7 Best Reasons to Workout in the Morning

If you groan each time that early morning buzz rouses you from sleep, there is very little about a morning workout that might sound appealing. In the words of the wise Ben Franklin:

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

It turns out the benefits of a morning workout routine make this statement truer than you might have guessed! Following are seven of the biggest benefits to implementing a daily morning workout.

MENTAL BOOSTER – Studies have shown that morning exercisers tend to be more productive throughout the day. This is because exercise can increase mental acuity for up to 10 hours post workout.

APPETITE CONTROL – Many morning exercisers report a feeling of appetite reduction throughout the day. This could be due to the workout itself or to a mental shift in having started the day in a healthy way and wanting to continue that trend.

IMPROVED SLEEP – It turns out that today’s morning workout might help you sleep better tonight by helping to better regulate your hormones throughout the day. Adrenaline will be highest in the morning and naturally taper off throughout the day, rather than being ignited late in the day by an evening workout.

QUIET TIME – Often our days are scheduled from the moment we wake until we fall asleep with to do lists and taking care of those around us. Early mornings can become a time of quiet and solitude to mentally prepare for the day and have a few moments to reflect.

CONSISTENCY – AM exercisers tend to be more consistent over the long haul with their routine. This is likely because as the day progresses life gets in the way or we feel too exhausted after the stress of a fully work day to hit the gym {even though it would help!}.

BETTER WORKOUTS – It turns out that by working out at the same time each day your body begins to prepare in advance for exercise. This means the muscles involved in your workout will actually begin to wake up while you are sleeping, making it easier to get up and preventing injury by acting as a warm up of sorts.

DEPRESSION BLASTER – According to Web MD the endorphins generated during a workout might just be one of the best ways to fight off depression or general life stress “Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. Research has shown that exercise is an effective but often underused treatment for mild to moderate depression.”

Now for the let’s get real segment…

HOW TO START A MORNING WORKOUT HABIT

Establish a schedule: Our bodies quickly adapt to new routines and will begin to automatically get sleepy and energized at the right time of day if you follow a consistent schedule. Yes, this includes weekends!

Sleep: You may not be able to stay up until midnight all the time if you really want to get in a great workout in the AM. Start by simply moving your bed time up by 10 minutes each week. Over time you may find that going to bed earlier feels more natural as your hormones begin regulating.

Movement: Start by swinging your arms in circles, do some side twists…strangely just these few moves will start to wake you up and help you feel a little more motivated to get going. After that extend the warm up of your workout to ensure your muscles are properly warmed up before beginning. This gives you a few more minutes to wake up as well!

Preparation: Layout your clothes, have a quick breakfast ready to go, pack your lunch the night before, have your work clothes picked out…in other words do whatever you can to make your morning faster.

Have Fun: Find the workout you enjoy the most and start there. Maybe that means a cardio or spin class where you can meet friends, maybe it’s a mentally refreshing yoga class or a stress busting run.  It could take some trial and error to find the workout that fits you, but once you have it will make the earlier morning alarm far more bearable.