Our fave tips on how to wake up early and workout!
Getting up early to work out is not easy. Waking up early in general is not easy. Even waking up on time is not always easy. If I could sleep in every day, I would. No question.
I long for the day when my kiddos (ages 3 & 5) start sleeping in and I can too. Right now they wake up between 6:30 and 7 every morning. As soon as they spring out of bed they start putting in their breakfast orders. And that’s it. Our day begins and all of my free time is pretty much gone until bedtime.
This is the reason it is so important for me to get my workout done BEFORE they even wake up.
This means getting up around 4:30am to make sure I am to the gym by 5am. We were taking advantage of the gym daycare for a bit, but I really love an empty gym, so early morning workouts it is. Plus, my kids always get sick from the gym daycare! Does that happen to anyone else? It’s so freaking annoying.
Tips for waking up early for the gym
I have a few tips for anyone out there desperately trying to become a morning person. I unsuccessfully tried for years before I finally got it down. So I thought I’d share how I was able to do this, plus a few extra tips from other consistent early morning gym goers.
Commit. This is a big one. You can try every little trick you want to get yourself to wake up, but unless you fully commit and know WHY you want to get up every morning, it’ll never happen consistently. Why do you want to work out early? Is it a more convenient time? Will it help you hit your goals? What are your goals?
Don’t hit snooze. Hitting the snooze button is a terrible habit. Not only is it super annoying to your spouse, roommate, or family member, but it makes time pass so quickly. You think you only hit snooze once then before you know it hours have passed. Plus, if you hit snooze every time your alarm goes off you’re basically training yourself NOT to wake up when you hear it.
Don’t think about it. Just do it. Your ability to rationalize things when you are sleepy is insane. Get up before you have a chance to realize how tired you are. Because what happens when you realize this? You start doing math: “if I just rinse off in the shower and don’t get my hair wet then I can sleep an extra 12 minutes more and then if I have cereal for breakfast instead of eggs that’s another 2 minutes.”
Thinking too much is dangerous in the morning. You will quickly talk yourself out of your morning work out and possibly more if you think before you act. So the next time your alarm goes off, just get up, no excuses.
Prep ahead of time. I set out my workout clothes the night before. It’s not necessary, but it helps. I don’t want to accidentally wake up my kids and be forced to skip my workout. I also fill my water bottle the night before for this same reason. It’s also good to prep a quick snack. I love meal prepping mini muffins to eat beforehand. If I don’t have those, I’ll grab a banana. That little bit of food really helps fuel me. Working out on an empty stomach is not my ideal situation.
Have a plan. Not just a wake up plan, but know what your workout will be before you hit the gym.
Do it every day. Even on rest days. The way to make this a habit is to wake up every day. Maybe on your rest days you just do a light walk or just stretch or even just stay home and read a book. The point is to make getting up early a habit.
Get plenty of sleep. No brainer right? Do your best to get to bed early so that you are rested.
Plug your phone into a mini speaker. Someone mentioned this tip and I thought it was hilarious. Your alarm will be sure to wake you.
Get a sunrise alarm clock. Waking up to a bright light is a little easier. It feels a bit more natural, like you slept in until sunrise even though you didn’t. We have this one.
Pick a gym near work and avoid rush hour. One girl brought up that she’s motivated to wake up early because her gym is by her work. If she skips her workout, then she ends up leaving her house later and getting stuck in rush hour traffic. I know a lot of people who commute to big cities for work like to do this.
Eat right. I feel more tired when I eat poorly. The more loaded with sugar my meals and snacks are, the less energy I have the next day. When I fuel my body with complex carbs, lots of greens, and a good amount of protein, I feel amazing. I’m less tired and more likely to stay consistent with my workouts.
Waking up early is hard. It is. But it is so worth it. You only have 24 hours in a day. For me, getting up early and working out keeps me on track for everything not just fitness related. It helps me stay committed to eating clean. It surprisingly gives me more energy. And I am more productive throughout the day when I start my day with a workout.
Just treat this like it is not optional. You have to wake up and workout, you don’t have the luxury of skipping. This is just like your job or school. If you treat AM workouts like a very important part of your day, you will not have as hard of a time getting up.
One last thing.
I hope this isn’t discouraging but it never gets easier. Never will I wake up at 4 am thinking, “hmm, no thank you, I don’t want to stay in this nice cozy bed.” What does get easier is saying “no” to your excuses.
