(Today’s post brought to you by Ali Damron)
I love to exercise in the morning. It sets the pace for the entire day to make better dietary, gives me energy and relieves stress before the stress of the day can pile on. When you exercise in the morning, there are less excuses you can give yourself than later in the day when you’re tired, have deadlines and too much work to do and your family is calling for you. It’s comforting to me being awake before the rest of the world when things are calm. Here are the ways I’ve moved my workout from the end of the day to starting my day on the right foot.
1. Go to bed earlier. I know that this may seem hard for some of you, but when I exercise in the morning, I’m more productive during the day and therefore I don’t have as much to do in the evening and can go to bed earlier. I doubt that many people are actually being productive until the moment before their bedtimes either. Cut the TV time in half and climb into bed earlier.
2. Start slow. Instead of setting your alarm for an hour and a half before your current alarm is set, set it for 15-20 minutes earlier and do some Tabata training or other short intense workout to get the job done fast. As you get used to getting up earlier, start setting it earlier to where you can get the workout you want in before work.
3. Make realistic goals. I’ve met very few people who can set a drastic goal one day and start the next without a hiccup. This goes with #2. Don’t just tell yourself that you are going to wake up several hours earlier than you currently do every single day and never look back. That’s setting yourself up for failure. Make your goals realistic. Maybe start by waking up earlier three days a week and dedicate one weekday as “sleep in” day and forgo working out in the morning or do something quick and intense that requires less time.
4. Plan. Set your gym clothes and pack your bags the night before. When my stuff is waiting for me, I am much more apt to get myself in gear in the morning. This includes planning on what workout you’ll do in the morning. If you plan, you know what you’re going to be missing if you skip.
5. Say a mantra. When the alarm goes off and you want nothing more than that extra hour of sleep, quickly think to yourself how good you’ll feel about yourself after the workout. I really only takes a couple of minutes to wake up and then you’ll feel glad that you made the sacrifice and got your butt in gear. You’re only one workout from being in a good mood.
6. Use social media to your advantage. On your Twitter feed or Facebook page, tell the world that you’re doing a new type of workout in the morning. That could motivate you to actually do it. Also, apps like dailymile notify the world that you actually did run. There is something to be said about accountability.
Working out in the morning really does create a mental shift for the rest of the day. Once you get in the routine, you’ll be addicted to the morning ritual and nothing will stop you. It creates a feeling that you can conquer your day better than when you roll out of bed, eat a greasy or sugar-laden breakfast and need coffee (and lots of it) to survive the day.
photo credit: lululemon athletica via photopin cc
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