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!
Kelly 11.24.2009
I have started to get up in the morning and go workout before work rather than after. Surprisingly, the thing that gives me the most motivation to get up the morning is the fact that hardly anyone is at the gym that early. I work out at a smaller facility and it gets packed in the evenings. The problem I have though, is that it hits about 2 PM at work and I’m exhausted! Anyone have any ideas on how to give me a little boost of energy to get me through the rest of the day?
Jenna 11.24.2009
Every night when I pack my gym bag I worry that I am forgetting something. I forgot a shirt one day, lol.
Erin 11.24.2009
I love to workout in the morning, your tips look like my routine! My alarm clock is in the bathroom, that way I have to go all the way there just to shut it off. And guess what?! I’m already in the bathroom, so I have no excuse. Get ready and get out the door to the gym. Plus, being at work by 8 and knowing that your workout is done for the day is a great mental boost!
Grace 11.24.2009
I can do the morning workouts in the summer, but I just can’t drag myself out of bed at 6:30 when it’s still dark. My office is 5-10 minutes from my house so I usually get up around 8 and have plenty of time in the morning.
Julie 11.24.2009
I get up at 6:30 every day, but on gym mornings I get up at 4:30. My trick is to relax and wind down before bed so getting at least 7.5 hours won’t be a problem.
Evan Thomas 11.24.2009
I get up at 6:30 to work out and it’s not easy. I just make sure I get enough sleep and that’s the biggest part
Becca 11.24.2009
I am the WORST and I mean worst when it comes to getting up in the morning! I don’t workout and I wait until the very last possible second to get out of bed for work (6:30ish). I am not a morning person at all but I’m going to set a goal to get up 3 days a week and workout in the morning.. that means I’ll have to get up at 5am. Eeek! Thanks for the tips!
Estela @ weekly bite 11.24.2009
I’m pretty avid about working out in the morning! I always make sure to go to sleep early. But my biggest motivator is knowing how much better I will feel getting a morning workout in :)
Sara 11.24.2009
When I played volleyball in college, we used to have 6am practices and I’d always sleep in my practice clothes the night before. That way, I just had to get my shoes on and brush my teeth, and I was out the door! I usually wake up about 5:30am. I have a 10 month old chocolate lab who insists on eating his breakfast the moment HE wakes up. :)
Stephanie 11.24.2009
I get up around 7am for work each day, I used to do the morning workouts at 5:30am when I worked in public accounting (think 14 hour work days… 8am to 10pm didn’t leave much time otherwise :( ) and you are right, once you get used to it gets easier however never fully easy! My best tips for getting outta bed are to avoid the snoooze button at all costs! It sucks me in everytime and I am always late when I hit that thing over and over haha :)
Cynthia (It All Changes) 11.24.2009
I love 2, 4, 7 and 10. I also want to add have a back up plan. For me when I can’t get to the gym because I over slept I like to have a small backup work out at home so I don’t feel like i blew it.
Dawn Hutchins 11.24.2009
I walk in the mornings but do my major work out on my lunch breaks so I pack a weeks worth of gym clothes in the car trunk so I never have an excuse. Plus it has come in handy when I spilled blueberry tea all over my pants at work. I had workout pants to change into!
Mandy 11.24.2009
I love getting up early to work out. It’s my time to do what I want without guilt of being selfish and taking time from my kids. It’s the best way to go for me.
Mara @ What's For Dinner? 11.24.2009
UGH when I forget to put makeup on, there are about 20 students who will say “what’s wrong? you look so tired!”
Mikael 11.24.2009
You are insane… haha jk. I can no sooner wake up at 5 am then get to bed before 11. LOL! I’m one of the people who needs as much advice possible to get out of bed. I’ve had a bad morning workout experience in the past, so I just leave it for after work which works for me.
My best suggestion would be to set multiple alarms and setting them around the room. I have my ipod alarm, phone alarm, and normal bed vibrating alarm (best invention ever!).
Oh, btw–it doesn’t matter when you workout. Yes working out gives you a mental boost in the morning, but it doesn’t boost your metabolism anymore than if you workout at night. I’ve read a ton into this kind of stuff and I’ve heard that was a false impression by multiple sources (Jillian Michaels being one).
VeggieGirl 11.24.2009
I wake up at 6:56am. Yes I know, I’m weird ;)
Leianna 11.24.2009
I got up at 5am for 2 years living in the city and communting in traffic, but upon moving to Iowa and working 2-10/3-11 I can now sleep in till whenever but my internal alarm clock is still set at 7:30-8am!
Great salad leftovers!
Katie 11.24.2009
I work out at 5:30 3 days a week and the other 4 it varies. I get up those days because those are the classes I like so I suck it up and go. Plus it’s on my training plan ;) Um yea I’d be in a blind panic w/o my makeup! Can’t go to work w/o it!
Jess 11.24.2009
Thanks for sharing the morning workout tips. I have been a morning exerciser for several years, but it is almost always hard to get up in the morning. I really like #4 and #5 – that is always the hardest thing for me in the winter, getting up from my warm bed into the cold house!!
One morning at the gym after my workout, I found that my water bottle had spilled in my bag, so I had to dry my underwear and shirt at the hair dryer. It wasn’t until after that that I realized I forgot PANTS! I had to wear my gym pants to work… not fun.
Jessica @ How Sweet 11.24.2009
Well being that I worked IN a gym for the past 5 years, I can still say I had this happen. I work out before all my clients at 5, and many times I forgot my makeup. I was not only sweaty and gross, but looked like a drowned rat!