There’s nothing worse than fumbling around half asleep in the morning looking for your workout pants or shirt. Like a firefighter, lay everything out the night before – down to your hair ties and shoes – so you don’t have to make any more decisions than necessary.
All you have to do is roll out of bed, press the start button, and presto – coffee or tea time! Look forward to the pleasure of a warm beverage as you’re driving to Studio Physique. A little caffeine and your morning ritual on the go can be effective motivation for waking up early.
Your body naturally becomes dehydrated while you sleep. One of the first things you should do after waking up is chug one or two glasses of room temperature or warm water. This will ensure you are properly hydrated and also kick start your digestion system. Your brain will know that its time to wake up and your body will be ready to workout.
Whether you use the alarm on your cellphone or on a clock, make sure it’s across the room so you are forced to get out of bed to turn it off. Getting out of your warm cocoon is half the battle to avoid hitting the snooze button.
If you promise a friend you’ll meet them to workout, you’re 10 times more likely to stick to your plan than if you were going it alone. Pick an early time you can both make it to class and send a “your butt better be out of bed” text before you leave the house. Make new friends in the early morning classes at SP and agree to hold each other accountable.
While it may seem like the more natural route to wake up as late as possible for an early morning workout (like, 10 minutes before you have to rush out the door) this can be counterproductive. Rushing creates a sense of chaos and stress, especially when you’re still waking up. You don’t want to associate your morning workout with negative feelings. A better alternative is to give yourself enough time to wake up, get ready and stay calm and focused through the entire process.
Crank your favorite, motivating music to fire you up in the car on your drive to SP! If you live alone or have really thick walls, rev up your favorite tunes while you get ready – or – put in those earbuds and jam before you head out the door.
All of life’s decisions basically come down to one thing. Habit. Ask yourself what you stand to gain by getting out of bed early and crushing your workout as opposed to sleeping an extra hour. Think about how great you’ll feel once you’re done.
I’ll admit that sometimes on those extra groggy days I am completely motivated by rewards. Usually this involves food. Always reward yourself after a good early morning workout. This can be with a hearty breakfast (Hellllooo French toast!!), 15 minutes of meditation, an extra long shower or even a mani/pedi at the end of the week after you woke up for all of your scheduled early morning training. However you choose to reward yourself, make sure it’s something you can look forward to and will only allow after a nice hard workout.
This can seem like a no-brainer, but, going to bed early and getting a decent amount of sleep is critical to successfully working out in the morning. No matter how motivated you are, if you don’t get at least 8 hours of sleep MOST days of the week, it’s going to be a lot harder to simply get out of bed. If sleep is sporadic for you, start off your exercise routine slowly (schedule a couple sessions per week) and gradually add to your schedule.
*Alex is a certified health coach and early morning trainer and class taker at Studio Physique. Catch Alex often in the 6, 8 & 9:30AM classes at SP! And after at the nearest diner serving up steaming stacks of French toast.