NOTE: If mornings truly aren’t your jam and you’re good about making it to evening workouts, go on with your bad self. But if excuses about your later-in-the-day workout roll of your tongue faster than you can keep up, and before you know it it’s been months since you got in a good sweat, maybe it’s time to change direction and try something new … like a MORNING WORKOUT! 😀
- Put your workout clothes out the night before.
- Get your meals and lunch box packed.
- Make sure to have a simple grab-and-go pre-workout snack on the counter or in the fridge.
- If you have to dress up for work, have that ready to go as well.
- Get your coffee ready to go the night before.
This means you can roll out of bed and perform just a few tasks before heading to your workout versus starting your day in a frenzy. You’re much more likely to actually look forward to your morning when it doesn’t start out all over the place.
- Sip on some coffee or tea
- Read a passage from one of your favorite books
- Listen to an insightful podcast
- Do a quick yoga sequence
- Meditate
- Journal
- Listen to motivating music that pumps you up
Eventually, you’ll start to appreciate and enjoy this time and you will look forward to waking up a little earlier! Then, since you’ll already be up, that morning workout is a no-brainer ?
Think professional athletes just get up and do it? Not so. They have coaches and mentors pushing them to succeed. Did you catch that? Even elite athletes need direction from an outside force. About .00005% of the population (not a real study, but our educated guess) is motivated long term on their own. Eventually, life gets in the way and the excuses start to pile on one after the other. If you’re doing your solo thing and it’s working, for now, great. But eventually, if you feel your motivation start to wane we highly recommend joining a program or hiring someone where it’s all laid out for you: the coaching and camaraderie, workout design and of course the motivation to keep going.Visualize your early morning workout and your post-sweat endorphin glow.
It takes about 16 seconds for a random thought to become an emotion. If you’re dreading your morning workout and thinking of all the reasons why you can’t and won’t make it, chances are this feeling will manifest and become a “thing”. The energy we put forth into the Universe is a real thing! This might sound a little woo-woo, but trust us – what we focus on tends to expand itself. So instead of mourning your morning snuggles, envision how good you’ll feel once your workout is over:
- Covered in healthy sweat and ready for your day.
- High-fiving and congratulating success with other morning warriors.
- That awesome feeling of accomplishment before the rest of your day begins – talk about starting things on a high note!
- One step closer toward your goals and more importantly towards optimum health inside and out.
- Being part of an online group that motivates and pushes you.
- Having a group of buddies that text message each other with intentions/goals.
- Meeting once per week/month (whatever works best) with your workout friends and talking about your goals and latest fitness adventures (and whatever else comes to mind).
- Making friends at your local workout spot and motivating each other every class.
Wipe that sleep goop from your eyes, rise out of bed, don your fanciest workout gear, put a smile on that beautiful face and GO! You might not be thrilled, but you made it. Might as well work hard and celebrate how badass you are. Even if you arrive in a BLAH mood, you’ll leave with a complete shift in your mental, emotional and physical state that’s worth getting up for. And let’s not forget that when all else fails you can always revert to the infamous Superwoman pose, clinically proven to inspire badass-ness 😉
Write a love note (or a few) to yourself.
The night before, your intentions are great. You are gearing up for an epic workout and you can’t wait. Then, the morning comes … dun dun dun … and it ain’t’ so pretty. Your natural inclination is to hit the snooze button a few thousand times. But THIS time there’s a pre-written love not to yourself. It’s got all the reasons why you’re dedicated to this new routine. Then, when you make it out of bed you’ve got notes in the bathroom and even in the kitchen. Your early morning pep talk created BY you FOR you. Think of it as your health manifesto.
You don’t need to go from 0 to 100 in one week’s time. Take it day by day. Start going to bed a little earlier each night, and waking up a little earlier each morning. Maybe start with just a couple of morning workouts per week until you gradually start to make it a habit. Trying to do too much all at once can be jarring for the psyche and cause you to feel like giving up, so avoid this by taking baby steps!
- Meetup.com – great place for active people looking to form fun groups etc.
- Facebook groups – in a group with other active people? Post in there and you’ll likely get a ton of responses from people just like you seeking motivation.
- Ask your friends who are dedicated to their health – would they be interested in even just texting you to remind you to get up for your workout?
The best part about morning workouts? No matter what kind of day you have, it’s already done! No more stressing if you’re tasked with staying late at work or tending to something last minute. And don’t get us wrong. If you REALLY aren’t a morning person and you LOVE your later-in-the-day workouts and you get to them consistently, keep it up! Do what works for you and what you are most likely to keep up long term. Success happens at all hours of the day. This post is dedicated specifically to those who struggle with consistency and with making it to their workouts in the first place. You are not alone, and we hope this post has inspired you to create a new proactive routine!
Talk Soon,
Sham & Christina
Inspired Wellness
About Inspired Wellness
We are a wellness movement aimed at cultivating greatness in all areas of life. We believe that everything is connected and that having the body of your dreams shouldn’t come at the price of your mental and emotional health. You CAN have it all; you just need some determination, grit and the desire to truly change your life!
Catch us locally in sunny Sacramento CA inspiring lives at our wellness center with fitness, nutrition and lifestyle programs, or online doing the same thing with our new online training site + community coming soon!
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2 Comments
I can for sure say that I’m NOT a morning workout person! I find that I don’t have enough energy to go “beast mode.” I prefer a noon workout on my lunch break from work. It’s the perfect time for me! I still get enough sleep by not waking up early and it doesn’t interfere with my family time after work. The lunch hour is an hour that I don’t have any obligations so it’s the perfect time!
I have started the 5:40am workouts in the last couple months and the biggest help was planning the night before! This made a huge difference so I felt more relaxed in the morning and ready to go. I put my workout clothes in the bathroom the night before so I’m ready to hop out of bed and change!