How to become a morning exerciser?!?

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. I know the only thing stopping me is me AND the feeling of having a bad run in the morning when I know I run better in the evening (but a bad run in the morning is better than NO run in the evening which is almost always the case!)

My water bottle is filled, I have a piece of fruit waiting for me in the kitchen, and my alarm is set! Hopefully the morning is a success. I'm only trying to be a morning runner 3x/wk, Mon, Tues, and Thurs, the days when I work crazy hours. So if I get up for tomorrow mornings workout then I don't have to do it again until Monday!

I have not been as diligent with exercising lately. I have finally reached my goal of being able to run 3 miles without stopping and I am soo excited! My plan is to run those 3 miles 3-4 times a week and then take a workout class 2x/wk such as zumba/pilates/yoga and do the 30DS however the problem is I am NOT a morning exerciser. I just can't run in the morning...I usually have my worst runs in the morning...its like the first movement my body does in the am just can not be running or my body hates me lol. However, I have been finding lately that I am just too tired after work to go to the gym and run (especially the past 2 weeks since I have been working extra hours). The best time for me to run would be the afternoon however with my job that is just not a possibility, I barely get a lunch break. So my options are morning or evening. If I leave it until the evening then there is a 50/50 chance I will get it done.

So my question is....are you a morning exerciser? Are you naturally that way or did you have to become one because of your schedule? How do you do it? It is just sooo easy to hit the snooze button and say you will do it after work and then after work it is just sooo hard to get moving! I need help because I desperately want to be a morning exerciser at least 3-4 times a week so I can make sure I get my runs in! I know I just have to get up and do it but any help or motivation will be appreciated.

Wish me luck...my alarm will be set for 1 hour earlier then usual tomorrow.

Set your alarm. Allow at least 2 hours before work: 30 minutes to get ready (wake up, restroom, breakfast, water), 1 hour for the workout (even if you take less than 1 hour) and then 30 minutes to wash up/get ready for work.

It'll take some practice, and allowing that extra hour or so for warm up/cool down really helps. Before running, try doing jumping jacks, lunges, and planks for 3-5 minutes to warm up. Once you get moving, it's easier to hit the workout.

I know your pain. The best way to start is to just DO it and don't even think about the fact that you're doing it. Have your workout clothes all laid out, your water bottle at the ready, etc. the night before so when you wake up you have less of an excuse to not get going.

Good luck!

Hi! I am a morning exerciser. I get up at 4:30a and I'm usually at the gym by 5a. I love, love this schedule bc it works for me. I'm a SAHM with 4 kiddos to manage, and that "job" officially begins around 7am. After that, all bets are off on getting my workout in for the day, ha!! By getting it done early, it assures that it gets done. I have found that I have more energy and motivation in the morning than in the afternoon, and it starts my day off super right when my workout is the first thing I do.

Now, bc I get up so early, I am usually in bed by 9-9:30p. I am fortunate that the hubby will make sure my 2 oldest get to bed since I'm usually in bed before them. And it can be a pain to need to be in so early some nights, during social events and such. If I have to stay up later, I will generally move my workout to later in the day because I have found that my workouts are pretty crappy if I try to do them on less than 7 hours of sleep.

I love doing the workout thing so early, being done before most of my neighbors are even awake -- it's a nice feeling!

I've always been a morning person, so working out in the morning is just a natural fit for me. However, it has not always been easy. In the past, there were too many days where I hit snooze and skipped working out.

My motivation to get that work out done early - I know at the beginning of the day how many 'extra' calories I'm going to have for the day. It takes the pressure off my food choices; I know I have some extra calories to play around with if I want to.

Now, instead of forcing myself to work out a couple of times a week, I look forward to working out every morning and can't stand to skip a day.

I am a morning exerciser mainly because I don't have the time to do it in the evening due to having 3 boys that have after-school activities to go to. When I did have the option to work out in the evening, I found it much more difficult to stick with any routine because I was usually exhausted by the end of the day and the last thing I wanted to do was go to the gym. Now, I feel strange if I'm not up by 4 am to workout. The advantage to getting up that early is, there is much less traffic at the gym and if I decide to run in my neighborhood I don't have to worry about too many cars coming and going.

How do you become a morning exerciser??

Honestly, you suck it up when the alarm goes off and just get out of bed. It's not easy. Many times in the past I have wanted to wake up early and exercise only to hit the snooze and go back to sleep. If you aren't a morning person, then you really have to want it to become one. What I mean is you really have to want to achieve your goals. Obviously if you are trying to become a morning exerciser it is probably because you don't have time in the rest of your day to exercise regularly. I switched my exercises to the morning to ensure I would get them in. Those first few weeks of getting up at 5am were rough. But as time went by, I really started to enjoy my mornings. Now with my new workout schedule, I am up at 3am three times a week and heading to the gym. I look forward to my workouts and I never complain about getting up early to do them.

Some tips to help make the transition:
*Get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off.
*Turn on the light in the bedroom or living room so your body stops producing sleeptime hormones.
*Have a cold glass of water or anything else that will wake you up.
*Find an exercise you enjoy doing. If you actually want to do the activity, then waking up early won't seem like such a chore.
*Go to bed early enough so you aren't overly tired when its time to wake up.

I understand how you feel! I've been transitioning to become a morning exerciser. I go through a lot just to wake up here's my schedule:
Before I go to bed I put a bottle of water and piece of fruit on the night stand to get me functioning without excuses. I'm sleep by 1130
5:00am first alarm goes off at 10min intervals.
5:30 2nd alarm a bit louder and snooze at 5 min intervals.
5:46 3rd alarm at 3 min intervals
all the overlapping alarms get so annoying I've no choice but to activate my brain to turn the phone off. I then turn the light on. Eat my morning snack. Take care of other business etc...by that time I'm up with time for a 30 minute work out.

Might not work too well if you have a SO next to ya or need more than 30 min dor a workout lol