What is your trick to getting up in the morning?

In the past months, my morning routine has been nothing but routine.  Some days I am able to motivate to 5.45 a.m. spin or a run and some days I am still snuggled in bed until 7 a.m.  There no in between for me.  So today in search of some tips on how to keep a morning routine I searched the internet for answers, but they were all pretty basic like 'have a reason to wake up'.  Although that is true, they were not exactly the concrete answers I was looking for.  So I am looking for advice from all you early birds out there.  What is the key for you to waking up at the crack of dawn each day for a morning workout routine? 

Comments

[Jimbo]

Great subject! No one ever seems really to be able to pop out of bed in the morning. At this morning's swim at the shores, everyone drove in with eyes half closed.
I seem to get more than my share of grief from the invitees when I plan an early morning activity. (excluding Andy V who never sleeps) Here are my tips. Just like training, the body likes consistancy. How many times have you woke up a few moments before your alarm clock goes off? So the more consistant the better. For those few days you sleep in, just go for it and enjoy. Next tip, the first 5 minutes always are the same. So if you get up at 6, 5, or 4, you just know to ignore those first 5. Next tip, get all and I mean all your stuff ready the night before. It is amazing how much time can be wasted when your mind is running at half speed. I can be up and out in less than 15 minutes if I do it right. Finally, notice how beautiful it is when you are out early. The whole morning is yours! Give it a try. See you out there.

[V]

Hey Sleepy-Head...
Just don't sleep... Easy enough, right? That way you have all night to get your crap together for the morning workout!

Okay, really not the best way to do it but I will say this. For me anyway, the ONLY time I am able to find for myself is in the early morning. If I don't get up to enjoy this special part of the day(seeing friends, taking in the great place we live, grateful to be alive and able to exercise, etc), I feel like I missed out. Time marches on and there is so limited amounts of it to spare.... I feel robbed if I am not able to enjoy moments of it.

No matter how tired I am.. No matter how many people tell me to get more sleep or I might kick the bucket early... It just doesn't matter when I see the sun rise over ther horizon symbolizing a new chance at doing something great that day.

[JC]

I've been running for 35 years now and 20 of them have been at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. because after my first child was born, my husband had to leave for work at 6:30 a.m. I continued to run early because I had 3 more kids. The kids became old enough to fend for themselves while I was gone so my motivator became coffee. I would daydream about tasting that first sip while running my usual 8 miles. Well, now that I am caffeine free/coffee free, I run early so I can manage to get the rest of the day under my belt. I am no good at running in the afternoon/evening and am a big grump if I don't run, so that motivates me to head out the door at 5:00 a.m. It isn't worth risking my insanity to sleep in.

[G]

Some tips from NOT a natural morning person: 1) Decide the night before if you are going or not. Never decide that morning while lying prone just after the alarm goes off (deciding at that time, for me, always defaults the same way). 2) When the alarm goes, get standing soon. Once I do this, auto pilot takes over and I do the rest of my waking up on the drive to where I'm going. 3) Have someone to meet or tell some one you'll be there. There are only so many excuses for not making it and your buddies will keep you honest.

[MO]

Thanks Guys, So V, how do you get over that initial feeling of why would I get out of this warm bed to stading vertical and going through the motions of pre-workout morning routine? Is your thought process when that alarm goes off that you better get up now or never, or do you for a split second think that there is no way? Maybe I am just weaker than you guys?

[V]

I think most days there is that "there is no way I can do it" feeling... I force it even when I have had zip for sleep. The first 5 to 10 mins are brutal but once I get going and sip on that freshly brewed coffee things start falling in place. Now, who knows if all my cramping and injury stuff is from lack of sleep -- Could be(at least partially) but if I sleep in then chances are I will never workout that day. It's my main escape from the daily grind - I need it to stay sane. Believe it our not, I was not always a 4AM riser. It's simply part of my life now - My only quiet time so it's well worth it.

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[Caylee]

I HATE mornings. My body has always run better on staying up till 2 or 3 and getting up around 11 so changing my natural inclination has been incredibly difficult. The best thing I've found to kick me into rolling/crawling/flopping out of bed has been a Nike commercial I saw ages ago.

There is a guy moving up and down a basketball court shooting hoops and the whole commercial he is giving excuse after excuse why to not do his exercise. The last excuse he gives while we finally get a full body shot of him in a wheelchair is "Man my feet hurt."

If nothing else, the fact that I can get moving gives me a boost. I can physically get up and go running. No mattter how tired or snuggled up or sick I am, I can't let myself take that "small detail" for granted. So like Nike says...

JUST DO IT.

[Smart Home]

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