A lot of people have asked how I get up for a morning exercise routine. Research has showed that getting in a good morning workout jump starts your metabolism, makes you mentally sharper throughout the day and makes healthy eating decisions easier to make throughout the day. But what if you just can’t get out of bed?!
Trust me, I hear you. Leaving your warm, dark bed at 5:15 in the morning is no picnic, but it can be done! Here’s 11 Tips to Get Up for a Morning Workout:
- Make sure you get 7-8 hours of sleep. If you need to get out of bed at 5am, that means going to bed at 9-10pm. Bottom line.
- Plan to meet a friend. There’s nothing worse than knowing you’ll be disappointing and affecting someone else if you don’t get out of bed!
- Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room, or in the hallway.
- Sleep in all your workout clothes except your shoes…trust me this works!
- If it’s cold out, put sweatpants and a sweatshirt under your pillow at night. In the morning, you can put them on under the covers and still be toasty warm when you get out of bed.
- If you’re going straight to work or school from the gym, pack a bag with your clothes/toiletries/everything to get ready, in the car, the night before (and don’t forget the necessities!)
- Allot yourself a set number of snoozes. After you’ve reached your limit – get up!
- Set the timer on your coffee machine. Didn’t you know? The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!
- Reward yourself. Make a goal of 3 morning workouts a week worth a latte on Friday, a cookie at lunch, a day off on the weekend, a cocktail with friends, a movie on Sunday afternoon – whatever works!
- Ease into it. Rome wasn’t built in a day and unfortunately, you won’t be able to start consistently getting up at 5am out of the blue. I’ve been getting up at 5am for 2 years now, and it’s still a struggle some days! Get up 15 minutes earlier every couple of days until you are comfortable and then make it a habit to get up at the same time every single day. Practice makes perfect!
- Just do it. Commit. A workout doesn’t benefit anyone else but YOU!
I particularly like numbers 4 & 6. It’s really awful having to take off the workout clothes you slept in and go into the cold, dark garage to retrieve your bag with all your getting ready stuff, if you end up skipping the gym, sleeping in and getting ready at home!
Megan @ Fiterature 01.09.2012
I LOVE the idea of wearing your workout clothes to bed – no excuses! Question – do you wear your sports bra, too?
One tip for waking up to exercise came from my 70+ year old aunt who has been getting up at 5AM every morning for 20 years. She says, “I don’t negotiate with myself. I made the decision to get up at 5AM and drive to the gym, so I do. But when that alarm goes off, there is no negotiating, no compromising, no promises of doing it later…or it is all over before it began. If I drive to the gym and STILL don’t want to work out, THEN I can go home. But in 20 years, I’ve never turned the car around and gone home.” Mentally….this works for me!
Iowa Girl Eats 01.17.2012
I usually put that on in the morning as I find it hard to sleep in too constricting of clothing!
Megan @ Fiterature 01.17.2012
That is exactly what I was thinking! Thanks for the reply!! PS my husband is from Davenport, so I am by default an Iowa girl!! :-)
black ops bundle 07.04.2011
Commit. The hardest part. Once you’re in, you’re in, though. It’s getting back to that place that’s the hardest.
Erin 02.04.2011
I needed this post :)
Meghan 11.20.2010
I have never heard of sleeping in my workout clothes.. Now THAT opens the door to a morning workout for me!
Fitness Challenge Q&A | Iowa Girl Eats 01.28.2010
[…] 11 Tips to Get Up for a Morning Workout […]
MrsDocChuck 12.01.2009
A woman as comely as you need not even wear makeup!
Me? That’s another story. LOL
Lizzy 11.24.2009
i love all these tips!!! i’ve always wanted to get up at 5am to get a nice workout in! You are so motivational girl! thanks for that!
Amy 11.24.2009
I wake up at 5:05 am. NO SNOOZE (or im done for!) My fiance also wakes up that time too, so that really helps because then im not tempted to stay in bed! once i hear the alarm, i race downstairs for water and mix it with an emergen-c, airborne, or something with vitamins! it really helps. I tell myself “just think how good you will feel once your done” and it really really works.
Sassy Molassy 11.24.2009
I usually get up around 645am with time to take the dog for a 15-20 min walk and then do about 15-20 min of yoga/abs/pushups afterward. Then I do a bigger workout after work.