8 Hacks For A Successful Morning Workout
I know, I know. You’re not a morning person. Me neither, but, is anyone a morning person?? Eh, probably. But, maybe it took some adjustments to their evening and early morning routines to become a morning person. So, for those of you looking to become a morning person and get your workout in before the chaos of your day takes over, here are some hacks to make for a more productive and successful morning. Note, most of these things will be done the night before to set you up for success in the morning!
- If you take pre-workout, put it somewhere close to you (say, on your nightstand).
You will get this ready the night before. That way in the morning, you can roll out of bed and instantly mix your pre-workout. This lowers the response effort of having to go to the kitchen and shake it up. If you take it as soon as you wake up, there’s no turning back, as you’ll be awake and ready for a workout.
2. Layout your workout clothes the night before
If you take out your workout clothes the night before, there’s no need to worry about rummaging through your drawers in the morning. If all you need to do is put on your workout clothes, the response effort will be lower, thus making you more likely actually to get to your morning workout.
3. Set your alarm sound to a song that will get you motivated
If you set your alarm to an annoying sound, chances are getting out of bed will become aversive. If you start your morning with a favorite song or a song that gets you motivated, it will create some momentum in your morning and get you excited to get out of bed. My alarm sound? “Gonna Fly Now,” the song from Rocky when he’s training for his fight against Apollo, running through the streets of Philly.
4. Make a no snooze button rule.
The more times you hit snooze, the less likely you’ll be to get out of bed. If you set your alarm for a specific time to get up, stick to it, and roll out of bed when that pump-up song goes off in the morning.
5. Pick a saying for your alarm that will motivate you to get out of bed.
Rather than just labeling it “alarm,” pick a quote or a saying that will increase your chances of getting out of bed. Seeing this on your phone in the morning will be the signal for you to get out of bed and get moving.
6. Get enough sleep.
To those of you that say, “sleep is for the weak,” don’t buy that for a second. There is a ton of sleep research out there showing that getting enough sleep is crucial to our overall health and well being. If you’re sleep-deprived, chances are you won’t be ready to get your sweat on in the AM. I’d say try to shoot for at least 7 hours of sleep, but everybody is different: you may need more, or you may be okay with a little bit less. If you’re looking for some additional resources on sleep, check out Shawn Stevenson’s book, Sleep Smarter.
7. Set a bedtime reminder on your phone.
If you’re someone who gets caught up in work, TV or just the chaos of your everyday life, set a reminder on your phone that it’s time to get ready for bed. I’m a huge culprit of this, as I always think, “just one more thing.” Setting this reminder will serve as a signal for you to start getting ready for bed.
8. Do your workouts from home.
If you’re someone who is limited on time like me, try doing your workouts from home. The response effort is lower because all you have to do is walk downstairs or down the hall, and you can get right to your workout. For me, the response effort is way too high to drive to a gym at 5 AM, workout, and drive home. If you don’t know where to start, there are online workout platforms you can use, on-demand workouts through your cable company or even YouTube videos.
Incorporating all of these hacks at once may seem overwhelming. To ensure more success, try slowly incorporating these little things into your daily routine. As you master, including one hack into your routine, add another, and another, and so on. Before you know it, you just might become a morning person!
Brianna Snyder
