And by “morning” … we are subjected to a little individual interpretation here. To some people early morning could mean 8am. When I say early morning I mean like before the @$$crack of dawn. 4am. 5am. 3am? However, it was brought to my attention that not everyone likes this early morning business.
He did not much like this early morning business, but the idea of forgoing it, even for one morning, never crossed his mind.
-Once A Runner
Love that quote!!!
I have received several tweets/emails/questions regarding morning workouts, and “becoming a morning person.” These may or may not have been in response to 4am foursquare check-ins at Lifetime Fitness. I can’t claim that I can make anyone into a morning person, but hopefully some of these suggestions can make mornings (and morning workouts) a little more tolerable.
Dome inflated… Downtown Minneapolis edited sunrise! Still pretty!
1. PACK YOUR BAG THE NIGHT BEFORE
This includes laying out your workout clothes and whatever else you may need for that morning’s workout. Shorts, sports bras, which SHOES you’ll need, swim cap, pull buoy, HEED for your water bottle – whatever. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten out of the shower after practice, only to find I don’t have underwear. Or didn’t bring spin shoes. Or ______.
2. SET UP YOUR COFFEE THE NIGHT BEFORE
If you’re a coffee drinker. If the blaring alarm playing Good Feeling isn’t enough to get me out of bed, the smell of fresh brewed coffee and knowing it’s hot and ready waiting for me will do the trick. If you’re not a coffee drinker… that’s unfortunate one less step for you.
3. TURN LIGHTS ON RIGHT AWAY
It’s probably one of the last things you want to do. You’re in your warm, cozy bed. Your eyes are only half open. You want a nice gentle awakening, right? Wrong. Get your butt out of bed and turn your lights on bright to signal your brain that it’s time to WAKE UP!!
4. MOTIVATION
Play your pre-game playlist or something upbeat. If you are in a situation where you need to be cognizant of others (hmm.. Dear upstairs neighbors, can you hear me in the morning?) you could listen to an iPod, dance around your kitchen, get the RW Quote of the Day, do SOMETHING to trick your brain into thinking WOOOH it’s 4am let’s DO this!
5. NUTRITION
This one is pretty individual. Some people can’t fathom a workout without something in their stomachs. Some people can’t fathom the idea of something in their stomachs before a workout. I tend to fall into the latter camp, but after working for a long time with a sports nutritionist, have finally bent a little on that. I typically mix a Carnation Instant Breakfast into my coffee (don’t knock it till you try it…) and that’s my “topper” to the fuel stores. I also tend to eat a pretty late dinner, so rarely ever wake up feeling “hungry.” Long story short: do what works for you. It’s worth experimenting and playing with…
(Side note: there are definitely benefits of doing the occasional fasted wko. Enough material there for a separate post, so I won’t get into it now.)
6. GET YOUR SLEEP
If you rolled in at 1am, and are planning on getting up at 5, your chances of actually abiding by that alarm are diminishing quickly. I will absolutely admit to being a 22 year old granny and going to bed ridiculously early. I take my wake-up time, subtract 8 hours, and make sure I go to sleep by that. There are definitely occasions where I’ve had to pull off above-mentioned situation on 4 hours of sleep, and it’s usually not a very productive or beneficial workout.
7. MAKE IT EXCITING!
If you have any say in your weekly workout schedule, make it something to look forward to. Take a spin class. Try Zumba. If you’re looking forward to whatever workout you have ahead of you, the temptation to hit snooze will likely diminish.
8. FIND A COMMITMENT BUDDY
Were there not people expecting me to show up every morning… would I? OK, probably. I’m one of the people that enjoys and prefers 5ams over anything else. BUT there have definitely been occasions where I have had to convince myself, “Tom is expecting you to be there today” or “You told Michelle you’d meet her on the mats at 5:30!!” If you have committed to meet someone else for your early morning sweat session, you probably won’t leave them hanging.
9. REMIND YOURSELF WHY YOU DO THIS
Because it’s your quiet time. Because it’s your natural “energy drink” to keep you going the rest of the day. Because you have meetings until 8pm. Because you want to see the sun rise. To take advantage of the early morning light (now that it gets dark at 5pm). To get it out of the way. Because the gym is less crowded. To stay consistent (because you never know what the day will bring). To clear your mind. To refocus. To regulate your sleep. To jump start your metabolism (not sure I believe this one, but if it gets you goin…).
10. SAFETY PLEASE!
This one isn’t exactly a tip to help you get in your morning workout, but just a friendly PSA. If you’re going out on your own in the still-dark morning hours, be smart. Where something reflective. Let someone know your usual routes. Consider carrying a phone. Consider carrying mase. 
Consider bringing your dog. Run with one earbud out or no music at all.
Annnd that seems like a good place to stop. Morning workouts might not be for everyone, but if your schedule requires it or you think it’s something you’d like to try, these ideas might make it a little more enjoyable.
Reader Qs:
Anything I’m missing? Do you workout in the morning, afternoon, or evening? Without limitations of schedule, when would you work out?
-E
Ok, I’m just having fun here. Nothing serious. But that picture is in no way a Minneapolis sunrise. Wrong direction. And even if it is a sunset. Well, lets just say the picture was “enhanced” quite a bit.
Morning workouts are practically a necessity when you have kids and family. Awesome post.
@Tim – Yeah… I think there was some photoshopin applied here. But it does still look nice.
There’s a Monty Python sketch about a boxer in training that stars, “Every morning, [he] gets up at 3 AM – and then goes back to sleep, because that’s WAY too early.” I hate early morning runs. I hate races that start before 8 AM. The crazy long races I do always start about 6:30, which means my getting up at 2. (I’m really slow at getting going in the morning. Glacial, really.)
That said, yesterday I started running at sunrise – which happens to be 8 AM at the moment. I finished before sunset…
I think I’d still like working out first thing in the morning even if I didn’t have to. I hate working out in the late afternoon. That is definitely my emotional/physical/psychological “low” time.
This post is a great reminder to me now as I transition from bike commuting into “winter mode.” Right now, biking in the morning is slightly easier to wrap my brain around because I actually NEED to get from Point A to Point B. But as soon as the snow falls, my bike will retire to the basement but I’d really like to keep up the morning workout routine if possible. When I work out in the evenings I have all kinds of reasons built up during the day to de-motivate myself. Plus if I work out too late, I sometimes have trouble falling asleep. So I will keep all these in mind as I ATTEMPT to get up for early-morning workouts this winter!
I workout in the mornings 2x per week- Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30am, I run with a running group. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t roll out of bed each morning. But yes- to echo E’s tips- PREPARATION is KEY! I’ve got to lay my stuff out in the morning! Sometimes I’ll even get up on a Friday morning (though, not as early) to run with a group! The rest of the week it’s a mid-day workout for me!
Great post and awesome tips! I prefer PM workouts, but often do AM workouts because they fit better into my schedule. Your tips on sleep, preparation ahead of time, and reminding yourself why you are doing this are all the keys to successful morning workouts. Happy Training
@Steve – the fact that sunRISE is 8ish, and sunSET is before 5 is extremely saddening. VITAMIN D!!! We need it!
@Chelsea – agreed… even if I didn’t have to, I still would get my workouts done in the early morning. I just like starting my day off on the right foot!! Hahha and ALSO agreed, any time past 7pm is lounge time.
@Suzanne – Ahhh I can’t imagine bike commuting in a Mpls winter. People do it though!! (coughcrazypeoplecough)
Do you ever ride on a trainer? That way you could get your same “ride” in at home before work…
@Holly – I have totally slept in my workout clothes before… just one less step in the morning!
@Nancy – glad you enjoyed it!!
This. All of this. Yes.
@Steve – 11. Set your baby’s feeding time to 15 minutes before you need to get up. That way, you’ll already have waken up, and have no chance of going back to sleep anyways.