The Best Ways to Get Motivated to Work Out Every Morning

Long before I noticed any fitness benefits of doing burpees every morning, I noticed something else: I really, really, did not want to get out of bed, because once I got out of bed, I would have to do burpees.

But over the course of the month I committed to that challenge, I still managed my burpees every day. Some days I really didn’t want to, but every day I was happy when I finished. Here are some of the tactics that got me through it, and that can help you get motivated to exercise every morning too.

Dress appropriately

The worst thing about morning burpees, I found, was not the exercise itself—that I can handle—but the fact that it gets you all sweaty and gross first thing in the morning. And if you do 30 burpees in your pajamas, you’ll end up with super sweaty pajamas. Ew.

So I change from my pajamas into workout clothes if I’m going to do a full workout that morning. If I’m not, I sweat into a sports bra and a pair of shorts, then peel those off and take a quick shower before getting dressed for the day.

Give yourself a minute to wake up first

Another minor annoyance is that I really don’t like exercising immediately after I wake up. I realized I felt a lot better about exercising if I did it maybe 20 minutes after waking up, after I’d had a chance to have some caffeine, feed my kids, and maybe spend a few bleary-eyed minutes scrolling on my phone.

Start with a small commitment

Maybe you can do a ton of burpees when you get really motivated, but you’ll have to do your exercise every day, even on the days you feel really tired. Even on the days work is super busy. So I didn’t aim for 50 burpees a day; I told myself I would do a minimum of 10. With all the possible burpee variations, chances are there’s something you can do 10 of. (Or five! Or three!)

Track your successes

I have a bad habit of giving up on great ideas before I get a chance to see them through. But I really wanted to do burpees every day for a month, so I installed an iPhone app called Done to make sure I wouldn’t forget. Every day it reminded me to do my burpees, and every day I entered the number I did.

Something about seeing my progress really motivated me. The app encourages you to keep a streak, which can help with on-ramping a new habit, but it also adds up how many times you did your habit (in my case, burpees). Once I found my rhythm, I realized I was on track to do a thousand burpees by the end of the month—about 33 each day. Well, I’m sure not going to skip a day now, because it means I’ll need to work in 30+ burpees somewhere else in the month.

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Have a backup plan

After a couple weeks, I started to get a nagging ache in my back. I’ve felt this before, and I know it’s not serious, but it does mean I should rest a bit. But how could I rest without breaking my streak?

I returned to those modified burpees we mentioned before. I skipped the push-up, and stepped instead of jumped. This isn’t nearly as vigorous an exercise, but it kept me in the habit and gave me time to heal. After two days of easy burpees I felt great going back to my regular ones.

If I weren’t able to do burpees at all, I’d shift goals entirely. If I broke my leg, for example, maybe I’d find an arm exercise I could do every morning instead. I had to remind myself I wasn’t doing a Very Strict Burpee Competition for the World Burpee Association; I was doing a fitness challenge to do something to benefit myself.

Remember: There are other times to exercise in the day

Having a backup plan also means keeping the goal in sight even if you aren’t able to work out in the morning some days. I go through phases of being a morning exerciser and phases of being an evening exerciser.

If I’ve planned a morning workout and can’t fit it in—or if I stayed up late and I need my sleep more than I need that workout—I remind myself there are other times to exercise. Some days I can work out at lunchtime. Some days I can manage something in the evening. Occasionally I’ll shift a workout to a different day. Keep your eye on the big picture, and don’t beat yourself up for missing a morning every now and then. Chances are, the extra shut-eye you got when you overslept will give you more energy for tomorrow’s workout, anyway.

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