Tips for Early Morning Workouts

Key to a happy Wednesday: 2 sweaty workouts, shopping the sales rack at Anthropologie + Lululemon and a much needed manicure.

Can you tell I’m ready for spring with this pretty pink manicure? I’d even settle for temperatures above freezing at this rate…

 

Let’s pretend I didn’t have to attend class this morning as well and I’ll call it a perfect day 🙂

Last semester I struggled with finding a balance between school, work, homework, studying, socializing and taking care of myself (aka working out.). It was easy to push everything to the side in favor of school work because I knew that was my number one priority. While getting good grades is still my number one priority, I am realizing that it’s still important to give some energy to those other aspects of my life for my own sanity. Getting my workout in first thing in the morning has made it a whole lot easier to find that happy balance. I like that nothing can get in the way of my morning workout (except my snooze button). Homework, study groups, tutoring, class, work and socializing don’t happen at 7AM so working out in the morning means I don’t have to stress out all day about squeezing in a workout and I don’t have to say no to dinner with friends on a count of wanting to go to spin class.

Contrary to popular believe I am NOT a morning person and I highly doubt I will ever be one of those people that wakes up before their alarm (unless that alarm is set for noon) so I know working out at the crack of dawn can be a serious struggle. It can also be tricky to workout and then head straight to work or school right after.

Here’s what I’ve been doing to make it as painless as possible:

–Prep what you can the night before. Whether it’s tomorrow’s lunch, snacks you’ll need, your work outfit, your workout outfit or makeup bag, have everything you need to bring packed up so it’s ready to go– there’s nothing worse than fumbling around for a clean pair of socks at 5:30AM or trying to remember what you need for the day.

If I left anything in the fridge (like already cut-up apple slices, my favorite work snack) I leave myself a post-it so I don’t forget it. But maybe you are less forgetful than me…

– Get some sleep. This one’s kind of a given, but the earlier you go to bed, the easier it is to wake up early. Senior year of college I completely reset my sleep cycle thanks to waking up early for yoga which in turn made me sleepier at night. It’s rough in the beginning to start going to bed early, especially if you’re a night owl, but for me my body eventually figured it out and got sleepy earlier at night.

– Have something that makes you accountable to SHOW UP. Whether it’s spending money on a class, tweeting about class (bonus points if you tag the instructor…), meeting up with a friend or just feeling guilty that you took a spot in a sold out class that someone else might have wanted. I usually have insane money guilt and never skip a class that I already paid for. I also tend to tweet at my favorite instructors before class as an added layer of accountability.

My friends were a great motivation over winter breaks in college when we would all meet at the gym early in the morning– I felt like it would be rude to ditch them after they woke up early as well.

– Choose a “less sweaty” workout if you want to keep your blowout and avoid the shower. On school days I usually take more “low-key” classes like barre, yoga and pilates so I can head to school right after sans shower and don’t have to worry about being a sweaty beast in chemistry lecture.

On work days I have a bit more time to prep after working out and don’t mind taking a HIIT class and then “getting ready” in the bathroom of the studio. Honestly I don’t usually shower after these classes either since a lot of my favorite studios don’t have showers and it takes up time, so I settle for toweling off my grimy sweat, washing my face, doing my makeup and throwing my hair in a bun.

I’m lucky and work in a low-key environment at a fitness startup company where working out before work or during lunch is very common so I’m not too worried about my less than polished appearance at work.

The key for me is to not hit up a class that makes my face red as a tomato and where I will sweat a TON like spin or hot yoga. I’m pretty grimy… but not grimy enough to hit up a spin class without showering after.

– Wear workout clothes that double as normal outfits. This may not work if you’re heading to straight to work and have a strict dress code but I’m a fan of all-in-one outfits especially on school days. My typical outfit is yoga pants + a lulu power Y tank top for working out and then throwing a nice sweater or jacket over it + boots for school. From workout to class with minimal effort.

 

Hopefully I can convert some other people on over to the dark side of AM workouts. I swear it feels pretty badass to have already gotten my sweat on before 8AM and my morning Starbucks 🙂

What’s your favorite time of day to workout?

What are your tips for morning workouts?