I get to bed the night before, I try to be in bed by 9:00 pm at the latest but prefer 8:00-8:30. I will say that I find I have more energy now than before. It is starting to become routine because I find myself waking up before the alarm goes off and earlier on the weekends or days that I don't work. Not at 4:15 but earlier than before. I have also found I like working out better in the morning. As for eating, I usually stick with a slice of whole grain toast and a little peanut butter or almond butter. I am not a morning person and it killed me the first few weeks but I slowly and I mean really slowly, adapted.

I get up at 5:00am each day and walk the golf course with my husband. I do this because its really the only time he has to exercise and that's before work. After he leaves, then I hit the pavement or the gym for a harder workout for myself. Its this way for me......if it doesn't happen in the mornings.......it doesn't happen at all! Therefore, I guess I have become a morning person.
Now I'm sleepy in the mornings but I knock back 1 cup of black coffee and get out there and go. I've been doing it so long that if I don't, the day feels all wrong.

I don't think I could ever exercise at night. Because I get up so early, and exercise so hard, I'm ready to crawl in the bed at 8:00 half the time!

There is one perk to getting up early and going to bed early. I'm a night time snacker. If I stay up, I'm gonna EAT!

How long until you felt GOOD about getting up to workout? (when did it become a habit?) -It didn't take me long to get used to. I was making excuses in the afternoon so I needed to get it done in the morning and get it over with. I changed one single thing. I went to bed earlier so I could get up earlier. I am not a morning person and I still am not a morning person, but I get up and do it and have not missed a workout (other then vacation or taking a week off) in about 8 months.

What do you eat/drink beforehand? (I tend to get light headed when I eat nothing before a workout) I eat a bowl of oatmeal with a tbsp of pb and fruit mixed in.

What time do you go to bed in order to have an easy wake up? (if this exists haha)- It depends on what time I am planning to get up the next day. Usually I go to bed about 9:45 and get up about 6:15. If I have to get up earlier then I will go to bed earlier. I aim for 8 hours of sleep a night and that is usually what I get.

Are you going to be doing double workouts? I wouldn't recommend that....you will get burned out REALLY fast. I work out in the morning and watch what I eat, there is no reason to workout more then once in a day unless you are doing a short amount each time, which it sounds like you aren't. You can get things done in an hour or less, 5 days a week and get in great shape, but the diet is going to have to be important also.

Morning workouts changed my life and I will never go back. Who wants to work out after working a full work day? I sure don't! Good luck!

I've NEVER been a morning person, at any point in my life (I'm 41). But earlier this year I forced myself to start getting up at 5:45am to workout. I was waking up at 7:00 prior to the change, and staying up until 1am or even later. It was HARD to get up in the beginning. I had to force myself out of bed. I used methods like putting the alarm clock across the room, setting the timer on the coffee pot, laying out my workout clothes and HRM the night before, etc. I would be yawning through the workouts on some days...

But over the course of about a month or two, my body started getting used to it. I started going to bed earlier which helped a lot. Over the past several months, my workouts have gotten longer, and I've had to adjust my wake up time from 5:45 to 5:30, and now to 5:15. Bedtime is now about 10pm on weeknights. But it's like second nature to me now to get out of bed at 5:15. I even wake up a few minutes before the alarm sometimes.

The routine now is wake at 5:15, immediately eat a banana, drink 16oz of water, sip a cup of coffee, use the rest room, and then workout starting between 5:45 and 6:00.

I do my workout first thing in the morning, sometimes a little later if my daughter wakes up as early as I do. For me, it was difficult to get up early, but after several months I found that my body will not sleep any longer than eight hours. So, I make sure that I am giving myself that eight hours of sleep every night. If I am unable to do that I find my workouts are much harder.

As for the eating part... try eating a bit of protein. The dizziness could be your body's way of saying it is low and needs an energy boost. I have learned to enjoy egg whites, they are really low in calories (16 cal. avg. depending on size) and you can eat several of them. You might try eating one right afterwards as well.

I am not a doctor, so this is just what I find that works for me. Hope this helps. If not, you might try talking to your doctor and seek his/her advice.

This has probably been asked but how the heck do you do it? -- You just do it. Make it a priority and a habit.

How long until you felt GOOD about getting up to workout? (when did it become a habit?) -- it didn't start feeling good until I was doing it EVERY weekday. 2-3x a week doesn't work - the sleeping later days in between are just too nice. 5x a week and it's much easier.

What do you eat/drink beforehand? (I tend to get light headed when I eat nothing before a workout) -- nothing for a normal, every day early workout (5:30am). Something like a fiber one bar or toast and pb if I'm doing a longer run (6+ miles).

What time do you go to bed in order to have an easy wake up? (if this exists haha) -- I don't go to bed until 10:30-11 most nights and my alarm goes off at 5:10. Most of the time that's a fairly easy wakeup.

Any pointers? -- lay out your clothes ahead of time. make it a habit. don't hit the snooze button.

I am in general terms a morning person, so that helps. I get up at 5am to workout. But all I have to do is let the dogs outside for their morning business and then go down to the basement, put on my workout clothes, and start moving. If I had to get up and get ready and drive to the gym it would be more difficult for me.

I don't eat anything before my morning workout. It makes me feel yuck to eat that early and then to work out right away. I am more one of those people that have to follow the pool rule... ya know that "wait 30 minutes after eating before swimming" rule we heard as kids. Yeah, that applies to me and workouts. I workout for 30-45 minutes in the morning, drink a bottle of water, take a shower, then prepare a breakfast before heading to work. I then generally do a different workout routine each evening.