How to Wake Up Early for a Workout

In the past, I tried to save my workouts for the evenings.   My day would be packed with work, errands, kids' practices, and rehearsals and I would put everyone else and their needs before mine. All day long I would tell myself over and over "I'll workout tonight. I'll workout tonight". Evening would roll around and there would be dinner, homework, clean-up, and getting ready for the next busy day.  By the time all of the kids were in bed I was too exhausted to work out and I'd tell myself "I'll do it tomorrow night", but of course I never did.
I decided that if I wanted to exercise, I would have to start getting up early. I'd sacrifice some sleep to make room for something I love.
It's not always easy to lose some of that delicious sleep, but here are some things I do to get my butt out the door:

1) Prep the night before. The night before I will lay out all of my workout clothes, socks, and shoes. I will fill my water bottle and put it in my gym bag with all of my other needs and put my gym bag right by the front door.  Lastly, I will set the coffee pot and lay out my breakfast so it's all ready to go when my feet hit the floor.

2) Put your alarm clock/phone across the room. If I have to walk across the room to shut it off, then I am less likely to hit snooze.  I put mine right next to my gym clothes as a reminder of why I am up so dang early.

3) Go to sleep early. It's hard to stop everything and go to sleep earlier at first, but after a few mornings of waking up early, your body will naturally want to sleep earlier.  Avoid having electronics on for at least 30 minutes before bed. I also avoid caffeine or exercise after 4 pm.

4) Be accountable. Set up a date with a friend to work out.  If I know someone is counting on me, I won't leave them hanging. I have made a lot of friends at my gym. When someone who comes regularly, we notice and make sure they know we missed them.

5) Do something you LOVE! Make sure you pick an activity that you love. If you don't love running, then you sure aren't going to get out of bed early to do it. I LOVE my current training schedule or Krav Maga classes and conditioning for KM, so I get excited about getting up to do it.  Find what you love and schedule time for that!