How do you get up early??

S

Shaz

Cathlete
It looks like a lot of the ladies here get up very early to exercise. Do you have any tips for someone who is not a morning person??

I usually exercise in the evenings but am finding it harder and harder with work and relationship commitments. As a result, I'm not always as consistent as I would like. I want to get in the best shape I can because my partner and I plan to try to get pregnant soon (yay!!)

I would love to work out for 45 mins to 1 hour every morning before work, but find it so difficult to get out of bed already. I seem to need 8-9 hours sleep as I tend to wake up a few times in the night. How many hours do you sleep? Also, if you are hungry, what is a good light snack that you can have and still exercise?

Thanks in advance!
 
Besides setting the alarm earlier, and going to bed earlier, there's no simple recipe that just sheer determination. Since you aren't a morning person, maybe as sooon as you get home from work, jump right into it.

My Hubby, sons, and dog will keep all my time if I let them. I carve out some time .. some days it's the morning, sometimes, early afternoon (I work second shift). I will get my workouts done!!

You gotta make time for yourself. THere's no other way.

Good luck!


CeeCee


Slow and steady ain't a bad thing!
 
I used to be a morning exerciser. I'd get up at 5:00 a.m., work out until 6:15, then get ready for work. I didn't eat before I exercised, but would have some juice and eat breakfast when I was done. The trick is...1) go to bed at a reasonable time, 2) force yourself out of the bed! It's a mental discipline thing, really. Sometimes you don't want to do it, but you have to remind yourself how good you'll feel about yourself after you've done the workout.

Maybe put your alarm clock across the room so you HAVE to get out of bed. Put your exercise clothes right next to the clock so you'll see them when you get over there.

If you're wondering why I don't work out in the morning anymore, it's because I start work at 7:00 a.m. now and have to be up at 5:00 just to have enough time to get ready and make the commute. 4:00 a.m. is just TOO early to be getting up. I'm a morning person, but that's insane. :D

My preference on when to work out, though, is the morning. You get it out of the way and it kind of sets your day off on the right foot.
 
I am just a morning person. I get up everyday at 4:45. I have a cup of coffee and go on line for a while. Than I walked 3-5 miles everyday and than I do a Cathe video. This week I am doing CTX. I also go to bed by 9pm. I get home from work at 5:30 make dinner, watch the news and get ready for bed. I do go out but I am home by 10:00 or 10:30. I think some people are just morning people. It is easier to get your workout done in the morning because I know I could find a millon reasons when I get home not to workout.
Take care,
Susan
 
Oh, man! I did that too when I worked on first shift. I had to do it then, for when I got home .. utter chaos and madness! Ha!

Now that the time's about to change, it's too dark to think about that time of the morning as an option!


CeeCee
******

Slow and steady ain't a bad thing!
 
Every now and then I get into an a.m. routine but it is hard. I am so NOT a morning person. Things that helped me:

1. Pick workout the night before and put into VCR; pick high fun value workouts at first for added motivation
2. Lay clothes out the night before and set across the room; some people suggested sleeping in them even

Colleen
 
Shaz --

The answer is "you just do it". I wasn't a morning person either, but now I get up between 4:30am and 5:00am every weekday to exercise before I go to work. It takes about a month to develop the habit. Until then, you just have to do it. Before you go to sleep at night, tell yourself you MUST get up in the morning -- no negotiating in the morning. Try the following helpful tips (well, they helped me anyway):

1. Someone already said this one (move your alarm clock across the room). You will have to get up to turn it off, but then stumble into the kitchen (not back to bed).

2. Drink a cup of coffee. It takes me a good 20-30 minutes to wake up in the morning. So I drink a cup of coffee (and it doesn't bother me on an empty stomach) while watching the morning news.

3. Lay out your workout clothes the night before.

4. If you are SO tired and just lay there thinking sleep sounds better -- just ask yourself how you'll feel later that day when remembering that you let yourself down. I also used to ask myself the following two questions: #1 What is the alternative to working out? (ie, not working out and feeling bad was my answer), #2 How bad do I want this? (ie, pretty bad -- I want to be FIT).

5. Take a shower (this one wakes me up when I'm REALLY tired) or wash your face with cool water and brush your teeth.

The first month is sheer will. After that it becomes the norm. When I was in college -- my days didn't start until noon or 1:00pm sometimes. Now I can't imagine sleeping that late. It just goes to show you that ANYONE can become a morning person if they really want it bad enough. But you have to want it bad enough to do what it takes!

Shonie
 
I'm not a morning person either. The "you just do it" thing is right on. I will say this though--after the workout you'll feel great b/c 1) you're practicing self-discipline, which always feels good, & 2) it's really a great way to start your day--second best in my book!
 
I'm a morning person but it is still hard to get out of bed. I'm pretty motivated to get up though.

I lay out my clothes the night before and have my gym bag packed. I know what my workout is going to be. If I'm working out at home, I put the DVD into the machine before bed too.

It helps to splash water on your face and get the sand out of your eyes. I make sure that my ipod is all charged up with good workout tunes ready to go.

You just have to set yourself up for success and do your best. But of course, you have to just do it.

No magic bullet, you have to make yourself do it until it becomes routine. Depending on you and your personality, it may take longer than you expect.

Good luck!!

Danna

There isn't anything i like better than to be showered, dressed with makeup all done and a good workout under my belt by 6:30 in the morning!
 
Susan....I am up about the same time as you and have that same cup of coffee and go online. I do think there are just morning people too. I have always been one. I have also on occasion done a workout in the afternoon. I usually have alot more energy in the morning. I sometimes work til about 7:00 PM so working out after wouldn't be a possibility for me.

There are some good tips here so maybe converting is a strong possibility...:)...Carole
 
Hi Shaz!

I have always been a morning exerciser..my husband's alarm goes off at 4:50am but I snooze it till 5:00am. Some days it's soooo hard but I always think that if I don't exercise this morning I will (1) feel guilty for having not worked out and (2) feel tired and lousy for the rest of the day. All i have in the morning is water and head downstairs for some personal time with Cathe. By the time I'm done..i'm drenched and feel so invigorated. Nothing beats a morning session. The odd time i do workout in the afternoon i feel bloated cuz i've been eating all day. I'm in bed by 10pm every day including weekends (unless we've gone out)which keeps my body on a schedule.

It takes real determination to work out early but once your body gets acclimated (hey that's a Cathe-ism)it will become second nature.
 
I get up 7 days a week at 6am, and exercise is one of the first things on my agenda. One of the biggest things that helps get me out of bed on those days when I just don't want to is to brew my coffee in a machine with a timer. Before bed I set up my coffee machine, and time it to turn on at 6am. On the days I don't want to get out of bed real quick, I think about my coffee waiting for me downstairs, hot and delicious, and how bitter it will taste if I leave it much longer. For me, this works like a charm. Don't underestimate the positive effects of addiction :D

Secondly, I make sure I go to bed by 10pm every night.

I'm thinking of getting up at 5am, when we turn the clocks back an hour, and people here have given me some great ideas to help.

Cheers!
Sandra
 
one thing to add...

i found setting a bedroom light on a time helped a ton. and it was a light across the room so i had to get up. plus there's something that makes it easier to get up when it's not so dark!
 
Set the alarm, turn on all the lights and get to work. I never could do it either but this works for me now. Can't do aerobics early in the morning, but weight training is fine for me. Just roll out of bed and get busy! I start at 5AM (Monday-Friday)
 
Thanks everybody - there are some useful tips here. I plan to start Thursday and Friday this week - GENTLY with just the lower and upper body add-ons from the basic step tape. I won't need to get up much earlier for these. Hopefully next week I'll get back to more intense workouts. Thanks for the tips, eg getting everything prepared before bed. I already have a bodyclock alarm clock (www.lumie.com) so waking up with the light on will help. It also helps to know that all of you are doing the same (although as I'm in the UK I'm probably in a different time zone to most of you!)

I'll let you know how it goes...
 
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