Hi all!

First of all, I have motivation and a goal. I want to be in better shape before my daughter (first kiddo) starts to walk/run around. I don't want to have to huff and puff and stop playing with her. Thats my motivation, my goal is to be at 200lbs by august 20 this year (kiddo's birthday). I'm 220lbs right now.

Now, I have a goal, and good motivation - what I need is motivation to actually get up in the morning and exercise. How do y'all get out of bed? Do you put your clock across the room from you? Does your spouse/signifigant other kick you out of bed?

Thanks!

later

btw: I'm 6ft 1in, 220lbs, former/sorta current athlete (play tennis on weekends)

I get the spouse to get out there with me! We go after work to the gym, I never could get that early morning motivation thing going. It is inconvenient to go after work, but it is the only time that works for us.
Good luck with your goals, and try some other times of day (just make whatever block of time it is sacred), and pretty soon it becomes a habit.
Sarah

I do the alarm clock across the room. But I've done that for years and I don't actually need an alarm clock to get me up. Unfortunately, I just naturally wake up really early, no matter how late I go to bed.

Some of my motivation comes from talking to my mom. She'll ask if I'm going to the gym or running and then kind of sigh or sound disappointed if I say no, and then I feel like I need to give a reason and it makes me judge my reasoning harder then if it was just me.

Other motivation is from the fact that I will be going back to school this fall at a new university and so once again I get a chance to make a first impression, so I'd like to do that with the 'new' me. That, and I really need to get some new clothes for that, so it'd be nice if I fit more easily into stuff or at a possible smaller size.

I'm not too keen on the early-morning workouts. Whatever time you train, though, your motivation should be how great you will undoubtedly feel afterward.

It's hard to beat the sense of satisfaction you get from exerting yourself.

hey man we are basically in the same boat, but my motivation is remembering what I was like at 200 pounds, remembering how damn good it felt.

I've found that for me, the key to never missing my workout in the morning is getting to bed on time at night. It's crucial. No matter how much fun I'm having out at dinner with friends, or what concert I really wish I could go to, I'm in bed by 10 at the latest. Waking up at 5:45 to cycle over to the gym is a snap when I'm always recharged and ready to go. Sleep is a priority so that getting to the gym can be a priority.

After months of doing this, it's not a big deal. Now even when I do sleep poorly or am kept out later by this or that, it's not a big deal. Also, the fear of gaining back what I've lost after all this hard work terrifies me. That will keep me in the gym at 7 every morning, for certain.

why force yourself to get up early and workout? the only time i'd workout in the morning is if i'm running. all my weight training is done in the afternoon or evening. your metabolism is naturally more active then anyways and your body is better prepared. you just have to cut out 1 or 2 or 3 tv shows that usually occupy that time in your day.

as for getting up early, if you find it necessary, as soon as you wake up, jump out of bed and do some jumping jack & push ups. wash your face, take care of your business and get into your routine. don't try to rationalize anything, or you'll probably convince yourself to go back to bed.

Some days I work out in the mornings, some days at night (sometimes both!), but I've found that the days my alarm goes off at 5:30 for my AM workout, I spring right out of bed. Oddly enough, the days I'm planning for a night workout, and my alarm goes off at 6:45, I can't seem to get my biscuits out of bed for a good 20 minutes. The difference is that I am so looking forward to that exhilarating feeling I get from my workout. If you can muster the motivation to do it once or twice, you'll start to get that satisfied feeling of knowing that you've done something great for yourself and it'll become something you actually can't wait to do. Not to mention the great feeling of knowing you've already gotten the hardest part of your day out of the way before most people even got their asses out of bed!

thanks everyone. the reason i want to get into a morning routine is i want to spend as much time with the family as i can. if i workout before they get up and i go to work, i have evenings after work to spend with them. when our daughter gets older we can all exercise together, but right now it just doesn't work for us.

i need to get an profile picture on here, and i guess a before picture may help motivate as well huh?

thanks again all!

later

I found the hardest part about mornings (which is the time I prefer to run, evenings/afternoons for going to the gym)was the first few days/weeks. After that, you start to realize how good you feel at the end of the work out and that can help get you out of bed. It'll be harder to adjust if you have to get up a significant amount of time earlier than you use to. But you can try to adjust by going to bed a bit earlier so you still get the same amount of sleep.

Good Luck.

For motivation, I bought a gym membership and put the receipt up circling the amount of money I spent. No, not really, but figuratively you know? "Geebs, I spent the money, guess I'd better get going". Same thing can be done with a new bicycle if placed where you're going to trip over it every day. You get the idea. Spending money leads to guilt leads to using what the money was spent on.

Eventually, motivation to do something leads to doing something leads to the habit of doing something. Getting to Habit is what you want.

Don't know about the morning stuff, I workout afternoons and evenings. What's worked for me is, every Sunday I write up a contract/schedule for the week. I do the same for a weekly todo list, and started using the same kind of thing for exercise.
---

Standard sheet of paper, folded into 8 equal sections (fold,fold,fold).

Unfold and lay the paper out horizontally.

Upper left hand section, write in "Goals", then across the top sections, "Monday Tuesday Wednesday", the bottom four sections "Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday". I usually date and underline the days.

Under Goals, I put what I want to accomplish for the week.
- Minimum 30 minutes of something every day
- Gym (weights) every other day
- Jog 5k 2x
- Yoga Class 1x
- Swim Laps 1x
- Ride Bike More

Then fill out the sections to make a schedule, indicating optional workouts where appropriate. For gym days, I put down the sets and weight that I plan on using. This is both a contract for myself and a workout log that I take to the gym with me. This gets folded up so that today's date is showing and slipped into my pocket with a pen. Stuff gets scratched out and moved around but if I'm good, something goes on that paper indicating that I've done something every day.

So yea, basically, every Sunday, plan out the week and get it in writing.

i'd love to join a gym, but the funds aren't flowing right now. plus, i figure i weigh enough, calistenics should be plenty

later

I have a home gym, but I've been paying to go to the local Y. I hate to waste money, so that motivates me to get my arse into gear!

I love morning runs! The crisp morning air... the lack of people or cars... it's quite peaceful. I can relate. Best of luck to you!

leo, i got to reading your post again - that makes alot of sense. making a contract with yourself, i like it. i think i'll write one here right now for tomorrow morning.

thanks again all. i used to be in good shape, i played ball and ran x-country (in high school, seems so long ago now). i was actually in great shape when i got married. check it - http://www.richieandersondesigns.com/misc/wedding. jpg

anyway, just trying to say that i know how it feels to be in shape, i love the feeling after you're beat from a workout - i even love the nasty tase of protien shakes. i just have to get my butt in gear. i think just posting about this today helped alot. hopefully y'all will be hearing more from me in the future. man, i feel sorry for ya

later

I get up at 4:30 every morning to get the day going. I work at 7 am so by the time I eat, get kiddos stuff ready, run and get ready its 6:30. My motivation is seeing the results of the dedication and work. Knowing that every step I take there is less of a chance My wife kids will have to watch me kill myself with poor eating habits and an unhealthy life style. if you have an ipod or mp3 you might want to give motivation to move a try. I listen to the free stuff and it is awesome.

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me..." Gob Bless

thanks stacy. i've also been trying to draw motivation that God can't be happy that he blessed me with this body and I'm not taking very good care of it.

i did get out bed this morning, later than i wanted to so my workout had to be shortened. man, i remember being able to jump rope a whole lot easier when i was younger!

later

The first i'd say two weeks for me was killer... i kept asking my self why, why even bother but when i see things i wanna wear and i cant fit in it kinda makes me get up and move... well so far ive been exercising everyday and i feel so good now, i have more energy and everything else. i cant wait to be healthy again. its good your trying to do this to better your self and your child's life. just think how happy you will be with the end result

I really had no way to motivate myself in the beginning. I just kind of "made" myself get up and do it, but after the first few weeks I found that I would start to wake up about 10 minutes before my alarm went off every morning. And, once you have done it for awhile, it really does feel good! The emotional feeling of accomplishment and the physical feelings of what is changing in your body feel terrific! I was recently sick and missed about 4 days of working out in a row and now I just feel blah, it has been hard to get back into it, but I know once I'm back in the loop I will feel better again, and have energy throughout my entire day again.

I know this thread is a bit old now, but I have to chime in.

I get up at 4:30 each morning (OK - the last week closer to 5:00) and I have to say the single most important thing to getting me out of bed is getting to bed at a decent hour.

I prefer the morning because it is cooler, and less crowded (OK, not crowded at all) when I run or when I go to the gym. It also gives me a great start to the day. I get up at 4:30, either run or go to the gym to do some weight training, get back home eat breakfast and get out the door to get to work 30 minutes away by 7:00. Another motivation for me is that if I sleep even 30 minutes late the commute sucks!

Now - I said at the beginning it has been closer to 5:00 this past week. I am all over myself for that one - and you know why it has been closer to 5:00? I haven't been going to bed till 10:30 or 11:00 when I need to be in bed by 10:00. The kids being home from school tend to stay up later so then I do....... I will get back into it though.

Good luck, and keep up the good work. Get up - I guarantee it will make you feel better.

You want motivation? Just get someone to work out with you. Nothing feeds the fires of competition that having someone to occasionally crush, or get crushed by.

My performance on the erg usually increases an order of magnitude if I am sitting next to someone, even it's some schmuck who has no idea what he is doing.

thanks everyone. i think i have it figured out, for me anyway. i have plenty of reasons why i want to get in shape (my daughter, the reason my wife really watches smallville with me ), but for motivation - its because i want to be in shape and healthy. i can have reasons, but i have to do it for myself first. make sense?

anyway, i have been getting up every day this week and exercising. feels good. i did my exercises to failure this morning, its hard to get out of my chair

great feeling.

later

i hear ya adam. i play tennis with a guy who is about the same build and height as me, but is in much better shape. when we play, it starts off a good match, but then i get tired and can't make shots. we're playing again this saturday, i have already begun talking smack (i'm gonna loose but thats beside the point). but i get what you are saying, wanting to beat him (one of my best friends, no animosity) is motivating me as well.

later

That's hilarious. I think my boyfriend has caught on to the real reason I like watching a few of my favorites as well, and has thusly started lifting weights with me.

I'm so glad you're making it work! Keep this up Richie.