8 ways I trick myself into waking up early to go to the gym

Back in March, I signed up to run a half-marathon; partly out of a desire to challenge myself, mostly on a whim.As theOctober race day looms closer, the amount of time I need to dedicate to runninghas ramped up.I quickly realized that if I wanted to adequately train for my race and maintain any sort of social life, I needed to make morning workouts a habit.Heading to the gym or lacing up for a run isn'talways what I want to do first thing in the morningespecially in the heat of Augustso I took a cue from my Business Insider colleague, Libby Kane, and found several ways to trick myself into getting up early to work out.I can't guarantee that they'll work for you, but here are eight waysI motivate myself to get out of bed and break a sweat.SEE ALSO:I started waking up at 6 a.m. every day ' here's what I'm able to accomplish with the extra timeDON'T MISS:14 ways I trick myself into going to the gymI make getting up early a routineeven if I dont go to the gymThe combination of getting up before the sun and having to push through a tough workout is daunting. So I made getting up early routine. On days I dont have gym plans, I still try to wake up at the same timeand meet friends for breakfast, enjoy quiet mornings at home, or even head into work early. Since Im already used to rising early, its one less obstacle to face on mornings that call for a workout.I tell myself I only have to run one mileThe mental block of how hard my workout will be often discourages me from getting up. If Im dreading running hills or finishing a difficult spin class, Im more likely to hit snooze and accidentally run out of time to complete it. So I tell myself I only have to make it one milea 10-minute workout, tops. Once Im up and actually exercising, I rarely stop after only a mile, but telling myself Im allowed to does the trick to get me started.I incentivize myself with good musicIf I find a new (or new-to-me) song that fits in with the weird, curated mix of emo, hip-hop, and bubblegum pop that motivates me to run, I download it to my exercise playlist and only let myself listen to it there. The prospect of new music gives me something to look forward to while I work outespecially if I know its the only place I can finally hear the song Ive had stuck in my head for two days. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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