Rise and Shine

Become that early riser that does a couple of hours on the the bike before work.

Yea easier said that done i hear you say. I am one of those riders who will set the alarm for 5.30 then when it goes off will hit stop and go back to sleep. Only to wake up at 7 wishing i had got out of bed and done a few k’s.

I have done some research on the best ways to wake up early and will share my experiences with you

1. Go to bed early: The earlier you head to bed the more likely you are to feel awake and ready to attack the next day nice and early. If your staying up passed midnight don’t expect your body to want to get up until well after 8am. You will most likely need 6.5 to 8 hrs of sleep each night. So do the maths and time your bed time to the time you want to get up
2. Habit: Make it habit to get up at say 6am every day. Even if your not going to go riding you should still try and get up at the same time, This routine will help train your body to waking up early every day. Research has shown that it will take about 20 days to create a habit. so stick at it for 3 weeks
3. Arrange to meet someone: If you have arranged to meet a training buddy down the road at a given time you are more likely to get out of bed and meet him. nobody wants to let a mate down
4. Eat dinner early: The earlier you eat your dinner the better, this will allow your body to ramp down and lull into sleep mode. Also don’t be drinking high sugar content drinks. Hot milk is good, coke is bad
5. Multiple Clocks: if you really struggle to get up then set your yourself 2 alarm clocks, and even better put them somewhere that forces you to get out of bed to stop them
6. Beat your mind: When your alarm goes off don’t lie there and think “aaa geez its early” get up before you think. that way you will be well out the bed by the time you think about it. DON’T USE SNOOZE
7. Hot Shower: Jump in a nice warm shower and then give yourself a quick 3 second cold spray. This will wake you up without fail
8. Wake up to music: Music is better than the dreaded “beep beep beep beep” If your alarm supports music play back then use it
9. Ease into it: Make sure you ease into your new routine. if you have been getting up at 10am everyday and then try get up and 5.30am the next day, its not going to work, you will need to slowly bring it back by about 30 mins every few days
10. Use the sun: During summer this is easy, cause the sun generally rises earlier. During winter this can be a bit harder.

I hope that these tips will help you get up earlier than you currently do. They helped me

This post is tagged early, Training, wake up, waking up, winter