Do you find it difficult to get to the gym before work even though you know that’s the best time for you to exercise?
If you’re like me and find that your energy levels are lower towards the end of the day, then it probably means you won’t exercise after work, especially if you are busy in the evening with other tasks. Exercise is absolutely essential, no matter how many hours you’re working, you need to make time to move your body.
The most common excuse to not exercising is being busy (trust me, that was my favourite excuse too), so what you need to do is make time (even if it’s 30 minutes a day).
I know, there is one big problem with exercising in the morning right? It’s hard. It requires a level of willpower to jump out of a warm bed at 5:00 am in the morning to go to the gym.
Luckily after some trial and error, I found that these four tips guaranteed a 5:30 am gym session even when it’s pitch black and cold outside.
#1 Make Friends With Hue
This tip helped me feel more awake in the morning even when it was still dark outside, but it actually wasn’t my idea – it was my husbands.
My husband installed hue wifi light bulbs into our bedroom lamp and ceiling lights, that automatically turn on at 4:50 am. The premise behind this idea is that our bodies naturally wake up earlier during spring and summer when we are exposed to light. This is because it triggers the release of cortisol, a hormone that wakes us up and gets us out of bed for the day.
Since we choose to exercise at 5:30 am before work, when it gets colder, the sun starts rising later which means we don’t have the natural light shining through our window and waking us up anymore.
Even though this is artificial light and not natural sunlight, through trial and error we’ve discovered that it still wakes us up. What we do is set it to ‘gradually brighten’, this means when it first turns on it’s only a dull light. Over ten minutes, it slowly gets brighter and brighter making it pretty much impossible to stay asleep.
DID YOU KNOW? THE TRANSITION FROM DIM TO BRIGHT LIGHT IN THE MORNING INDUCES AN IMMEDIATE ELEVATION OF CORTISOL LEVELS – THE HORMONE THAT HELPS TO WAKE YOU UP.
The best thing about using this idea is that I feel so much more refreshed and ready to wake up in the morning. I no longer feel startled when the alarm clock goes off because I’m already half awake. There also aren’t any fights over whose turn it is to turn the light on.
Give this a go: Either install one hue light in a lamp that is close to your bed or two ceiling light bulbs. This should be enough to do the job. Hue bulbs aren’t cheap, and to be honest I was really hesitant in purchasing them due to the price compared to normal bulbs. However now I’m eating my words.
After you’ve installed the light bulb, you then have to download the hue app on your mobile phone (this comes with the light) that allows you to connect with wifi to your light bulbs. Using this app you set what time you would like the lights to turn on. You can also choose what colour light you would like to wake you up. We choose ‘sunrise’ to provide the most similar colour that the natural sun emanates.
2# Put Your Alarm On The Other Side Of The Room
Are you making it too easy for yourself to turn off the alarm while you’re in bed?
My alarm is on my mobile phone which used to sit on the floor next to the bed, while it charged over night.
I found that when the alarm used to go off, I could easily turn it off without physically getting out of bed. That meant if I was tired enough, I would fall back asleep instantly. Yep, there goes that early morning gym session!
So what I do now is put my mobile phone on the other side of the room so that when the alarm goes off, it’s forcing me to get out of bed to turn it off. Simply jumping out of bed whilst it’s cold and searching for the alarm gets both your mind and body actively working. Alertness tends to kick in faster and that tired feeling dissipates easier so that you feel more pumped for your gym workout.
Give this a go: If your mobile phone needs to charge over night and you don’t have a powerpoint on the other side of the room. Either fully charge your phone prior to getting into bed so it will last by the morning, purchase a separate alarm clock, or simply extend the cord in the other direction so that it’s impossible to reach.
The next step is to choose the loudest and most annoying alarm sound available to you. Don’t give in to those soothing, peaceful melodies – I know if you’re that tired you could sleep through the sounds of birds chirping and waterfalls crashing (I know I can!). The more annoying the better, because that means you’ll just jump out of bed faster.
3# Sleep In Your Workout Gear
Even though getting changed into my workout gear takes 2 minutes. The thought of transitioning from my warm place under the blankets to stark nakedness in my freezing bathroom put me off big time (can you tell I dislike the cold?). That meant hitting snooze and rugging back up with a smile on my face.
To prevent this from happening, I slept in my workout gear – that included my tank top, sports crop top, 3/4 pants and my ankle socks. I found that when I woke up, all I had to do was put my shoes on, tie my hair up and grab my gym bag and I was out the door. Easy!
Give this a go: The key is to wear gym clothing that is comfortable enough to wear during the night. For me the above clothing was super flexible, with stretchy material that didn’t feel restrictive while I slept. It didn’t crease either, which meant no one could tell I had just slept in my workout clothes.
If you can’t sleep with all of your gym clothes on, try wearing certain pieces of clothing e.g. just your bottom half or your top half. With the rest of your clothing, leave it near the end of your bed with your shoes so it’s super easy for you to get changed.
Share Your Thoughts
What do you think about these tips above? Do you feel that working out in the morning is a little more achievable?
