6 things to do if you want to become a morning gym person ;)

Im not a morning person.

I would sleep in until 11 a.m. every day.

Born out of frustration with myself for sometimes skipping the gym and going for a run, because it’s quicker and easier. I decided I’d go to the gym in the morning so I’d have no more excuses.

How hard could it be?

Turns out, very. Here are six things to try if you want to go to the gym in the morning.

1. Prepare everything the night before

Before I go to bed, I pack everything I want to wear the next day in my gym bag and lay out my exercise clothes and sneakers to wear the next morning.

Packing away my gym outfit forces me to take the extra step of removing it from my gym bag if I don’t make it to the gym. It’s a small step that’s just annoying enough to incentivize me to just throw on my workout gear and head to the gym.

Plus, if you already know what you’re going to wear the next day, it will save you time rummaging through your closet.

2. Set your alarm for earlier than you need to wake up

I’m convinced sleeping in and snoozing your alarm is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Because I know that it takes me about two tries before I actually get out of bed, I set my alarm even earlier than I need to so I still feel like I’m sleeping in.

If I can skip the morning rush, I’m happy.

Though I realize that it’s not technically sleeping in if you’re still waking up at the right time, I find I can lie to myself more easily when I’m drowsy in the morning and feel like I’m still getting some extra shut eye.

3. Find your motivation

Going to the gym every day is all about finding the right motivation. For some people, that might be trying to hit a goal weight, fit into a certain item of clothing, or look great naked. For me it’s looking great naked hahaha 😉

The gym I go to is a few blocks away from my home. It makes it very easy for me to reach it, I can walk or run there.

Whenever I’m feeling really unmotivated, I think about the feeling I have after I went to the gym. I feel AMAZING!!

4. Drink a lot of water

As soon as I wake up, the first thing I do is DRINKING as much water as I can. Not only has it been shown to have a lot of great health benefits, like jumpstarting your metabolism, but it also energizes me almost as much as cup of coffee in the morning.

Plus if you’re going to go work out, you should be hydrated.

5. Eat something

I eat eggs and some fruit maybe rice if i am doing weights, so I am sure I have enough energy. if I am doing cardio only, I eat fruits.

While some people wake up starving in the morning, I’m not one of them. Still, I find I workout much more effectively if I have something to eat before going to the gym.

Lately, I’ve been grabbing fruits like a banana or an apple before my cardio session, but any sort of fuel will do the trick.

6. Remember you just have to show up

The thing I tell myself as I’m dragging my feet out the door every day is that I just have to show up. Simply by touching my feet to the treadmill, I will have been successful. I don’t even have to go for a run if I don’t want to.

Once I get to the gym, I realize how easy it would be to start running. I mean, the treadmill is right there. And after a run, I could go shower immediately, but the weights are close by — why not lift for a little bit as long as I’m here?

It turns out, showing up really is half the battle in the morning.