No. STOP. STOP WISHING. Stop wishing and BE. BE a morning person. 

I have had and used every excuse in the book to not wake up earlier no matter how obnoxious it was. I am going to share with you my top 5 things to do to get up early and follow up with how it could benefit you.

“I NEED more sleep” “5 more minuets will definitely help””I can’t wake up my boyfriend that early” “It’s too cold” “It’s too dark” blah blah blah blah blah, it’s all crap.

For years I envied people who got up early and worked out.  I follow some of the most inspirational women on Instagram and longed for the dedication and drive they had to get up early in the morning to workout. I would get bursts of inspiration and obsessively Google and Pinterest ideas on “How to change your life to be an early morning person” or “7 ways to trick yourself to become a morning person”. (Hey I ain’t judgin’ that may be what led you here!).  None of these things worked for me – I couldn’t ‘trick’ myself or “romanticize my morning” as one  article suggested.

Let me also say, I totally get it – it isn’t easy to be busy, having a full time job, a part time job, meal prepping, going to the gym, having friends and family to keep up with, blogging, living, etc. IT IS HARD I KNOW, but I can do all of this and get up early.  You need to decide, you just need to DO IT.

Three weeks ago I made the decision to JUST GET UP.

I used to think there was nothing better than hitting that snooze button and pulling that warm comforter back over me for those five more minuets of ‘sleep’.  Well, I am here to tell you THERE IS SOMETHING BETTER – your goals, your dreams – and those snooze bursts, are not worth it.

Day in and day out I hit the snooze AT LEAST 5 times before rolling out of bed to get ready for work. Just to sit in my car still groggy, irritation rising at the traffic along my hour plus commute, to get into my office where I sat there staring at the computer waiting for the time to pass so I could go home, only to then realize I still have to get that workout in before I go home.

I can honestly say getting up at 4:22am has changed my life (yes thats my alarm time, because … why be average … right?)

I promise you that after four-five days it will become routine and you will WANT to get up early and get sh*t done.  There is something about that first crisp, chilly morning breath when I walk out the door that brings life to my day.

5 main things making my morning workouts a success:

This may not fit your exact needed, but you need to do you and find our what will prepare you.

1. Plan everything ahead of time: I am talking everything. You want to be able to be relaxed when you get up, not running around like a maniac. 15 minuets of prep will save you 30 minuets in the morning.
   • Sunday write out meals for the week and prep them as the week goes on.
   • Night before – as soon as I get home I take my gym bag upstairs put my gym clothes into the hamper and immediately pack my work clothes in my bag for the next day.  I then get a gym outfit ready and put it in the bathroom for the next morning.  After cooking dinner I get my meals ready for the next day and set out my shaker bottle for my morning meal or protein shake.
   • All of my supplements (including a tub of spark) are on my bathroom counter at all times so I start my day on the right foot.
2. Go to bed earlier: Well duh right!?
   • I made the decision to limit myself to 10 minuets of ‘phone time’ when I got in my room – I get into bed around 9:30 and allow myself a brief time on social media or whatever. (I know it is best not to use your phone before bed, but baby steps here).
   • I am not big on TV and one thing that holds many people back from going to bed earlier is TV shows… these days you can get shows on demand, record them, watch it on Youtube, it’s an excuse. If there is one must watch show ONE night a week, maybe you can swing it.
3. When your alarm goes off – GET UP: Snooze is the enemy 
   • I see so many people with negative messages on their phones .. please please don’t bash yourself first thing in the morning by saying “get up FATSO it’s time to get skinny” on my wake-up alarm I keep it simple 20 minuets later when I know I will be getting my breakfast ready I set an alarm with a positive message for myself
   • When my alarm to get up goes off the first thing I do is look up a positive quote to get me focused and take a few seconds for my body to get up with my mind

   • 

4. An accountability buddy/group: This can be anything from sending a selfie to someone on SnapChat or actually texting/calling someone to get up with you.
   • I started by posting selfies with a timestamp on Snapchat and having a friend text me if I didn’t post one, to my surprise it actually worked and I continue to snap every morning gym sesh (theres absolutely nothing wrong with it, everyone else snaps pointless ‘gems’ of their life, this is my health on the line)
   • After a week I searched/posted in a group of amazing women I belong to on Facebook to see if there were any ladies who wanted to be my accountability parter to text about going to the gym by 5:30am low and behold there were a group of women who had established a chat on Group Me and send a message to the group every morning as they work out. I will say it definitely drives me to get up and going.  
     You do you booboo
5. Limit sleeping in on the weekend: wake-up time on the weekend shouldn’t vary too much from weekdays

• I work most Saturdays so it isn’t usually a problem for me, but I keep it consistent with the amount of sleep I get – if I go to bed later I try to adjust to get the same amount of sleep.  Most of the time I naturally get up early anyway.

11 ways early wake-ups/workouts are impacting my life:

1. Prepared and don’t need to rush around in the morning – I forget less
2. Start the day off on a positive note having already accomplished something
3. Increased energy and happiness
4. More productive at work
5. Less likely to skip a workout – more likely to workout TWICE in a day
6. Less traffic commuting from the gym
7. Gym is less crowded, more room and equipment
8. Sleep better/higher quality sleep
9. Make healthier choices (eating, stairs not elevator, etc.)
10. More time to do other things after work (heyyy social life)
11. Inspire others to get moving (and they tell you that which gives you a huge boost)

Try it – do your research on the negative impacts of hitting snooze and the positive impacts of early morning workouts – even if you don’t work out in the morning, get up and be productive!

Live Happy – xx,

J