When it comes to picking a good time of for exercise, many experts agree that the early morning is the way to go. In fact, people who work out in the early morning supposedly tend be more consistent with their training program and achieve better results in the long term. Plus, in my experience, morning workouts usually get me feeling energized and uplifted for the entire day, boosting performance and productivity levels.
However, not everyone is a “morning person” and developing the habit of exercising very early can be quite a challenge. As a result, if you’re looking to start exercising in the morning, here are some tips to keep in mind that have helped me.
Organize
When building new habits in my a morning workout routine, I find it very critical to plan ahead the night before. The details of preparing for a morning workout should be engaged the night before the workout. Also, in the initial stages, think about how your morning workout and prep fits in with your more mundane routine. For instance, if you’re opting for an early morning run, make sure to lay out your running apparels before you go to bed so when you wake up in the morning, you’ll find it easy to head out the door without wasting much time. In my case, every night, I pack most of my gym bag before I go to bed and then leave it kind of near my front door, deliberately on the path between brushing my teeth and grabbing my keys and wallet. When I’m getting ready for my daily routine the next morning, this makes for less wasted time and energy.
Sleep
The best way to wake up early feeling fresh and energized for the workout is to take plenty of time to sleep at night. Being a late night owl can spell disaster for morning exercise. If you want to work out in the AM, make the choice of going to bed early and avoid distractions like TV or the net. Reading in bed can help you fall asleep. If you are one of those people with an extra-noisy brain who “can’t go sleep” at such-and-such hour, I recommend killing the caffeine an hour or so after sundown and taking up some form of meditation… Hey! …Roll your eyes when you are certain it doesn’t work!
Eat Something in the Morning
It’s kinda stupid to consume a large meal right before a workout, but experience has taught me to always eat a little something with carbs and protein 20+ minutes before I get to the gym. Everybody is different and many fitness enthusiasts even assert that is actually a good idea to work out with nothing in your stomach since the previous night’s dinner; but I can securely say, this does not work for everyone and I’m a firm advocate of getting a little fuel in the tank before you rev the motor hard. It can be anything light like a banana, an egg or two, a glass of organic milk, your favorite protein shake or whatever. Find out what the heck you find that works the best for you and run with it.
Drink Water
Given how much mammals need water just to survive and the fact that you are reading a fitness blog, the idea of drinking water should be the king of no-brainers. Every fitness source under the sun preaches: water, water, water, drink plenty of water …and you know what? They are super right. After 7 or so hours of sleep, your body will be pretty dehydrated, thus it needs water. Lack of water, AKA: dehydration, can cause muscle cramping and spiked heart rates due to low blood volume, leading to premature fatigue and other health problems. So, drink the darn water.
Keep Getting Back Up
Like they said in Batman Begins, we fall down so we can learn to get back up. If you find yourself not developing the habit of working out in the morning, or you keep breaking the habit, don’t give up! Quitting and/or guilt isn’t going to get you in shape, just continued effort, both physical and mental. Just like anything else that takes effort, choose to do it and keep trying knowing that tomorrow is always another day.
Since weight training and other anaerobic exercises are the main portion of my workout routines, the most important changes I’ve made to my eating habits of late is the addition of more protein and fluids. Logically, a great source of both these things is protein shakes. Protien shakes come in many formulas and flavors and they have come a long way from the chalky bile that they were in the 1980′s and 90′s. Over the years, I myself have tried lots of different fitness concoctions with a wide spectrum of both tastiness and usefulness. With taste and daily convenience heavily in my mind, I have currently settled on the following beverage of my own simple design.
My Current Shake of Choice:
After a couple of years of getting myself into this mess, I’ve decided it’s well past time to get myself out! For the past couple of months, I have been trying very hard to get back into the habit of going to the gym, and as of about a month ago, I did manage to buckle down, delete most of my mental excuses and got into the rhythm of exercising consistently. I’ve also been changing a few of my eating habits even though I’m not a fan of “diets”.
…but frankly speaking, I do have to admit, this time around, getting back into shape is much more challenging than it was in times before. I don’t know if it’s because I am older and I actually kind of feel it, or if it’s more so because I’ve never let myself go this badly before. I honestly do not know. Regardless, I’ve decided that neither of those ideas matter, because I just turned 38 years old and one way or another, I’m going to be fit before 40!