Early morning weight training is an excellent way to start the day.
Whenever I put off training until afternoon or evening it is always on my mind as something I need to get done. It’s a nagging feeling.
When I train early morning I can forget about it for the rest of the day – it’s one less thing I have to think about.
When you train early morning you start the day accomplishing something. While the rest of the city is sleeping in like a bunch of lazy bums you’re in the gym making yourself stronger.
By the time you get home, shower, eat something, most people are still in bed or just waking up and you’re ready to kick the days ass.
How to Start Training Early Morning
1) Get a workout partner. Unless you’re already an early riser it is critical to get a workout partner who will be waiting for you at the gym. It’s easy enough to sleep in if no one is waiting for you, but if you’ve got someone waiting for you then you have to get up and go to the gym.
2) Get enough sleep the night before. It’s no fun waking up at 5am if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Everybody is different in their sleep needs, but if you aim for 6-8 hours you should be fine. If you were unable to get enough sleep, still wake up and go train, come back and take a quick nap if you can.
3) Don’t hit the snooze button. Remember, you’ve got someone waiting for you. There is no time to sleep in. Set your alarm for 15 minutes before you need to walk out the door. You should be able to walk out the door within 15 minutes of waking up.
4) Don’t eat anything. You will likely still have food in your belly from the night before. There is no reason to eat a meal and be sluggish in the gym. You will be much more alert training in a somewhat fasted state. If you must have some calories take a protein shake.
5) Never miss a training day. No matter how much you don’t feel like training do it anyway. You will feel much better about going than you will feel about missing. Especially if you have a training partner who is waiting for you. Even though it may be hard to wake up that early it will become a habit within a week or two. When you make it a habit it’s no big deal to wake up that early.
6) Train as hard as you normally would. No point in going to the gym if you’re going to half-ass your training. Lift heavy and lift hard.
7) Enjoy the rest of your day.
My training days start like this.
- Alarm goes off at 5:05am
- Get up, let the dogs outside
- Turn on coffee pot and brew coffee (I get the coffee ready the night before)
- Brush teeth and other bathroom needs
- Get dressed and walk out the door by 5:15am with thermos full of coffee
- At gym by 5:30am, start hitting the weights. I start every Monday morning with heavy deadlifts
- Get home by 6:45-7ish and start my day
Boyer Coe – Long time proponent of early morning weight training.
