The idea of rolling out of bed early in the morning to run, head to the gym to work out, or even just exercise in the comfort of your own home sound great, the night before. However, once that alarm sounds at six in the morning, it’s not quite as great of an idea as you thought. Many of us, okay, most of us, find ourselves slapping the clock’s snooze button until the next thing you know it’s time to get up for work and once again being a morning exerciser is put off to another day. This task becomes even worse if you’re not a morning person, to begin with. However, if you don’t have the time during the day or in the evenings to get that run or workout in, then what do you do? You become a morning exerciser that’s what you do. Easier said than done? Trust me, we get it.

That’s why in this blog, we are going to delve into a few of the top tips out there to help you become a morning exerciser and even help you get on a schedule to do it. Interested in learning more? Then, grab your travel mug of coffee, lace up your running shoes, and join us as we explore the top tips for helping you become a morning exerciser together. Ready? Set? Go!

 

Why Become a Morning Exerciser?

You may be asking yourself why you want to become a morning exerciser, to begin with. The answer is different for just about everyone. Maybe there’s no time in your otherwise busy day to get the exercise you need or maybe you just want to workout or run in the dawn of the day. The fact is that healthy morning workouts are the perfect way to get your energy going first thing in the morning and help you create the energy you need to make it through the rest of the day as well. In fact, you’ll already be burning calories before most people are even out of bed! How’s that for a reason to get going in the morning? As we said, there are plenty of reasons to become a morning exerciser, now let’s move onto how to help you get in the groove of being one and sticking to the schedule once you do.

Tips for Becoming the Morning Exerciser You Always Wanted to Be

You will find article upon article and blog after blog that will profess to have the instant way for you to hop out of bed in the morning and start your day by jumping on the treadmill. None of them are true. The fact is that hard work and getting on a schedule are the best ways to become a morning exerciser, along with a healthy dose of determination and dedication mixed in.

Schedule You Morning Exercise Routine

Think about it. You wouldn’t miss a doctor’s appointment or your hairdresser after you had scheduled it would you? Of course, you wouldn’t! So, if you schedule your morning exercise routine, you might be more motivated to get up and get it done. Make your morning exercise commitment something you can’t miss and you’ll do better at getting up to get it done.

Make the Decision The Night Before

Deciding to exercise in the morning should be a decision you make before you head to bed the night before. When you make the decision to get up early, set your alarm for the time you want to get up and roll your behind out of bed. As a matter of fact, try setting two alarms, each for five minutes apart, in that way maybe you’ll be awake enough to get up and get started by the time the second one goes off.

Set Everything Up the Night Before

The last thing you want is to be running around looking for your jump rope or trying to find one running shoe under everyone’s bed at five in the morning. After you’ve done all that, you don’t have time or energy to workout anymore and may as well have stayed in bed. Instead, set up everything and get your gear together the night before. This way all you have to do is get up and start your workout, easy as pie. It will also help you not to arrive at the gym with your clothes on inside out or missing your socks, letting everyone around you know that morning is so totally not your thing.

Simply Write it Down

Instead of making it up as you go or working out on the fly, write a detailed workout plan out before you go to bed the night before. In this way, you’ll know exactly what workouts you want to do and can get them done easily before you head out the door to start your day. It’s also easier to get out of bed when you have a plan for what you need to get done as well.

Consider Paying for the Workout

For most of us, the idea of wasting our hard earned money is a great way to get us motivated. Try signing up for an early morning fitness class or paying a personal trainer to work with you in the mornings. You might be tempted to stay in bed and sleep, but the idea of the money you’ll be wasting if you miss a session will nine times out of ten get you out of bed, on your feet, dressed and out the door before you know it.

Workout with a Friend

It’s possible that you have a friend that would love to exercise first thing in the mornings, but doesn’t want to do it alone. Try asking some of your buddies and you’ll be surprised how many might be willing to exercise with you. Even someone you met on your first early morning trip to the gym could be willing to meet up each morning, work out together and keep each other accountable as well.

Compete, with a Reward at the End

There is nothing like a little healthy competition to get the blood flowing, even first thing in the mornings. If you have a workout partner, then set up a competition among yourselves or if you’re going it alone set a goal for yourself. Once you win that competition or reach that goal, make sure that you set a reward you will get at the end. Rewards are pretty powerful motivators to get out of the bed and out of the house in the mornings.

Start with Baby Steps

No one expects you to just hop out of bed at five in the morning when you usually don’t get up until seven to get ready for work. Try taking baby steps to get you to your desired goal instead. Try setting your alarm for five minutes earlier than usual for a week, then another five minutes the next week, until you reach that full hour earlier. Before you know it, you’ll be out and about in the mornings with very little, or at least less trouble than usual, at all.

Start Slowly

If you’re new to this whole morning exercise thing, then it might be best for you to start slowly. Instead of trying to get up early to exercise five to seven days a week, try two days a week at first. Then add another day when you get comfortable. Soon you will be used to getting up an hour earlier and will have your whole five to seven day morning workouts down pat and going strong.

Go to Bed at a Decent Hour

One of the best ways to sleep through your alarm or hit the snooze until you don’t have enough time left to exercise is going to bed too late to get your required hours of sleep. Make sure that you try to get seven to eight hours of sleep before you work out the next morning. Being tired is no way to start the day and makes it more likely that you will skip your workout altogether.

Do What’s Right for You

Let’s face it, not all of us are up to getting up at the crack of dawn and leaving the house to sweat it out at the local gym and you shouldn’t have too. Try working out at home instead, right there in the comfort of your own bedroom. There are many exercises you can do, from the treadmill to exercise bike or even simply running in place that will get you the exercise you need without involving leaving the house, driving across town and working out. There are even mini workout videos you can get that will help you work out quickly and effectively before you even hit the shower in the morning. You’ll feel better about yourself, get the exercise you need, and never have to leave home. How’s that for a morning workout?

Eat Right the Night Before

While it may seem strange to worry about what you eat the night before so that you’ll get up for your morning workout to you, don’t worry, it did to us too. But if you think about it, it makes sense. If you were stuffing yourself with your mom’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes at ten at night, then went straight to bed, you might wake up feeling less than great and sluggish the next morning. Instead, try eating light, such as veggies and fruits, and never, ever go to bed right after eating. Not only will it pack on the pounds, but you’ll also feel less than great the next morning as well.

Don’t be Afraid to Stay in Your PJ’s

Sometimes no matter what schedule you’re on or how much sleep you got the night before, there’s just no way you’re going to be able to put one foot in front of the other and head out the door to the gym early in the morning. Don’t be afraid to exercise in your pj’s. Pop in an exercise video, pump up the volume on your workout playlist and exercise until your heart’s content instead. You’re still up early and working out, it’s just in your pj’s and there is nothing at all wrong with that!

Do What You Love

There is no law that says you have to do certain types of exercise in the morning. You don’t have to do squats or jumping jacks or run around the block. If you love to dance, crank up your playlist and dance as your exercise. The point is that you’re getting exercise, doing what you love, which will make it much easier for you to pile out of bed in the morning, get motivated, and get it done.

These are just a few of the tips, tricks, and steps out there to help you become a morning exerciser. You don’t have to have a set amount or type of exercises you do every morning, the choice is yours. The point is to get out of the bed, do the exercises, and feel better about yourself after you do. So, are you a morning exerciser? Do these tips work for you? Let us know what you think and work works for you in the comments below.

This concludes our blog on the top tips out there to help you become a morning exerciser. We know that morning isn’t for everyone, but if you truly want to work out in the AM before work, then these tips will help you accomplish just that. Until next time, happy morning exercising, everyone!

Sources

1. Greatist: 10 Tips to Become a Morning Exerciser
2. Get Healthy: 7 Ways to Become a Morning Exerciser
3. Shape: 8 New Ways to Become and Stay a Morning Exerciser