wake up running

Bear with me, I’ve got fitness on the mind.  Rolling your eyes?  Can’t say I blame you. It is my typical reaction as well.  But now, for whatever reason, I want to talk about moving, staying motivated and not quitting.  Putting it out there is a nice little kick in the booty for me (and hopefully one or two of you).

We talked about the 21 days and how hard yet so rewarding it is to make it through that initial hurdle.  Now let’s talk AM hours.  Yes, I said you need to be flexible with when you workout and you do.  But if you are anything like me, nothing, and I mean nothing, feels better than getting that workout done first thing in the morning.  It’s the act of getting out of bed that is the real struggle.

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So let’s talk strategy.  What can we do to ensure those feet hit the floor over another press of the snooze button?  Here are a few things that just may help:

Dressed to Sweat  The act of simply looking for your workout clothes can add 10 minutes to your morning schedule.  10 minutes of talking yourself out of bothering with those clothes at all…hence not working out.  You can do one of two things here….1 Sleep in your workout clothes.  Everything but the shoes.  (Unless that’s your thing of course.) That way you just throw sneaks on and BAM you are ready to move.  2 Choose and set all your workout clothes neatly beside your bed and put those on first thing after waking.  You have now already taken some of the “think” out of your day.  This is my preferred method because I need to sleep in jammies.  And for whatever reason need to wear fresh clothes before sweating.

Eat Something How anyone gets in a full workout on an empty stomach is beyond my comprehension.  Even if you do not like eating first thing in the morning, a little bit of something in your belly really helps your body during the strain of exercise.  It can be as simple as half a banana (my go to).  That and a some water will keep your tummy from hating you.

Annoying Buddy Find someone who will not fall for your “I’ll workout later” tactics.  Make them annoy the crap out of you until you get out of bed.  Obviously if they sleep in the same bed with you it’s ideal.  But even a buddy who will call or text can do wonders.  You will hate them for brief moments, yes, but in the long run you will think they are awesome (and who doesn’t want to be awesome?).

Get Some Space Between You and the Alarm If all it takes to press “snooze” is a quick motion of the arm than you’re more than likely going to do it.  If you have to actually walk to the snooze button then you’ll begin to lose the urge to snooze during that journey.  It is incredibly irritating but really works.

Written Pep Talk Write down a quote, thought or feeling that gets you going.  Keep it beside your bed, or under your pillow.  Pull it out when you begin to talk yourself out of leaving those warm and cozy covers.  For me it is always motivating to tell my head that I have the choice of feeling amazing in an hour or like a slug covered in dog poo.   That’s a no brainer most days.

Slowly but surely my workouts are inching back up to those early AM hours.  Even Sticky is finding it easier to peel himself out of his slumber for a good run on the treadmill.  Hopefully in a couple of months we won’t need so much help in the motivation department.  But as the say….

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See you in the morning!

brandyjsig

 

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