Seeking advice - can I make myself a morning person so I can exercise before work?

[Anonymous]

OP, I have the same problem - two young kids, and I'm struggling to find time to fit in workouts. I know I should get in a morning routine, but it's hard for me both because I have a difficult time convincing myself to wake up and because my husband leaves for work in the wee hours and it's never a sure bet that the baby will sleep past 6am.

I aim to get at least four good workouts in a week, and get creative with how I schedule them. Two are on the weekend. For the other two, I've managed to find time by:
- completely preparing dinner ahead of time (crock pot or something), handing off the kids and minor dinner prep activities to my husband, and going out for a 30-40 minute run. we all eat together as soon as i get back
- exercising as soon as the kids go to bed (if I wait any longer, it won't happen). i'll change into workout clothes before the bedtime routine and head out as soon as I kiss them goodnight.
- going for a run at lunch during work

I agree that you need to get to bed earlier. I aim to be alseep by 10:30 every night and still have a difficult time getting up by 7. To really make morning workouts work, I think I would need to be trying to get to bed by 9:30.

[Anonymous]

You absolutely can do it! Here's what I tell my clients (I am a trainer) to help them with early morning motivation -

Go to bed at a decent hour.

Put your shoes, socks, shorts, sports bra, tshirt... and water bottle right beside your bed. Trying to find workout clothes in the morning keeps a lot of people from working out, believe it or not. Some of my clients actually sleep in their workout clothes.

Put the alarm clock all the way across the room.

Find a workout buddy to keep you accountable.

Remember that if you can do it for 30 days, it will become a habit. And it will get much easier after only two weeks. Tell yourself you are going to get up and work out every day for five days. Once you do that, just add more days.

You can do it! I run early in the morning. Sometimes that means I get up at 4:45. It's still the best way to start your day. That early morning workout will provide energy, focus, and a sense of well-being that will last you all day long!

[Anonymous]

I have one young child (2), DH and I both WOH. He works weekends, though, so exercising on the weekend consists of a few random lunges with a toddler in my arms Here's what I do:
-I wake up at the a$$crack of dawn - 4:30. I sleep in my workout bottoms and sports bra. Shoes, socks, and top are on the bathroom counter. Everything is ready to go. I minimally get ready, make coffee, let the dogs out and feed them. Tiptoe out of the house before DD or DH are awake.
-At the gym by 5, I have until about 6:15 or so. That is plenty of time for a class.
-Take the fastest shower known to man and spend 2.7 milliseconds to make myself look professional. Breakfast is 2 hardboiled eggs in the car, and coffee. At work by 7am.

This is dependent on the following:
-I have no qualms about going to bed at 9pm (most days it's more like 10).
-DH can entirely handle the AM routine on his own - in fact, they are so accustomed to it, that if DD sees me the whole morning is shot. Just that thought alone gets my ass outta bed.
-I leave my hair dryer in the car. I take it into the gym bc it is faster/better than theirs - secons are precious - and i know that if I sleep in, I will wind up at work with wet hair ;-(
-I used to put my alarm clock across the room, so that I had to get out of bed to turn it off.

If you do this for 3 weeks or so, it will become a habit and you will be a weirdo like me

[Anonymous]

You can totally do it. I do think that some people are wired to work out better at different times of the day, like a PP said. I HATE working out after noon. My workouts are never very good or very long, and it takes me a lot of motivation to work out at 5pm. I can do 6 am no problem.

It helps to get up at the same time even if you aren't going to work out, though . So, if you're going to work out MWF, also wake up at 6 or 5:30 or whatever on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Use the time to make dinner or do something else. You do need to get to sleep earlier though. I work out 5 days a week (sometimes morning, sometimes lunch) and shoot for 7.5 hours every night.

[Anonymous]

Go to sleep earlier. 10 pm on normal nights, and 9 pm once a week.

It's much easier to skip the snooze button and get out of bed quickly when you're RESTED!

[Anonymous]

You can totally do it, OP! I am SO not a morning person, but before I got pregnant with baby #2 I started doing morning workouts a couple days a week. In my opinion, the keys to making this work are:

1) Getting to bed earlier the night before to ensure you get enough sleep.
2) Not expecting to work out every day or even close to that (I would do a couple days a week).
3) Doing a short workout at home so that you get to sleep in as much as possible - I did the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and each workout is about 20 minutes, but they really work you hard.

You can do it!!!

[Anonymous]

I am not a morning person but had success with a 6am bootcamp. At first the accountability/fact that I knew it was expensive helped. Doing a killer workout first thing ensured that I got enough sleep, for that first month I was dog-tired by 9. (when I started going less often and got more in shape I could stay up til 10 or so).

Partners adapt. They learn if they want sex they have to go to bed earlier. Mine admired my newfound willpower (and, eventually, body) and was supportive after initial skepticism. I don't do morning workouts anymore for a variety of reasons, but my current partner and I handle evening tiredness and mismatch by having sex in the morning. The wood is best then anyway

The key to any new habit is to anchor it to existing patterns. I didn't sleep in my workout clothes but I did lay them out in the bathroom. Then as I sat there half-asleep after peeing, it was easy to pull them on, and then voila, when I stood up I was mentally halfway to my workout already, instead of halfway back to bed. I got myself to the bathroom by moving the alarm in there so I'd be there when I hit snooze.

[Anonymous]

I posted earlier about trying to exercise after kids go to bed or having husband handle dinners a couple nights a week so you can work out. I think the people saying "you can do it, just go to bed earlier" are being a bit unrealistic. I feel like I'm similar to OP, even more of a night owl. I absolutely love my down time at night after the kids go to bed, and it would be nearly impossible for me to give that up. It's probably the best quality time my husband and I get together too, since we both tend to stay up late watching some favorite shows talking about our days, family plans, etc. It's much easier and less stressful for me to squeeze in 30 minutes on the elliptical (we have one in our basement) in the evenings, and then do a couple longer workouts on weekends, than to cut 2-3 hours out of my evenings and get up at the crack of dawn.

[Anonymous]

Aren't all humans morning people. Because they had to be to be able to survive and get enough food, water and shelter? Those with night owl genes died out, no? And isn't that why people who have night jobs have a tendency to become sick/get diseases because humans need to sleep at night and be awake when there is natural light?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the same, and something that helps me to get up earlier consistently is our alarm clark that has a light that slowly increases in brightness for half an hour before your alarm time.

Also, I've done the thing of going to bed in workout clothes and putting socks and running shoes next to my side of the bed, and that has also helped.

What kind do you have? Is it worth the money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't all humans morning people. Because they had to be to be able to survive and get enough food, water and shelter? Those with night owl genes died out, no? And isn't that why people who have night jobs have a tendency to become sick/get diseases because humans need to sleep at night and be awake when there is natural light?

Nope. LOL though!

[Anonymous]

Nope, night owl here, always have been. But I need to switch around my biological clock so will pay attention to the tips above. Thanks to everyone.

[Anonymous]

I used to be a total night owl. Now I go to bed early and wake up early or very early. It helps that my husband is an early riser and likes to go to sleep early, but I've also learned that I just feel better on this schedule. The key for me is to get enough sleep. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You absolutely can do it! Here's what I tell my clients (I am a trainer) to help them with early morning motivation -

Go to bed at a decent hour.

Put your shoes, socks, shorts, sports bra, tshirt... and water bottle right beside your bed. Trying to find workout clothes in the morning keeps a lot of people from working out, believe it or not. Some of my clients actually sleep in their workout clothes.

Put the alarm clock all the way across the room.

Find a workout buddy to keep you accountable.

Remember that if you can do it for 30 days, it will become a habit. And it will get much easier after only two weeks. Tell yourself you are going to get up and work out every day for five days. Once you do that, just add more days.

You can do it! I run early in the morning. Sometimes that means I get up at 4:45. It's still the best way to start your day. That early morning workout will provide energy, focus, and a sense of well-being that will last you all day long!

NP here. PP, any tips for dealing with nausea? When I workout super early in the morning (5:30-6) I have a lot of nausea and actually feel tired and sick/crappy later in the morning, like around 9-10. Any idea for what the problem might be?

[Anonymous]

I am a night owl by nature, but could never make an evening exercise routine stick. The only times I have managed a consistent workout routine is by doing it in the morning. Since I am very sluggish in the morning, I have found that it helps to not jump right into the exercise (I exercise in my house using DVDs). I set the coffe to brew just before 5am so it's ready when I get up around 5:15am, and then I spend about 10-15 minutes drinking coffee and writing in my journal or watching the news before I workout. It is much easier mentally to get moving at that point than it would be if I jumped right into the exercise upon waking. I also sleep in yoga pants and t-shirts (which were my pajamas even before I started this routine) so all I have to do is add the sports bra and sneakers.