Want To Be A Morning Workout Person? Here's Exactly What To Do

When I first started training, I would suggest a midday workout during lunch breaks, but the reality is that lunch breaks have become obsolete. How many times per week do you find yourself chained to your desk or stuck in a meeting during your well-deserved lunch hour? So, that leaves us with the only other option—morning workouts. This is where I typically hear an "Oh I can't do that, I'm not a morning person and I can't afford to wake up early!"

"If you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done" is a mantra that I live by when I let my excuses keep me stuck in an unfavorable situation. It means we have to make sacrifices and get a bit uncomfortable to create a healthy and successful habit that can change our life.

Here are the five steps I share with my clients to help them establish a morning workout habit, and it amazes me at how their lives change once they get them down. During our 6 a.m. sessions they report having more energy, higher productivity, and better focus all day. Many of them feel more accomplished and even notice that their sleeping and eating habits improve—not to mention successful weight loss!

To set a bedtime, first identify how many hours of sleep you would ideally need to function, choose your ideal wakeup time to make your morning workout, and then work backward to find your new bedtime. The key is to keep this bedtime and wake up time the same each day to truly create a habit.

Thirty minutes before your new bedtime, you should "power down." This is when you put the phone on "Do Not Disturb" mode, shut down the computer, turn off the TV, and get into bed. This will help calm the body and mind and prepare you for sleep. You can do some light reading or journaling, but keep it positive and light, stay away from stressful emails, the news, or business articles that can keep the emotions high and the mind active.

A positive thought or intention about the next day can help you wake up feeling motivated and energized. If you go to bed thinking "Ugh, I have to work out in the morning; it's going to be cold and awful," you'll wake up groggy and cranky and filled with dread. Instead, get excited about your workout and how it will set the tone for the rest of your busy day. Train your mind to focus on having a positive and successful day, visualize successful outcomes, and focus on one thing you are looking forward to.

To avoid hitting the snooze button 80 times and skipping your workout, place your phone or alarm at least 5 feet away from your bed. This way you have to physically get up to turn it off. Placing a glass of water next to your alarm will also remind you to hydrate since you're in a mild state of dehydration while you sleep. Movement and hydration will signal the mind and the body that it is time to start the day.

Now that you have accomplished these five steps you are awake, hydrated, and ready to face the world (or at least your workout). This can be a great way to help you to eliminate the excuse of not being a morning person and help you to start working out first thing. With any new habit, give it time. But the steps I just shared will help make developing this new habit just a little bit easier.