by louise hurley – MumSafeTM Trainer Of The Year 2022
For many parents finding time to exercise can be challenging (not impossible though) and sometimes the only option can be to exercise before the kids wake up. But, when it’s cold, wet and still dark early in the morning, do you ever find yourself jumping out of bed with a full tank of energy, a big smile on your face, raring to go?
Me neither. I don’t think I have felt like this in my life during the colder months (or even the warmer months come to think of it)… and yet, most mornings I successfully drag myself out of bed to exercise, regardless of not wanting to leave my warm doona nest.
The trick is don’t rely only on motivation and instead build habits over time. Think of motivation as an ocean wave, it comes and goes, sometimes it’s strong and sometimes not there at all. Habits however, are like stone blocks that are solid and can be built upon over time.
Here are the five habits I always do to ensure that I drag my butt out of my cosy bed each morning to move my body:
I set out everything I need for the morning, including my clothes, socks, shoes, car keys and water bottle. Put everything you need in one place, like in the bathroom.
When I set out my clothes I make sure I have lots of layers to put on so that I’ll be warm and toasty while I get ready to leave the house. You can take layers off once you get moving and your body starts to warm up.
I make myself go to bed early. If I don’t get enough sleep, it makes it one hundred times harder to get out of bed early when it’s cold outside. If you’ve got young children you’ll most likely have interrupted sleep, which is even more reason to try to go to bed early.
I know the night before what I’m going to do in my training session so that I’m mentally prepared when I wake up. Make a plan the day before for what you’re going to do in your training session.
I move my body in a way that I enjoy. You’re more likely to hit the snooze button if you don’t enjoy the thing you should be getting out of bed for!
What you might notice is that there’s not a secret trick or one single thing that can increase your motivation to get out of your warm bed and move your body. Instead it’s a collection of behaviours that over time, turn the act of getting out of bed early to train (even though sometimes you don’t want to) into a habit.
Louise Hurley As a MumSafe™ trainer and Pregnancy and Postnatal Corrective Exercise Specialist, Louise’s mission is to help mums at every stage of motherhood safely start or return to exercise. Louise is the owner of Strong Mums and runs small group training and 1:1 PT. Find out more at www.strongmums.com or on social media @strongmumsgosford