Morning Motivation - Get up outta that bed and...exercise!

By Randi, on August 4th, 2010

So I know I probably said this before but I hate waking up early. HATE IT. If I don’t have to wake up for work until 7am getting me up any earlier is almost impossible. If you do get me up I am a grump and please say nothing to me until I am fully awake. Sometimes though when I know I have a busy day ahead of me that may not allow me to get in my customary evening workouts I have wake up early to ensure I get my exercise for the day. Because of the reasons above I have come up with some fool-proof ways to ensure that I actually wake up and get out to exercise.

1.Prepare everything the night before

I make sure I gather all my workout gear in one place. This includes my sneakers, HRM (Heart rate monitor) and earphones. The fact that when I get up I don;t have to look for stuff (just the thought of it is enough to keep me from getting out of bed) is an automatic motivator. I usually make sure to leave a granola bar with my stuff also.

2. Grab a buddy

This is huge for me! Having a friend (or your SO) come with you to the gym or for a run ensures that you will wake up. If you don’t that means they will have to hit the gym or run alone which defeats the whole purpose of asking them to come along with you. Plus it’s kinda rude and who wants to be that type of friend?

3. Do an activity that you actually like.

Make sure you plan your activity according to your mood. If you don’t feel like a run early in the am don’t run. Plan ahead sometimes I am in the mood for a run, other times I am in the mood for a quick 20 min Biggest Loser workout. Also plan for how long you intend to do said activity. Make sure it’s something you want and actually somewhat enjoy doing to make it that much easier to get out of bed.

4. Start slow

When I first began thinking of early morning workouts I knew that it would be hard for me. So I chose in the beginning to only wake up 20 mins earlier than usual. I didn’t get much exercise done usually just some stretching but it allowed me to acclimate my body to waking up earlier than usual.

5. Choose specific days.

This is a great motivator. If you know that your morning workouts only land on Tuesdays and Thursdays this allows you to get yourself ready. Leaving it up to chance and saying “maybe I will workout out in the AM a few days this week” is almost always gonna lead to you hitting the snooze button and saying “tomorrow” before you know it the entire week has past and still no exercise. Also it doesn’t have to be the same days every week, you know variety is the spice of life!

Do you have a hard time getting motivated for early morning exercise? Do you have anything that you do to ensure you will wake up and exercise? If you have any suggestions please leave a comment!

~Randi