I became a morning person when I moved to Austin, Texas; it was the only way to run without boiling in the hot Texas sun. It took a while – I even used to go as far as sleeping in my running clothes! – but eventually those early mornings became habit, and now I swear by the them. I feel incomplete if I don’t do some form of physical activity first thing. I like starting the day with a feeling of accomplishment. And I like doing it at a time when most of the world is asleep, giving me a sense that I have the whole universe to myself. 

David Long, the owner and head coach at CrossFit Cirencester, recently wrote about this topic on Facebook, and has graciously allowed me to share his tips here on my blog. I like his focus on GOALS. How badly do you want to reach them? 

Training early in the morning causing you problems?

Nearly everyone I talk to says that training in the morning is the best way to ensure that it gets done.

But of course, the problem is that most of us are faced with busy mornings. If you are a parent, you are dealing with getting children up and ready to get out the door to school. Getting yourself ready. Preparing lunches. Making breakfasts, walking the dogs. So many things are going on in the morning, and finding the time to train just doesn’t happen for a lot of people.

So, how are you to make a morning workout happen? You get up even EARLIER than you’re already getting up. And you are thinking that is not going to happen, and this is the moment that I lose half of you because you think getting up even earlier is just crazy.

I personally love training in the morning. When most of the country is still snoozing away. I wake up at 4:00 am almost every morning so that I can reach my goals, and I wanted to share my tips with you so that you can begin reaching your health and fitness goals. Waking up early is not always something that has come easy for me. I have always had to train early in the morning and didn’t used to be a morning person. This didn’t just come naturally to me. But, like everything else, after about a month of practice and work, I was able to say that 4-4:30 am was my new morning wake-up time. I have now been setting my alarm for 3:50 am for about a year now and couldn’t be happier about the few extra hours I get every morning just to train by myself.

Here are the tips I use in order to get up early in order to reach my goals. You can use these same tips to wake up early to work out.

1. Visualise Your Morning:

Before falling asleep, think about what your morning is going to look like. You’re going to wake right up when your alarm goes off. You’re going to put your CrossFit Cirencester training kit on, wash your face, brush your teeth, and then you’re going to do your mobility and your extra Met-Con for the day or get down to the box for your class. Obviously, this is just an example. You’ll have to use your own training plan and make it fit exactly to your schedule, but the point is that you want to actually visualise what your morning is going to look like from the moment your alarm goes off. This preps your mind for what is to come. I even visualise the time on the clock.

2. Think of a Consequence:

What is the consequence if you don’t train first thing in the morning. You’re going to be angry with yourself. You’re going to continue to live less active than you would prefer. You’re possibly going to go another day/week/month of not fitting comfortably in your clothes, if that is your goal. Or you could even go one step further and make it a physical consequence to yourself. You pay a pound into a jar that goes toward something that won’t benefit you at all if you don’t work out in the morning. Like CFC athlete Luke Cameron and his Good Deed Diary.

3. Be 100% Prepared:

Make sure everything is set up and ready. The last thing you want to be doing in the early hours is fumbling for your training kit, tooth brush, socks, or shoes. Have it all ready. All in one spot. I even prepare my breakfast the night before.

4. Put Your Alarm Across the Room

I know you’ve heard this one before. But it’s absolutely true. As annoying as it is to hear your alarm go off and know you have to actually get up and out of bed in order to shut it up, it’s probably one of the best pieces of advice I can give you for getting up and out if your nice warm comfortable bed to meet your training goals. Ask yourself what would Rich Froning do?

5. Drink Water Straight Away:

Put a glass of water right near your phone/alarm. As soon as you turn off your phone, drink the water. It will wake your body up. It’s going to make you get up and get moving.

It is simple. I know it’s a lot easier said than done. It’s all a matter of you just following through with the steps and turning it into a habit over time. But, it can be done. This is what it comes down to it. How badly do you want to reach your goals? Either you want it or you don’t. Prove it to yourself by getting up and making it happen. For me, I want to make a difference with CrossFit Cirencester and for it to thrive. There is no other option. I take my job as a role model for you all very seriously. So waking up at 4:00 am is a part of me getting to work on time. That is how I have to think about it. Getting to work on time so that I can reach my goals and help you reach yours. The consequence is that if I fail, we all fail.

Good luck everyone, 2015 is your year to start making a difference too!

Thanks David for letting me share your awesome tips with my readers. Readers, do give the CrossFit Cirencester Facebook Page a like – it’s full of motivation, whether you do CrossFit or not. And if you’re in the Cirencester area, do pop into CrossFit Cirencester for a session sometime. It’s super friendly, non-judgy, challenging in a fun way, and totally adaptable to ALL fitness levels. And David is THE best personal trainer / coach a person could ask for, definitely in an influence in helping me achieve my goals over the last year.