Getting to the gym is tough. Period. Getting to the gym at the crack of dawn before heading to work? Now, that’s even harder. Here are five simple tips to help you get that butt in gear before the sun comes up (one more thing to check off the to-do list – hooray!):
1. Find all of your gym gear the night before. This may sound obvious, but it’s the #1 deterrent for a lot of people. You wake up bleary-eyed and half conscious, and the last thing you want to do is pour energy into stumbling around looking for that certain pair of shorts, matching socks and a clean sports bra. So lay it all out the night before. If you pack a gym bag, do that too – put water in your bottle, line up your tennis shoes, and – most importantly – make sure you know where your car keys are! No excuses!
2. Go to bed at a decent time. If you know you’re to hit the gym bright and early the next morning, don’t stay up til midnight surfing the web or binge watching Downton Abbey. Force yourself to start getting ready for bed earlier than you might be used to, to ensure getting a good nights sleep (making it easier for you to wake up once that alarm goes off!)
3. Set 2 alarms. Some of us are morning people and pop up in bed the second that alarm goes off. The rest of us… are not. If hitting snooze one too many times is your vice, take preventative measures and set 2 separate alarms, 5 minutes from each other.
4. Turn on the lights. Even half-awake, your brain responds to stimuli like light and dark. So flip the switch, and turn on all the lights and get that body roaring.
5. Prep your food/drinks. If you know you’ll need coffee/smoothie/breakfast before you leave, have it ready and waiting for you. Program the coffee machine the night before, lay out all the ingredients you’ll need for your smoothie on the counter (minus perishables), or have a breakfast bar at the ready in your gym bag.
The key to most of these tips is to give you no excuses to back out at the last minute (“oh, I couldn’t find my water bottle, oh well.”) And once your body gets in the routine of waking up early to hit the gym, getting up will get easier and easier, til one day, it’s a no brainer!
