Flickr / MilitaryHealth
I’m not a morning person.
If I had my druthers, I would sleep in until 11 a.m. every day, but over the past month, I’ve been waking up at 6 a.m. to go to the gym before work.
Born out of frustration with myself for skipping the gym to go to dinners and work happy hours, 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. But there were a few things I learned from trial and error that have kept me going again and again. Here are six things to try if you want to go to the gym in the morning.
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 work outfit forces me to take the extra step of removing 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.
Flickr / Alex
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.
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.
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 avoiding New York City’s packed 6 train at 8:30 a.m., aka the time I would normally be trying to head in to the office.
Because the gym I go to is a few blocks away from my office building, I take an earlier train, which is mercifully free of people. I even get a seat!
Whenever I’m feeling really unmotivated, I picture crowds of commuters crammed into the 6 train and usually find the willpower to get out of bed.
