Tips for working out first thing in the morning?

[hew0007]

@kingshellie David Goggins voice in my head. If you haven't heard his story, check him out!

What worked for me was multiple alarms so even on a bad day I do 10 minutes of AM exercise.

Motivational morning ritual, something that makes you want to get up early like extra time with a pet before leaving.

If your hours changed, consider your fasting cycle. 16 hours fasting is great for most people. Adjust the numbers so you can sleep easily and wake up with enough energy. An hour difference on when I stop eating/start makes a big difference. Also take it slow if it's new and don't beat yourself up about it. Good luck!

 

[thirstnomore]

@kingshellie Have everything packed the night before. Lay out your clothes. Go to sleep EARLY. i'm talking if you feel good with 6 hours of sleep, try to get 8. when you wake up and your body isn't aching for another hour its easier to get going. Also as soon as that alarm hits, roll out of bed. don't linger!

 

[rebekka97]

@kingshellie I’ve done it. I’m a night owl too but between work and school, I had to get my workouts in before work or I would simply not have time. This is what worked for me:

• Night before: get clothes ready and stop eating by 8pm I see it takes you one hour between waking up and being at the gym, even if the gym is five min away; waking up and heading out worked great for me. It sucked at first but I did it rain or shine and after a couple of weeks I was good. But my pre-gym routine was minimal
• Wake up 5.45am
• Pop a caffeine pill - Ive always drunk coffee but not being a morning person, i don’t even get hungry before noon, so a coffee pill was great to get me going
• Get dressed and cleaned
• Out the door at 6am
• Walk 30 min to the gym
• 60 min of strength training
• Walk 20 min to the office, shower and eat breakfast there.

I was ready for my 8.30am meetings. Because I had lifted (and counted my walking as cardio given it is through the SF hills), I felt better and it even made my mornings bearable.

That said, there’s no point in torturing yourself if you really won’t do it and enjoy it. What about doing at home workouts at nights? At least in the US, things are slowly returning to normal so maybe this is only for a few months!

 

[4godcountry]

@kingshellie This might not help you at all, but do you have a dog? What helps me a lot is to walk my dog in the morning, the cold morning air always wakes me up, even if it's just a 5 min walk. When I get back home, I am already up and moving, so it's easier to just keep going. My dog is super into routines too, so now even when I don't want to wake up, he makes sure I get out of the bed by whining very quietly non stop lol

 

[sharonleesanders]

@kingshellie The following is going to sound insane - but it was the only way I could get my workouts in for an 18 month period. And once I adapted, it really did become habit and it became so easy that I never minded. It took a good 3-6 weeks for it to become more natural.

I took a part time job two years ago that I worked while the kids were in school. But I had to be fully available for drop off/pickup and after school activities. That left early morning my only time to workout. I had to be out the door with the kids no later than 7:30 am, husband left at 6:30 am, which meant I had to be home from the gym, making lunches and showering/getting dressed and everyone going by 6:30. 2hr workouts with 15 minute commute each way meant that I hit the gym at 3:45 with a 3:15am wake up call. That was Monday-Saturday.

Lots of good tips from others with laying out all your stuff and having it ready. I used to eat a banana when I started, but gradually transitioned into fasted workouts. In reality my performance became better when I did that plus it saved me time. I also made sure black coffee was easy to grab in the morning so I could take that with me. I tried to carry as little to/from the gym as I could (I got dressed at home), but what I did carry was all in my gym bag and easily accessible. Everything was in a certain pocket or place so if I needed lifting straps - quick and easy to grab because they were always in the same place. I didn’t have to think hard early in the morning. The other big component was going to bed EARLY (I had little kids with a 7:30/8pm bedtime so it was easier to crash when they did) and being super consistent on the weekends. Even on Sunday rest days I was up at 5 - even if it was sitting on the couch drinking coffee and watching a movie alone.

Now I have young teenagers, covid happened, I homeschool full time, work from home full time, and I have a home garage gym. I STILL wake up at 4:00am and get it all done by 6:30, shower quick, and hop online at 7:00 for the day.

It does take about 3-6 weeks to start laying in the habit. Be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace during the transition. It is very difficult to work against old habits and rhythms. But also recognize that discipline is important and part of a fitness journey. If that is your only time, then it is up to you to make that time slot work. We all make time for the things we find most important and you’ll definitely find your way through this bump!

ETA: Another thought is to add higher volume/intense workouts on Saturday/Sunday when you can possibly schedule a couple of 3 hr sessions. Then three of your other days - say m/f do 60 minute sessions and w a 90 minute session. That way you are loading your more intense days on your non work days, getting more rest during the week, and giving yourself a little more flexibility on timing.

 

[szanswn]

@kingshellie Preworkout!! Helps a lot. I take a dry scoop first thing post-brushing my teeth and keep my alarm clock in the bathroom/out of reach from the bed so I need to be up when it first rings with no snooze options.

 

[anna67]

@kingshellie A different advice from everyone here, but if the 12 hours are not all in college (and include study time at home), walking during watching a lecture or having an under desk bike (especially if you have a desk job for 12 hours) might be a good idea.

Other ways to get a workout in are wearing resistance bands under your dresses while walking through the campus if possible or you can look into joining a live class that happens at 7am so that you are up for the money and the class.

Adult ballet or something similar where there is an ongoing "curriculum" such that attending all classes is necessary may be something that works for you, and you can do it after you get home too (look for classes in a timezone further than you and they would be later in night for you, so seattle if you are on east coast).

 

[justinvef]

@anna67 But wouldn’t you be walking funnily if you wore a resistance band under your dress? Just curious but sounds innovative!

 

[anna67]

@justinvef That's true. I checked around and found people using this: https://agogie.com/collections/women/products/agogie-40-womens?ref=popsugar.com (but this is expensive).

 

[rascoe]

@kingshellie Hi are you me? Also in an intensive masters program and had to switch from night workouts to morning workouts since I realized if I waited until nighttime I had a hard time pulling away from work bc there’s always soooo much to do. I go to sleep with a protein bar, pre-workout, and water bottle w just ice in it on my nightstand so I can wake up and everything is right there for me. The ice in the water bottle melts by the morning but is still a little cold so I can just drink my pre-workout and eat a little something before I even have to move. I also lay all of my gym clothes and shoes out the night before as well as pack my gym bag w school clothes/shower stuff. Another thing that’s helped me on days where I have too much work to really gym but need to move at least a little- save some papers on your tablet/iPad or print them out and read while walking on an incline on the treadmill. Hope this helps!

 

[centgabby]

@rascoe I also second working out with study materials. The workout may not be as intense and the studying not cover as much material, but I felt I retained more. Maybe because of increased blood flow to the brain? No idea, but if I had to do school all over again, this is one thing I’d do more of.

 

[rayesta]

@kingshellie I’m going to echo all the night owls that say “lay everything out the night before.” Not having to think about which sports bra to wear just makes things easier.

But I also had to give myself an at home warm up routine, and make the rule that even if I decide to skip the gym, I still have to get out of bed to do at least my mobility exercises. I have an app with simple mobility exercises that I can do as I get ready.

I also set the timer on my coffee pot (I usually think I need to aeropress my coffee, but for “before gym” coffee I drink drip coffee). That seems to help too.

 

[muscle_woman]

@kingshellie You need a morning-mantra. You tell yourself these when the alarm gets off; basically it’s a form of a pep talk. Here are a few of mine (name change to Jane):

Jane, by the time you fall asleep again, you will GAIN a whopping 20min of extra sleep. Whereas you could get up now, and GAIN a workout.

Jane, think about how great it feels at the office after you’ve been in beast mode. Are you a Tiger or are you a house cat? Be a tiger.

Jane, you and John are the only ones in the office that workout. If you don’t go, only John gets to be the badass today.

Jane, 99% of the battle is just getting there. Don’t lose this battle. Don’t be weak. Go be strong.

Jane, think about your goals. Hitting snooze is not how you meet your goals.

Jane, you are being a fata$s. Just get up.

 

[nikochiko]

@kingshellie Two pieces of advice.

One lay everything out and get dressed first thing in the morning. The more time you waste in bed the less likely it is you’ll go. Just get up and move immediately it’ll suck but you’ll get used to it.

Second piece. Take care of yourself. If yo ur honestly too tired to go then just rest. I’ve done a program similar to yours (full day student teaching from 7:30-3 and then classes from 4-8) everyday M-F. If you feel way too exhausted take a break because you need it but don’t stop because of laziness

Good luck! And this will eventually finish so don’t be too hard on yourself

 

[dawn16]

@kingshellie As someone who used to sleep 1-2am every night, I've fully transitioned to waking up at 5am on weekdays to go to the gym.

The biggest thing for me was fully leaning in to a new evening routine. My sleep hygiene goes HARD now - only warm/dim lights past 8pm, books instead of phone or TV, all of my chores and prep for the morning are completed the second I'm home from work so that my evening is completely free to relax. As soon as I committed to my new evening routine, 5am wakeups have become relatively easy and pleasant. In addition, my new aggressively relaxing bedtime routine has resulted in a much better quality of sleep! Win win.

 

[justlooking345]

@dawn16 “Aggressively relaxing” is my new favorite phrase

 

[hailie]

@justlooking345 Same! I lol’d, which startled me.

 

[davidmark]

@dawn16 I’m curious to know how this has affected your social life? My friends would be in full swing conversations on social media around 8pm, or gaming, or even organised outings like dinner/drinks after work. Do you forgo this?

What other pros/cons have you found in going to bed at 8pm and waking up at 5am for gym, compared to your old schedule?

I’d like to know because I am someone who is interested in transitioning to a similar schedule to this.

 

[placed_son]

@davidmark I did this recently, except I'm sleeping 8-4. I'm in an intense masters with young kids. I go on morning walks with friends and be sure to text and FaceTime people but that's about it. I wasn't going out much before, though, since we were being pretty Covid safe, and I had already preferred socializing during the day. I feel a lot better and it feels completely worthwhile for now.

 

[dawn16]

@kingshellie I am NOT a morning person, but doing a morning workout really kick-starts my day. I sleep in my workout clothes so I can roll right out of bed.

Not exercise specific, but I keep water in an insulated bottle on my night stand so I can have a cold drink when I wake up and get hydrated. I also keep my morning meds right next to it so I can take it first thing upon waking.

I also pack my work clothes the night before.

I've started packing small snacks/lunch the night before as well.

I don't want to do any thinking in the morning. Just get up and go.