I swear by morning exercise. If it doesn’t happen in the morning, chances are it’s not happening. And while I may be a “morning person,” waking up early to workout isn’t always easy for me either! I definitely don’t think working out in the morning is for everyone and you should do what works best for you, however, I think anyone can be a morning exerciser if they want to be.
Here are some of my own tips/tricks for getting up for a workout:
- Go to bed early. Start doing gradually, there’s nothing worse than trying to go to bed so early that you’re wide awake and end up tossing and turning half the night. Aim for just 15 minutes earlier a night. I find that reading before bed helps (as well as shutting down all electronics at least 30 minutes beforehand).
- Plan. Know exactly what workout you’re going to do the next morning. Have your running shoes ready, your outfit picked out and your bag packed. I may have gone to sleep in my workout clothes before.. once or twice..
- Be realistic. I know that 5am is just too early a wake up call for me to maintain on a regular basis. So instead, I wake up at 6am, or even 6:30, and do a shorter, more efficient workout. I never really go to the gym in the morning because that takes up extra time, so instead I do quick at-home workouts or run outside.
- Seek out motivation on social media. This is sort of a new thing I do now when I’m finding it hard to get out of bed: go on Twitter. Instantly, I see tons of tweets about people’s awesome workouts and I want to join in.
- Stick with it. It will get easier as you get into a routine. Don’t give up!
- Just do it. The first two minutes of waking up is hard, and then you’re awake and it’s 100% worth it. I promise! Sometimes I’m literally giving myself a pep talk as I pushing myself out of bed. (Or play this video as soon as you wake up/while you’re getting ready: How Bad do you Want it?)
This is so me:
Are you a morning exerciser? If so, what are some of your tips? If you prefer to workout at night/after work, please let me know your secret!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I am a morning exerciser in general I would say, but during the school year I rarely work out in the morning anymore. I am just so much more productive at work at 6:30 am than I am after the kids leave, so I really need to get there then to get everything done I need to. I also will never be one to wake up at 5 on a regular basis and so, there it is. I did used to work out in the morning more frequently but I’ve been pretty good at going in the afternoon the last few years so it’s working. I even have done some spinning classes and swimming at night (like 7 or later) but usually I’ll only do that if someone is going with me
On the weekends, I definitely work out in the morning though. Good tips!
Super, so when I come back you can motivate me to work out at night when my mornings are too busy!
I am not a morning exerciser… I will get up at 5 am 1-2 days a week on weeks when I have evening commitments, but it’s really hard for me. I can only get in a 30-40 minute workout, which doesn’t allow for a very long run, so I will do a recovery type run if I do run in the morning. If i didn’t have to be at work so early, I would be more apt to work out in the morning!
For me, I need to have an accountability partner. So I usually tell Amber when I am planning on working out in the morning… The last thing i want to do is tell her I didn’t end up working out, so it keeps me from pushing snooze and skipping the workout.
An accountability partner is a great idea! I need to get me one of those : )
These are great tips! Morning exercise is something I did all throughout high school and college, literally waking up between 5:15-5:45 am every day. The thought now seems overwhelming because I haven’t been training my body to do it for the past three years, but I really want to get back to it because of all the reasons you mentioned. It feels so good and makes it impossible to create excuses later in the day! Thanks for the kick-in-the-pants tricks – I needed them.
No problem, Jenn! Good luck!
I actually think #4 was a huge part of what turned me into a morning runner. If all these other people could work out in the morning, why couldn’t I?? That and my nights just got too busy to work out at night.
Social media and the blogging community are such great motivators!
I like doing a few stretches and crunches in the morning but no more than that. I have tried running in the mornings but eating before makes me sick and stitch-y, while eating after means I quickly feel faint and can’t go for long!
I prefer to run on weekend afternoons, and try to fit in one weekday evening run. The key for me is eating enough at lunch to keep me going through a post-work run until dinner.
I couldn’t have read this at a better time… my husband and I are training for our first marathon in February, and we just spent time this morning talking about how we want to slowly transition to working out in the morning, since running after work isn’t working as well as it could. Thanks for the tips!
Yay! I’m glad you found it helpful : ) Good luck with marathon training!