5 Steps to Becoming a Morning Workout Person 

5 Steps to Becoming a Morning Workout Person

You’ll feel better, free up your evenings, and burn more calories all day. What’s not to love about early morning workouts? It’s easy to admire the early morning workout from afar, another thing entirely to jump out of bed at the first ring of your alarm. But once you get in the habit, you’ll be hooked. Whether you’re a “morning person” or not, you can get your sweat sesh in early and banish your long list of excuses by following these five tips.

1. Remove barriers. Lay your clothes out the night before (or even sleep in them). You have to set yourself up for success by removing any possible obstacle between you and your front door. This is the easiest way to avoid setting yourself up for failure. Be intentional and get everything ready the night before so all you have to do is walk out the door. Getting there is the hardest part!
2. Go to bed early. That pre-6AM alarm is a lot easier to answer when your body isn’t begging for sleep. You need at least seven hours of sleep, so give yourself enough time to reach that goal. (See #1)
3. Move your alarm clock across the room. You are more likely to hit the snooze button and skip your workout if your alarm clock is right next to you. So move your alarm clock farther away. Leave it on a table across the room or on the floor so you’re already out of bed when you shut it off.
4. Set more than one alarm. You’ve got enough barriers, don’t set yourself up for alarm failure. Have a back-up alarm in case you hit snooze half-asleep or snore right through it. Experiment to see what’s right for you, but try 3 or 4 alarms about 2-3 minutes apart if you’re a serial snoozer. Set them early and set them often.
5. Be accountable to yourself. Schedule your workouts at the beginning of every week – and stick to your plan. Start with a simple schedule or fitness journal and write down your goals. Keep track of the days, times and workouts you’ll do, and make them happen. Check back on your progress a few weeks in, you’ll be amazed at how great it feels to see your accomplishments.
6. Find a morning workout buddy. It’s never easy to get up in the morning for a workout, but if you know you are meeting a friend or if you have a favorite morning instructor, tell them you’ll meet them in the morning for a workout. It never hurts to plan a workout with someone.

If you aren’t on the morning workout grind yet, try these tips and see if you can keep it up for two weeks. By the end of 14 days you’ll be in the process of forming that all-important habit.  Practice tip #5 right now and set your schedule on Mind Body for instant accountability