The Right Mindset for Morning Exercise: A Motivation Trick from Arnold Schwarzenegger
By Kelan Ern Last updated: 12/19/2025
A while back, I posted 7 advantages of working out right after work.
Harder to skip (if you make a bee-line straight there)
Gives you a much needed boost of energy
Helps shift mentally out of 'work mode'
Burns off the stress of the day
Settle into the evening with more peace of mind
More patient with loved ones
Fall asleep quicker and easier (and possibly sleep thru the night)
In fact, neurosurgeon Brian Hoeflinger echoed this advice:
“I exercise the minute I get home. The reason? Because there are just so many distractions once I walk through that door. If I don’t get my exercise done right off the bat, there’s a 9/10 chance I won’t do it at all. So I’ve trained myself to go out and do it the moment I get home, no matter what else is going on.”
It’s not for everyone though.
Some exercisers rock it in the gym at the crack of dawn. Others know that morning works better (due to work or family demands) but they struggle to get out of bed before the sun comes up.
That’s where former bodybuilder, actor and governator Arnold Schwarzenegger has golden ‘early bird’ advice. At a “Town & Country” Summit he shared when he wakes up he ‘doesn’t think’, he simply gets to work:
“I get up and feed my animals, Lulu and Whiskey, and my little pig Chanel I feed the dogs, then I go to the gym.”
In his half-asleep state he describes the drives to the gym as “kind of like a black-and-white-movie”. But the ride back is where life “becomes a colored movie.”
This is home-run advice for aspiring AM exercisers.
Why Your Brain Resists Morning Exercise
Many people struggle in their low-energy, morning grog and try to think themselves into motivation (and out of bed).
Instead…
Get in the habit of moving without thinking… without trying to pep talk yourself into it… without trying to win over that lazy voice in your head.
Don’t even play that game.
Just move anyway.
One morning I was doing a stretching routine in my office and my inner dialogue was yapping about god-knows-what including:
“This is going to take too long” “You don’t have time for this” “You should just get started on work”
I took a deep breath, nodded internally and just kept going.
I learned that your inner dialogue quiets down when you don’t listen to it or take it seriously. It loses power and it becomes 10x easier to take action. More importantly, you start to build the mental muscle to show up even when you don’t feel like it.
If it’s early morning workouts…
You’ll trust that you’ll wake up… mentally fire up your engines… and hit your stride before you know it. Next thing you know your workout will be over, the world will be a vivid colored movie and you’ll have energized your body and mind for the day ahead.
Might seem simple.
But get your body in motion and your mind will get out of the way.