# 5am club app: one shared alarm for a club, in one city or across time zones

Friends and groups · https://lfg.gm/5am-club-app · Updated 2026-10-17

A 5am club app should get a group of people up at the same early hour and show who actually made it. LFG Alarm is a social alarm clock for iPhone and Android that does this with one shared repeating alarm: everyone joins one link, every phone rings at 5:00, and the wake board ranks who got up first. For a club spread across cities, pick "Everyone's local time zone" and each person wakes at their own 5:00, with the board open for a full day. The creator's note holds the day's plan, and a link can open the playlist or the gym's class booking when people answer.

## Why a club beats a solo 5am alarm

A 5:00 alarm on your own phone is a private deal with yourself, and private deals are easy to break at 4:59. A club changes the deal:

- **Someone is counting on you.** In a randomised trial of 166 adults in a weight-loss programme, 95% of those who joined with friends and had social-support training finished treatment, against 76% of those who joined alone.
- **A partner makes you push harder.** In an exercise-game study of 153 students, people with a virtually present partner held planks significantly longer than people alone.
- **The plan is already made.** The first minutes after waking are groggy: sleep inertia is a temporary drop in alertness that, without major sleep loss, rarely lasts more than about 30 minutes. That is the worst time to decide what to do. A plan written the night before removes the decision.

## How it works in LFG Alarm

**One shared repeating alarm.** On **Alarms**, tap **⏰ Time**, choose **Repeating**, set 5:00 and tap the days. Under **Make it social**, pick friends. Everyone who joins rides the same alarm, with the same sound and wallpaper. See [Time alarms](https://lfg.gm/wiki/time-alarms).

**Same moment, or everyone's own 5:00.** A shared time alarm has two settings under **Time zone**:

| Setting | Who it suits | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| **Same time zone for everyone** (default) | A club in one city, or a class at a fixed time | Every phone rings in the same second, shown in each person's own time |
| **Everyone's local time zone** | A club across cities | Each phone rings at its own 5:00; the wake board stays open until everyone is up, or 24 hours after the first ring |

**The wake board.** After each ring: a podium of first, second and third up, medals like **First up**, **Snooze champ** and **Buys coffee** for the last one up, and stats for the club. On an each-person's-own-time alarm, everyone is ranked by how fast they got up after their own ring. See [The wake board](https://lfg.gm/wiki/wake-board).

**The creator's note is the day's plan.** Pin it in the studio under **Creator's note**: the workout, the reading, the meeting point. It is shown on the alarm for everyone who opens it, never on the ring screen, so the ring stays a clean wake-up and the plan is one tap away. You can change the note any time, even after people have joined, so one alarm can carry a new plan every day. See [The studio](https://lfg.gm/wiki/the-studio).

**A link that opens when people answer.** Add the playlist for the run, the class booking page or the video call, and it opens as people tap through.

**Groups.** Save the club once in **Settings** > **Friends** > **Groups**, then **Create alarm with this group** whenever you start a new season. See [Friends and groups](https://lfg.gm/wiki/friends-and-groups).

**It rings like an alarm.** Time alarms ring from the phone itself, even offline. On iPhone they use Apple's own alarm system, which rings through silent mode and Focus; on Android they take over the screen, even when the phone is locked.

## Three clubs

**A writing club across three cities.** Mia in London, Jordan in Chicago and Lena in Melbourne want two quiet hours before work. Mia makes a repeating alarm for 5:00, Monday to Friday, with **Everyone's local time zone**. London rings first, then Chicago, then Melbourne, each at its own 5:00, and the board stays open for the day so nobody is ranked against a time zone. The note says "This week: 500 words before 7, post your count in comments". Whoever lands **Buys coffee** most often by Friday picks next week's prompt.

**A 6:00 gym class.** A small gym's early group trains at 6:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The coach, Dev, makes a friends alarm for 5:15 with **Same time zone for everyone**, sets **How people get in** to **I approve each one**, and posts the link in the members' chat. The note changes each week: "Mon: legs. Wed: intervals. Fri: partner workout, bring a towel". The link opens the gym's class booking page, so a groggy member can confirm a spot straight from the alarm. Dev keeps the regulars as a group called "6am crew".

**A run club with a playlist.** Kai's Sunday club meets at 6:30 by the river. The alarm rings at 5:30 with a loud song from the studio, the link opens the club's running playlist, and the note says "Bridge at 6:30, 10k easy, coffee after". Whoever earns **Buys coffee** on the board buys it.

## Set it up in five minutes

1. Add your club as friends (**Settings** > **Friends**, **Invite friends** for anyone not on LFG Alarm yet) and save them as a group.
2. Open the group and tap **Create alarm with this group**, then **⏰ Time** > **Repeating**.
3. Set 5:00 and the days, and choose the **Time zone** setting.
4. Tap **Arm it**, then **Pick the vibe**: a sound, a wallpaper, the **Creator's note** with the first day's plan, and your own snooze.
5. Share the link with anyone else. Update the note each evening.

**Try this.** Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or another AI agent that has the LFG Alarm connector (https://mcp.lfg.gm), not into the LFG Alarm app. The person needs the LFG Alarm app on their phone.

> Use LFG Alarm to set a repeating alarm for 5:00 Monday to Friday called "5am club", make it a friends alarm that rings each friend at 5:00 in their own time zone, add my friends [username], [username] and [username], pick a bright drawn wallpaper, and give me the link.

Why it works: Everyone gets woken at 5:00 wherever they live, which suits a club spread across cities; add the note and the link in the app afterwards.

## Common mistakes

- **One moment for a club across time zones.** **Same time zone for everyone** rings Chicago at 11:00pm the night before when London wakes at 5:00. Use **Everyone's local time zone**.
- **Putting the plan in the alarm's name.** The name is short; the note is where the plan goes, and you can change it daily.
- **Setting the alarm for the start time.** Ring 45 minutes before the class or run, so people have time to get there.
- **Expecting your snooze to apply to everyone.** Snooze is personal to each phone; agree a limit as a club. See [the accountability alarm](https://lfg.gm/accountability-alarm-app).

## Questions

### What is the best 5am club app?
For a club, one that shares the alarm and shows who got up. LFG Alarm rings everyone on one repeating alarm, at one moment or at each person's own 5:00, and its wake board shows who made it.

### Can a 5am club span different time zones?
Yes. Choose **Everyone's local time zone** and each person is rung at their own 5:00, with the wake board open for a full day.

### Where do I put the day's workout or plan?
In the creator's note. Everyone sees it when they open the alarm, and you can change it any time.

### Is it a good gym accountability app?
It is a good way for a gym group to get up for the same class: a shared alarm, a board of who got up, a note with the session and a link to the booking page. It does not track workouts.

### Does it cost anything?
LFG Alarm is free to download, and riding someone's alarm is free.

## Sources and further reading

- Wing and Jeffery, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1999: [abstract](https://experts.umn.edu/en/publications/benefits-of-recruiting-participants-with-friends-and-increasing-s/)
- Forlenza, Kerr, Irwin and Feltz, 2012, on exercising with a virtual partner: [PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4991586)
- Tassi and Muzet, "Sleep inertia", Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2000: [abstract](https://www.em-consulte.com/article/588100/sleep-inertia)
- [Time alarms](https://lfg.gm/wiki/time-alarms), [The wake board](https://lfg.gm/wiki/wake-board), [The fastest way to make a group alarm](https://lfg.gm/group-alarms) and [The best social alarm clock apps](https://lfg.gm/best-social-alarm-clock)

## Keep exploring

- [How to make one alarm ring the whole group chat](https://lfg.gm/group-alarm-for-roommates.md): Roommates and group chats ride one alarm link, and Rocco shows who slept in.
- [A shared alarm clock for couples: one alarm, two phones](https://lfg.gm/couples-alarm-clock.md): One alarm that rings both phones, with your voice or a song about them.
- [Alarm app for co-parents: one alarm a day you both can't miss](https://lfg.gm/alarm-app-for-co-parents.md): One alarm a day from your co-parent or partner, for the swap, the early pickup or costume day, ringing both phones with the note and link attached.
- [The fastest way to make a group alarm with your friends](https://lfg.gm/group-alarms.md): Save your people once as a group, then one tap makes an alarm that rings every phone together.
- [What is a social alarm clock?](https://lfg.gm/social-alarm-clock.md): An alarm you share by link, so every phone that joined rings together, with a wake board of who got up.
- [How to give your partner a heads-up they can't miss](https://lfg.gm/partner-heads-up.md): One alarm for the moment that matters, on both phones, with your note or your voice on it.

## About LFG Alarm

LFG Alarm is a social alarm clock for iPhone, iPad and Android. It rings for times and for moments (a post on X, a stream going live, a token price, a wallet buying, an event starting), and one shared link makes every phone that joined ring together. Rocco, the cat inside the app, does the watching and the waking.

- Get it on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gm.lfg.app
- Download on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6821089085
- Use it from an AI agent: add the MCP server https://mcp.lfg.gm as a connector, then ask in plain words.
- Every page for agents: https://lfg.gm/llms.txt