This article is about some tips on how to make waking us easier when you’re planning on doing a workout. I think many of us can resonate with the difficulty of waking up early to work out in the mornings. On one hand it is awesome and kick-starts the day. On the other hand though, it can be tough at times, definitely in winter and when it’s still dark at 5.30am.

Once you manage to get out of bed and head to your workout, it always feels easier than you thought and you actually feel a sense of achievement.
It all comes down to those crucial couple of minutes when you hear your alarm clock. You either get out of bed, or turn around and hit snooze.

Prepare your gear the night before

This means that you’ll be pretty much ready to go. The first benefit is that this gives you an extra ten minutes to sleep in longer and secondly you won’t have the overwhelming feeling that you still have to get everything sorted in the early morning.

Program two alarm times

I always program two alarm times with about three to five minutes in between. This might not make you very popular with your partner if he or she is trying to sleep in, but it will help you. The first alarm will hopefully wake you up properly but if it doesn’t then the second one definitely will. Make sure you don’t leave too much time in between, otherwise you might fall back into a deep sleep.

Open the curtains if it is light and if it’s still dark, turn the light on.

Seeing some light will let your natural body clock become aware that it is rise-and-shine time.

Move around and get some blood moving around in your body

This will wake you up and get you ready to go faster. Sitting or laying down will just make you want to go back to bed.

Drink a big glass of water and hydrate yourself

Your body dehydrates while it’s sleeping so you need to put some fluids back into it.

Have a pre-sleep routine

First of all make sure that your body gets the amount of sleep that it needs. The amount of sleep your body requires is personal, but in general aim to have seven to nine hours solid sleep. A good pre-sleep routine will help you to sleep well: don’t exercise or work before you go to bed, don’t drink any caffeine before bed, limit TV time or time on your iphone and finally put your phone on airplane mode.

Having a set morning routine

Having a morning routine will definitely help you. This could be turn your alarm off, open the blinds and freshen up in the bathroom. Up next, drink a glass of water, have some brekky if this is what you normally have before training. Don’t forget a last splash of fresh water on your face before you head out.

Waking up early is all about getting into a routine and making it part of your life. The more you do it, the easier it gets.
Remember, don’t be too harsh on yourself if you feel that you are only functioning at 60% of your normal capacity. Once you start exercising and the adrenaline kicks in, you’ll be wide awake.