Does anyone have tips for getting up early (Page 2)

You can see in my training log that one of my short-term goals is to integrate running into my morning routine. This goal has been on my list for months! I think I did it for about a week, then gave up. You definitely aren't alone in having this problem! I have been a morning snoozer for all my adult life. Running in the morning will be a struggle, but I will try out some of the tricks mentioned here. Hopefully they work for the original poster.

I'd second this suggestion. Getting up earlier in small increments to re-set your inner clock so it won't be such a shock. But I'd even slow it down even more than suggested above - say, 20 min earlier for a week, then another 20 min earlier for a week...by the end of the second week you should be able to get up an hour earlier and do a little run or something. Work into the intensity of the morning workouts slowly too until it starts to feel natural. Then keep adding time and intensity.

I'm a morning person (get up around 4-5 am no matter what), but when I started working out two years ago it was always in the late afternoon after work. When my job changed, it was suddenly possible to workout in the morning but it took me quite a while to get into that groove. It was just so different - my energy, body temp, even the kinds of things that motivate me are different in the morning; the after work workouts used to be strongly motivated by my hatred for my job! - lol - but I'm always happy and calm in the morning, so I had to find a different, and fortunately, healthier, inner need to get out there.

You are trying to change two things - your natural body clock, and the time that you excersize - it'll just take some time.

Another thing thats wierd about the am workout is you have to give yourself enough time to eat something - which is always hard for me - just not hungry in the am.

Timed coffee maker a must!

It's all a matter of setting your mind to it.  Set your clock/watch to whatever time you want to get up and get up when it goes off.  Don't think, just react and get up physically out of bed whether you are fully awake or not.  It is a Pavlovian reflex, the bell rings and your mind says "move"! It has worked well for me for the last 37 years. 

i was an all-district offensive lineman in highschool, i used to do alot of extreme sports, and i ALWAYS ran on 3-5 hours of sleep.

now that i'm training my tail off for tri's, i barely get by on 7! i'm not sure those numbers work for EVERYONE

I agree, when I joined the military sleep was a luxury. I have been out for ten years and I operate on 4-7 hours a night. Now I am a firefighter and I still don't have a regular sleep schedule. I just force my lazy ass to get up in the morning. I find that once I have been up for thirty min or so I am good to go.

Try sleeping with my wife....that should do the trick!

She gets up at 5am every stinking morning!

Strong coffee is crucial, even before having the gear ready. The water thing is a good idea, too, as you'll be properly hydrated when you start.

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Does this work if you're having sex UNTIL 4:45 in the morning? Er, uh, wrong forum, sorry...

This thread inspired me to get up and go running this morning. It was timely, since I knew I'd be going out for happy hour after work tonight so would probably end up missing my evening work-out.

Running in the a.m. has reminded me of three reasons why it doesn't suit me: 1) when my alarm goes off, there is no "should I wake up or should I snooze?" discussion--my hand automatically resets the alarm without asking my brain if it's okay (I ripped off my snooze button years ago to stem this problem, but my hand just started physically resetting the alarm instead of hitting the snooze); 2) I hate eating breakfast; 3) I hate showering in the morning--I like to shower before bed then just throw on my clothes in the morning.

Also, my runs in the evening are much less painful for some reason. Ah well, perhaps I'll work on a mix of morning/evening throughout the week.

I phased-in the early morning routine a while back by first dedicating a week to simply getting up and out of bed at 5:00am. I'd sit and drink coffee and watch the news for an hour and a half before going to work and getting on with my day. The following week, I got up at 5:00am and did my workouts, but came home after work and took a nap, rather than training. On the third week, I added my afternoon workouts to the schedule, and have since been on a two-a-day schedule. But even on off-days, it's important to get up at your normal "work-out" time to keep the pattern.

The only down side is explaining to people why you'd prefer a 6:00pm movie instead of a 9:00pm movie...

LOL...yep, start working out in the am and by 9:00pm you'll be jonesing for bed.

Maybe age is a factor too? I'm 40, and change is not as easy as it used to be. Maybe when I was 25 it would have been easy to just start getting up at a wierd time and running 8 miles?

The key is to have somebody to train with...i could never get up myself but if i know im training with somebody and they are relying on me to turn up when that alarm goes off and i question why i am training before school!!!!! it always helps

I used to row - I probably will again, it's an addiction! - and the workouts are invariably at OMIGOD a.m. I would set out everything the night before so when the alarm went off I didn't have to wake up enough to think, just enough to put on the pile of clothes next to the bed and fall out the door. It didn't work to wear the workout clothes to bed, I needed to be forced to get out of bed to put them on, but for some reason that did it. Sometimes I could get through half the workout with my eyes still shut. Don't try this on your bike.

Any or all of these have worked for me in the past:
1. Go to bed at 9:30 p.m.
2. Set the alarm on your Ironman triathlon (we all have at least one don't we?) watch and put it in a place you can't easy reach it but can easily hear it.
3. Set out your clothes the night before.
4. Buy a new pair of shoes, or whatever, so you'll feel guilty for buying them but not using them.
5. Drink a can of coke right after you get out of bed.
6. Work out with others who will relentlessly ridicule you if you miss the early morning workout.
7. Promise yourself that if you get up early every day one week you'll reward yourself with the Big Combo breakfast at IHOP.

Ummm... it only takes you 15 minutes?

Here's my theory: if you can convince your body and brain that you're really getting up for a race, you'll have no problem. Seriously, how many of you have gotten a really awesome night's sleep before a race?

Tom

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