Working out in the morning before work: how to get up for the gym
, 3 min read
The plan was perfect: working out in the morning before work, at 07:00, with the gym almost empty. Then you have dinner at 22:00, get to bed after midnight, and at 06:30 the alarm goes off far too early. You switch it off, tell yourself you'll go in the evening, and in the evening you don't go either.
If this sounds familiar, the problem starts the night before. Getting up for the gym on Spanish hours means bringing your bedtime forward, deciding everything before you sleep and starting with fewer days than you'd like.
Why getting up early for the gym is so hard in Spain
In Spain, going to the gym at 07:00 is already a genuinely early start. According to the CIS sleep barometer from 2017, only one in four Spaniards gets up before 7 on weekdays. The most common slot is between 7 and 8.
If you have dinner at 22:00 and set your alarm an hour earlier, that hour comes out of your sleep.
Working out in the morning starts the night before
Count backwards. Sleep experts recommend at least seven hours for adults, so your workout time sets your bedtime:
| You train at | You get up at | In bed before |
|---|---|---|
| 06:30 | 06:00 | 23:00 |
| 07:00 | 06:30 | 23:30 |
| 07:30 | 07:00 | 00:00 |
Opening hours won't be the problem: in Madrid, most VivaGym gyms open at 06:00 on weekdays. What you'll be short of is sleep, unless you move your evening.
Leave the morning free of decisions
At 06:30 every question is an excuse: what do I wear, what do I train today. Settle them before you sleep:
- Your gym kit by the bed and your bag packed by the door.
- The workout written down: "legs, 40 minutes", not "I'll see".
Start with two days, not five
On that first motivated Monday you'll want to go all week. Pick two fixed mornings, say Tuesday and Thursday, and leave the rest as it was. If you haven't missed one in a month, add a third.
Short sessions count too. According to the WHO, even a little physical activity is better than none.
Make sure someone notices if you don't go
The gym doesn't notice when you skip. The membership is already paid, and staying in bed costs you nothing extra. That's why things that are waiting for you work: a training partner who'll be at the door at 07:00, or something small you lose if you don't turn up.
When it's better to train in the evening
If you work shifts or there's no way you can get to bed before midnight, don't force it. In that case, train in the evening.
How Ultimatum helps
Ultimatum is the app we're building to help you do what you set out to do at the time you said: you choose the day and time for the gym, leave a small guarantee of, say, €5, and prove it with a photo taken there and then at the gym. If you go, you get your money back, and if the photo check isn't clear, nothing is charged automatically: a person reviews it. It isn't out yet; if you want to be among the first to try it, join the beta.