How does one find the motivation to get up early to exercise?

Asked by livelaughlove21 (15724) January 13th, 2014 from iPhone

I started exercising on a regular basis (5 days per week) about 8 months ago. I was still in school and either worked out at 9 am when I had late classes or 3 pm when I had early classes. Now I’m working 8:30–5:30 downtown, so I have to wake up at 6 am just to get there on time (no exercise) and I don’t get home until 6:15 pm. Working out at night after working all day just isn’t going to happen – I have to cook, do dishes, and finally relax for a little while with my husband before we go to bed at 9 pm. Going to bed later would make it even harder to get up in the morning. My only option, it seems, is to get up at 5:30 am to exercise. Today was my first attempt at doing so and it was a failure. I ended up re-setting my alarm for 6:15, resulting in the best 45 minutes of sleep I’ve ever had. 5:30 am is just such a horrible time to be awake.

I never skipped a day of exercise when my schedule was light, but now it’s so hard to fit it in. I work too far away to bike or walk there and getting sweaty at lunch is out of the question. How do you motivate yourself to get out of bed early to exercise?