Early morning risers q&a and tips.
Mark_Joseph
Posts: 101 Member
To those that workout early morning... How are you able to workout early in the morning and why do you do it? Also please give me some tips.
I have been trying to wake up early for the gym but it hasn't really worked out for me. I don't enjoy going towards the late afternoon/night because of how full the gym gets and how much time I end up waiting for certain equipment to free up. I also get a bit anxious lol. Never the less, I am interested in reading stories of those that are able to wake up early to exercise for perspective and possible tips or advice to get up early.
I have been trying to wake up early for the gym but it hasn't really worked out for me. I don't enjoy going towards the late afternoon/night because of how full the gym gets and how much time I end up waiting for certain equipment to free up. I also get a bit anxious lol. Never the less, I am interested in reading stories of those that are able to wake up early to exercise for perspective and possible tips or advice to get up early.
0
Replies
-
Set your alarm, get up, workout! No tips other than Just Do it! Discipline!!12
-
Have a baby.... They are nature's alarm clocks. :laugh:33
-
I know that if I don't get up, have relaxing swim, steam room, free shower and free breakfast, I will get to leave home all of 30mins later in order to miss the traffic, and pay for shower and brekkie. So worth it to get up and go - then if I don't feel like doing anything after work, I don't have to - I have already moved for the day.
Plus I feel grumpy at work if I don't swim.
It did take me a few days to be able to get up with my alarm rather than snoozing 4 times and going for a very quick swim!4 -
Chef_Barbell wrote: »Have a baby.... They are nature's alarm clocks. :laugh:
Truth. Having children changed me from a night owl into a morning person.
I go to bed early and get up early now even though one of my "babies" is an adult and the other is a teen.
I also like the psychological aspect of starting my day with something accomplished. I do 5.5 miles of some combination of running/brisk walking on auto pilot every day and I don't feel right unless I do it. It sets the tone for my whole day.12 -
Get dogs lol jk but they really do wake up ready to go! My best advice is "just do it". For the first few weeks you truly just have to not think about it and do it because there is no magical trick. Tell yourself I can do it today, just for today and make it happen. It's really worth it!
Im in FL currently and if I don't wake up early it becomes to hot to walk my dogs which isn't fair to them.
What ever you do, disable your snooze button and put your alarm clock on a table far enough away that you have to get up to turn it off. Also either sleep in or prepare your gym clothes for the morning. The most important part is making it easy to do. Good luck!3 -
Force yourself to wake up at that time and just do it. Over time it will become routine. Also - go to bed earlier.4
-
I used to do morning gym...
Not getting up early by US standards, but by UK standards. (Surprisingly different in my experience. Really!)
I could get out of bed at 6am, fall straight into my gym kit, grab my mixed-the-night-before BCAA drink on the way out the door, roll down the hill to the station and be in the gym by 7:15am.
Smash out a session, shower, grab breakfast to go, and be at my desk by about 8:30am or whatever (then eat breakfast at my desk).
I managed it through sheer bl00dy mindedness, always having my clothes ready and bag packed the night before, and being willing to leave the house having done nothing more than brushed my teeth and squirted on some deodorant. I never looked good, but it was the only way I could do it.
I also ALWAYS hit a slump by about 2pm or 3pm and wanted nothing more than to go to bed.
Then I moved 50 miles out of London, and my commute got a whole lot longer.
I still belong to the gym near my office because it's AWESOME. But it means I'd have to leave the house at about 5:30am to get there about the same time. Getting up at 5:15am for something other than a flight? Not. A. Chance.
So now I mostly go at lunchtime, don't need the BCAAs because I've eaten a meal earlier in the day, and don't want to fall asleep by 3pm.
The morning gym sessions were undoubtedly time efficient, as I could have lunch with colleagues and do things after work as well, but were never what I would call pleasant!2 -
I workout in the morning because it's the best time to fit it in on certain days. I'm going to have to be up anyway in order to let our dogs out. The idea of lying in bed and then having to clean up three 80 lb dogs' worth of pee puddles is not pleasant. But also, it's the time of day when I have peace and quiet and nobody is going to come down and ask me where the unicorn beach towel is or what we're having for dinner next Monday, and when I don't feel like I should be doing something else like folding laundry or organizing that tiny useless bit of counter space next to the fridge that is only big enough to pile the mail on and thus is loaded with what is probably all junk mail but possibly might be hiding a unicorn beach towel.
Tips - go to bed early, put your clothes out the night before, put together a home gym, grind your coffee beans the night before so that you don't wake your spouse with the grinder, and get a big dog instead of one of those white mop things that yap all the time.7 -
I started early morning gym sessions when we had kids. Get up at 4:15 to get ready, get to gym, workout, clean up, 45 mile drive and at work by 7:30.
I wanted my evenings to be free to do stuff with the family. Unless you have really young kids nobody cares if you work out at 5 AM.3 -
Chef_Barbell wrote: »Have a baby.... They are nature's alarm clocks. :laugh:
I have nature's second best alarm clock, an elderly dog who insists on going out by 5:30 AM.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Chef_Barbell wrote: »Have a baby.... They are nature's alarm clocks. :laugh:
I have nature's second best alarm clock, an elderly dog who insists on going out by 5:30 AM.
Hahaha I have a cat who also needs food at that time and will scratch for a while and then sit on my face until I feed her. :laugh:9 -
I work out in the mornings and it was definitely hard at first, but I wouldn't have it any other way at this point. I'm up at 2:50am, out the door by 3am and at the gym by 3:10am. There are only 3 of us at the gym at that hour (imagine that! ha!) I never have to wait for equipment so I can hammer out my workout in 45-55 min. Every gym I've ever been to is packed in the late afternoon/evening and it drives me crazy to waste time waiting around.
Working out in the morning also really sets the energy level for my day. I'm much more tired if I miss my workout.
My tips would be no hitting snooze, no "back-up" alarm and, like others have said, have everything ready to go the night before. It takes a little discipline, but it'll become habit if you want it to.3 -
I go on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Wednesday I just leave work a few hours early to miss the crowds. I realize everyone can't do that. I am lucky enough to have a salaried position and my boss is awesome.
But Friday and Sunday I find the gym to be pretty empty. Maybe try those days and then try to work another day in somewhere.0 -
oldsoul918 wrote: »I work out in the mornings and it was definitely hard at first, but I wouldn't have it any other way at this point. I'm up at 2:50am, out the door by 3am and at the gym by 3:10am.
This is the kind of thing I could 100% never do.
Massive respect to anyone who can, but WHAT?!
London would still be full of people just leaving clubs on the way home at that sort of time!! (Plus, most gyms including mine don't open until 6am at the earliest...)
Out of interest, what time do you go to sleep to make that work?
Presumably well before 9pm?
I need at least 7 hours of sleep, so I'd have to be tucked up before 8pm. But that's before I get home from work a lot of the time...
In a truly nicely meant and genuinely curious way... HOW?!1 -
I'm a morning person, and I enjoy working out, so that all helps. I work out in the morning before work mainly because I will not do it at any other time. The thing that helps me the most is getting everything set out the night before. Gym bag full with work clothes ready and my gym clothes setting on my shoes ready to put on. It still takes me about 30 minutes to leave the house, but I have kitties that need fed and my son's school lunch (prepared the night before) that I have to finish getting ready with the ice packs and what not. And I make a cup of coffee to consume in the car on the way there.1
-
What do you consider early?
I personally don't know how the people who do 0dark'30 thing, but on the mornings that I ride I'm up at 5:30 or so...I take about 30 minutes to get ready, have a cup of coffee, and just generally wake up and I'm usually on the road by 6AM. I don't really find that to be tremendously early...5:30 seems pretty normal when you're adulting and whatnot...but yeah, no way I could ever do the 3AM/4AM thing...just not going to happen.
I ride in the AM during the summer because it's an inferno here in the desert later in the day...In September I will switch things out to ride in the evening when I get home as the mornings will start getting chilly and dark as fall moves in. In the winter I'll mostly be on my indoor trainer, so I'll just ride whenever.
As the gym goes, I only lift a couple days per week...right after work on Tuesday and then either Friday evening or Sunday morning depending on what I have going on...
2 -
oldsoul918 wrote: »I work out in the mornings and it was definitely hard at first, but I wouldn't have it any other way at this point. I'm up at 2:50am, out the door by 3am and at the gym by 3:10am.
This is the kind of thing I could 100% never do.
Massive respect to anyone who can, but WHAT?!
London would still be full of people just leaving clubs on the way home at that sort of time!! (Plus, most gyms including mine don't open until 6am at the earliest...)
Out of interest, what time do you go to sleep to make that work?
Presumably well before 9pm?
I need at least 7 hours of sleep, so I'd have to be tucked up before 8pm. But that's before I get home from work a lot of the time...
In a truly nicely meant and genuinely curious way... HOW?!
I get that question a lot I go to bed between 7:30 and 8pm. I get off work at 3:30pm so it works out.
I have a lot of people warn me to be careful and more alert just because of the greater possibility of drunk drivers. And to be honest, I do see a lot of crazy *kitten* at that hour!
And a lot of wildlife...just the other day I saw a moose on my way to the gym!
My gym is open 24 hours...that's obviously a must for me. And I haven't always gone this early. It's only been for the past 4 years or so. I took a job that was farther away and had to adjust. Before that I went at about 4am. There's also about 1/2 an hour built in for what I deem my "morning chill time" when I drink my coffee, catch up on emails and just relax before I start getting ready for work.7 -
Prepare the night before, go to bed at a reasonable time and set your alarm clock (2 if necessary). I prefer my 6am Crossfit class because it's less people and it's not 100 degrees (FL). I've been exercising 5-7am for 18 years.1
-
oldsoul918 wrote: »oldsoul918 wrote: »I work out in the mornings and it was definitely hard at first, but I wouldn't have it any other way at this point. I'm up at 2:50am, out the door by 3am and at the gym by 3:10am.
This is the kind of thing I could 100% never do.
Massive respect to anyone who can, but WHAT?!
London would still be full of people just leaving clubs on the way home at that sort of time!! (Plus, most gyms including mine don't open until 6am at the earliest...)
Out of interest, what time do you go to sleep to make that work?
Presumably well before 9pm?
I need at least 7 hours of sleep, so I'd have to be tucked up before 8pm. But that's before I get home from work a lot of the time...
In a truly nicely meant and genuinely curious way... HOW?!
I get that question a lot I go to bed between 7:30 and 8pm. I get off work at 3:30pm so it works out.
I have a lot of people warn me to be careful and more alert just because of the greater possibility of drunk drivers. And to be honest, I do see a lot of crazy *kitten* at that hour! And a lot of wildlife...just the other day I saw a moose on my way to the gym!
My gym is open 24 hours...that's obviously a must for me. And I haven't always gone this early. It's only been for the past 4 years or so. I took a job that was farther away and had to adjust. Before that I went at about 4am. There's also about 1/2 an hour built in for what I deem my "morning chill time" when I drink my coffee, catch up on emails and just relax before I start getting ready for work.
Do you have a significant other that lives with you? That's my hardest part. I'd love to go to bed at 8 or 9pm every night but my DH is a night owl and we have a young child that goes to bed at 8pm. So if we want any adult time whatsoever to watch a rated r movie or tv show, it has to be after 8pm. I usually dose off between 9 and 9:30 but I know he wishes I could stay up later. He works from 8:30 am to 11 pm Friday/Sat/Sun so I do get to go to sleep at my leisure on the weekends!1 -
MonkeyMel21 wrote: »oldsoul918 wrote: »oldsoul918 wrote: »I work out in the mornings and it was definitely hard at first, but I wouldn't have it any other way at this point. I'm up at 2:50am, out the door by 3am and at the gym by 3:10am.
This is the kind of thing I could 100% never do.
Massive respect to anyone who can, but WHAT?!
London would still be full of people just leaving clubs on the way home at that sort of time!! (Plus, most gyms including mine don't open until 6am at the earliest...)
Out of interest, what time do you go to sleep to make that work?
Presumably well before 9pm?
I need at least 7 hours of sleep, so I'd have to be tucked up before 8pm. But that's before I get home from work a lot of the time...
In a truly nicely meant and genuinely curious way... HOW?!
I get that question a lot I go to bed between 7:30 and 8pm. I get off work at 3:30pm so it works out.
I have a lot of people warn me to be careful and more alert just because of the greater possibility of drunk drivers. And to be honest, I do see a lot of crazy *kitten* at that hour! And a lot of wildlife...just the other day I saw a moose on my way to the gym!
My gym is open 24 hours...that's obviously a must for me. And I haven't always gone this early. It's only been for the past 4 years or so. I took a job that was farther away and had to adjust. Before that I went at about 4am. There's also about 1/2 an hour built in for what I deem my "morning chill time" when I drink my coffee, catch up on emails and just relax before I start getting ready for work.
Do you have a significant other that lives with you? That's my hardest part. I'd love to go to bed at 8 or 9pm every night but my DH is a night owl and we have a young child that goes to bed at 8pm. So if we want any adult time whatsoever to watch a rated r movie or tv show, it has to be after 8pm. I usually dose off between 9 and 9:30 but I know he wishes I could stay up later. He works from 8:30 am to 11 pm Friday/Sat/Sun so I do get to go to sleep at my leisure on the weekends!
Yes, I do. He's more of a night owl than me, but on weekdays he goes to bed around 9pm because he goes to the gym at 4:30am. We don't have any children though and he uses that extra hour or so to watch DVR'd shows that I don't watch...like Game of Thrones or Gotham 2 -
I try to golf every morning if I do not have my grandson. Up at 5 am. I feed the cats and clean litter boxes, 2 cups of coffee, unload dishwasher, start a load of laundry and do at least 30 minutes of yoga.. Out the door by 6:30 am and tee off at 7. Most days I golf 27 holes. If I do not tee off early I have to wait until the heat of the afternoon to get my game on. Leagues start at 8 am.
Mornings that I get my grandson I get up at the same time and do 15 minutes cardio and an hour of yoga. Or go for a walk before sunrise
I am in bed between 8-9 pm every night.2 -
I detest getting up early to run, but I do because I can't tolerate the summer heat. I can be up at 3:30am, and out the door by 3:50. I lay all my clothes out the night before and I make sure my alarm is set. And in the morning when I try to talk myself out of getting up, I think about how good it feels to have my run completed before I get to work.1
-
Chef_Barbell wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Chef_Barbell wrote: »Have a baby.... They are nature's alarm clocks. :laugh:
I have nature's second best alarm clock, an elderly dog who insists on going out by 5:30 AM.
Hahaha I have a cat who also needs food at that time and will scratch for a while and then sit on my face until I feed her. :laugh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q 5 -
Oh, yeah, the OP...
I used to train first thing in the morning. I simply set my alarm early, drank a cup of coffee while farting around on the computer, then went. After a short (as in 2-3 weeks) period of time, it was 2nd nature.0 -
I'm truly finding this fascinating.
Obviously there will be exceptions, but I think most Brits would consider anything much before 6:30 or 7am to be early! Something that starts with a 5 is certainly not a normal adulting time here! (Small children aside...)
Maybe it's because our schools start a bit later than US schools, as far as I know - generally registration at around 8:45am for first lesson at 9am, some may be a bit earlier - so the whole day shifts slightly, starting from the age of 4.
Standard office hours are still 9-5, which I guess ties in with the schools. Many exceptions in non-office work, shift based, or even office work linked to industry (who can tend to work factory hours).
Also, our weather's kind of blah year round, so we're not dodging the heat in the mornings.
I'm not sure I know any adults who routinely go to bed much before 11pm.
I'd love to find out if anyone's ever collected the data on nationality v wake up time, but it's be super interesting!
2 -
Thank you everyone that took the time to reply to my post. It means alot!0
-
Like everyone else has said - it's just habit. I get up at 5.20 most weekdays and I'm at the gym ready for my class to start at 6 am. It's hard at first while your body adjusts but if you can get through the first few weeks you'll be fine. I've done it for a few years now and it just becomes routine.2
-
I'm another Brit who finds the whole 'get up at 3.30am for the gym' makes me shudder!!
I am just trying to get back in the habit of morning workouts. I can think of a LOT more excuses after work than my brain can achieve in the morning, mostly revolving around food. So this is what I do -
make sure my gym/running kit is laid out ready (by laid out I mean vaguely folded on the side)
Set my alarm for 6am
DO NOT HIT SNOOZE
DO NOT PICK UP MY PHONE AND CHECK SOCIAL MEDIA
DO NOT ALLOW MY HEAD TO REMAIN ON THE PILLOW
get up, have a drink of water, dress in gym kit, use the toilet, leave house by 6.10/15am
If I'm out running, then I'm usually outdoors, and I'm too far away from home before I realise what's happening to do anything other than carry on. The gym is much better at that time. less people and I don't have to communicate (don't get me wrong, I'm nice really, just not then). My gym opens at 6 and there aren't many people there early.
I do my thing, get home, make coffee etc. shower and get to work. I have an hours commute and a morning start helps me be more alert and able to hit the ground running when i get there.
I prep my lunch and breakfast the night before and don't eat before I get to work.
I take Mondays off and just do a short yoga session. Weekends I try and be up around 8. I go to bed around 10.7 -
Update: Just woke up at 520. It's 536am in California about to go to the gym. I literally put my phone on a shelf to make sure I had get up and reach to turn it off.12
-
It definitely takes some adjustment. I've been doing 5:30am sessions for about three months now and it's finally hitting the "auto-pilot" feeling. Getting your gear together the night before makes things so much easier - last minute scrambles stress me out and make me late.3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions