How To Motivate Yourself to Get up Early and Exercise

For those of us who love to hit the snooze button, waking up even a few minutes early to exercise in the morning may seem like an impossibility. Finding a way to get into a morning workout routine can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be.

There are plenty of ways to trick yourself and jumpstart your morning routine, and if you're really honest with yourself, there is no reason you can't sneak in a workout with the way we all waste time on a regular basis. If you still can't see yourself overcoming your love of sleep, check out some tips on how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise.

Get to bed early.

If you're out all night boozing or get to bed at all sorts of insane hours, it's very unlikely that you'll have it in you to wake up early for a workout. When thinking about how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise, know that sleep is going to be the most important part.

Going to sleep earlier will help you maintain your energy throughout the day, so you won't crash and regret working out all together. If you don't get to bed at reasonable hours and get enough sleep, your workout routine is doomed to fail, as you won't be able to muster the energy to hit the gym at all—late or early.

Try waking up just a few minutes earlier each day.

Easy goal setting, like waking up just a few minutes earlier each day, might be a good idea if you have serious trouble getting going in the morning. Setting your alarm a few minutes earlier will help your body get used to it while still getting the most out of your sleep.

After doing this for about a week, wake up a little earlier. Slowly increase this until you find you have plenty of time before work or other obligations, critical when learning how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise.

Have your workout gear ready.

Avoid wasting time in the morning tearing through your draws looking for something suitable for the gym—have it set aside before you even go to bed. Putting on your workout gear will help get you in the mindset to exercise, a great little way to trick yourself when first learning how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise.

Having all your stuff laid out beforehand will also help eliminate some of those weak excuses we all make to avoid the gym, such as "I have nothing to wear."

Set multiple alarm clocks.

One alarm clock may not be good enough when first learning how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise. Still allow yourself that amazing feeling you get when you hit snooze, but don't let it derail your whole day. Have your first alarm go off a bit earlier, and set it as a reminder that this is the time you should be getting up, even if you aren't that disciplined yet.

So, give yourself a few extra minutes of lounging around, but when that second one goes off immediately flip the lights on. With the lights on, your brain will pick up the signal that it's time to get up and you'll find it much easier.

Put on some music while getting dressed.

Listening to some music while you get ready will help jumpstart you, as music helps release a mood-enhancing chemical in the brain known as dopamine. It will energize you and even have you looking forward to conquering a tough workout.

Good, inspirational music is invaluable when figuring out how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise. Make a playlist of your favorites and you'll be off and running each morning.

Look forward to the mood boost.

A feeling of well-being and even a euphoric mood is associated with a great workout, as those endorphins will send you soaring through the rest of your day. Starting your day off in a great mood is ideal for productivity, and it's something to consider when learning how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise.

Burn that stress off before it has time to grab hold of you at all, and you'll be on your way to a happier and healthier life.

Think of how it benefits your schedule.

If you happen to get too busy during the day, or things inevitably come up, odds are that the first thing to be ditched will be your workout. Eliminate all of that entirely by getting up early and getting it over with. It's one of the biggest benefits of figuring out how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise.

It will give you a sense of accomplishment like few other things will, and getting off to a quick start will help ensure that you're a step ahead of most of the competition.

Don't fixate on the quality of the workout.

Sometimes you're going to have a bad workout—this is inevitable. Maybe it's because you hit snooze an extra time or had a particularly bad day, but as long as you show up, it'll make a world of difference. Some say showing up is half the battle, and even if that isn't exactly true, stacking days where you make it to the gym on top of one another will benefit you in the long run.

Being able to push through days where you don't feel up to it is vital to any workout regiment, something that is important to understand when learning how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise. Even mediocre exercise is better than sleeping in and hiding in bed.

Eat some citrus and drink some coffee.

A strong cup of coffee can help un-clog your cluttered mind, setting your sights on the workout ahead of you. A caffeine boost is a critical part of many Americans' mornings, something they'll want to get in before any exercise.

In addition, science suggests that citrus fruits can help deliver a boost of natural energy. Try some grapefruit or and orange as a little pre-gym snack, and it'll help give you an edge during your difficult morning routine.

Find what works best for you and stick to it.

In the end, it doesn't matter what you need to do to get yourself into a routine, only the results matter at the day's end. Some of these tricks may do nothing for you, and you may find that it's a variety of other things that get you out of bed in the morning.

Learning how to motivate yourself to get up early and exercise is a personal journey that's different for everyone, and these are just some time tested suggestions that seem to help a wide swath of people, but "whatever works" should be your mantra. Committing to something, anything, will ultimately determine your results.