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In this article, I want to convince you that exercising in the morning will have a game-changing effect on your life.
Not only that, but I am going to share 3 tips on how you can do it successfully and consistently.
If you want more energy, more confidence, and also leave the crowd of mediocrity, then this article is for YOU.
Let’s get this show on the road!
Exercise in the morning… Really?
I know, I get it. Exercising in the morning sounds exhausting.
You might be wondering how and why you should motivate yourself to exercise first thing in the morning when you can barely lift your sorry ass out of bed.
Hear me out, because I’ve got some good reasons coming for you…
It’s no secret nowadays that exercising is one of the best habits in the Habit Book.
In the article I wrote here, I explained that exercising is the #1 Habit that you truly NEED in your life.
This is because the benefits of exercising are endless, and there doesn’t seem to be that many problems that exercising cannot solve.
If you feel drowsy, low on energy, or don’t have so much motivation, chances are that you aren’t exercising enough.
There are so incredibly many physical and psychological benefits of exercising, but maybe you are wondering why you should specifically exercise in the morning?
Why should I exercise in the morning?
Before we go into all the facts and science jargon of why you should exercise in the morning, I want to offer some brain food that might stir up your thinking a bit.
During the morning you hopefully have time for yourself (if you don’t, MAKE time for yourself). This time is important because you have the opportunity to start the day on your terms.
By giving yourself enough time in the morning before life’s complications and obligations come, you have the opportunity to prioritize the most important things first.
What is the most important? Well, personally I believe one of the most important areas to prioritize in life should be your health and well-being.
I mean think about it, how can you be of use and live out your full potential if you are not healthy, happy, and have enough self-worth to take care of your body?
By staying healthy and at good fitness, you have given yourself the circumstances to be at your best.
One of the most important and most effective ways to make sure that you stay healthy is to exercise.
By exercising in the morning you will have accomplished arguably one of the most important tasks of the day.
Saying for example that “I do not have time to exercise in the morning” is almost like saying that “my health and well-being is not my first priority”. Think about that.
If you are not convinced by the arguments above, below are 7 scientifically proven reasons why you should exercise in the morning.
These arguments are based on what happens mentally and physically when you exercise in the morning (and not in the afternoon/evening).
The 7 best benefits of exercising in the morning
1. Commitment and Consistency
Research suggests that the most committed exercisers are the ones that have formed exercising as a habit.
When exercise is the first thing on your to-do list, there is no excuse to not do it. You can’t blame work, studies, or anything else as a reason for missing a workout.
This is an important aspect of exercising in the morning, it is just a battle between you and your weaker self that wants to stay in bed.
If you beat that weaker self day after day, you will gain more and more self-confidence and you will become stronger and develop more resilience to life’s problems.
Also, oftentimes our willpower is depleted after a full day of working/studying, meaning it can be harder to motivate yourself to exercise in the afternoon if you feel exhausted and drained.
There are also fewer distractions from work, school, or other social activities that could risk you missing a workout.
By exercising first thing in the morning, you will have crossed the most important task off your to-do list, which means that you don’t have to go around worrying about not having the time later in the afternoon to do a workout.
2. Increased energy levels
It has been shown that exercise is a great way to get enhanced energy throughout the day.
When you get your body moving and your system going, you will feel that the energy that you use in the morning will come back to you with increased amounts during the rest of the day.
Through moving your body, you will become more alert, more focused, and better at handling life’s situations.
3. It is a habit that will help you make healthier decisions
Some research suggests that by exercising in the morning, you will have “set up” your brain to think more about your health.
This means that exercising in the morning could become a keystone habit that will affect other areas of your life, and you will most likely make better and healthier choices for yourself throughout the rest of the day.
This can mean that you have a higher chance of cutting back on junk food and other bad health habits if you exercise first thing in the morning.
4. You will feel better in many ways
A study found that just regular low intensity working out in the morning, like just taking a power walk or a light stroll, can increase energy by up to 20% and decrease fatigue as much as 65%.
Now that’s a good reason to exercise in the morning!
If you feel low on energy or have a lot of fatigue during the day, chances are you are not exercising enough.
One of the best ways to fix this problem is to move your body first thing in the morning, and begin your day with exercise!
5. Less stress
Exercise releases endorphins, which are the feel-good hormones, and which decrease stress and anxiety.
If you workout in the morning, you will most likely feel these effects during the rest of the day, which is when we want most of those benefits (and not when we’re sleeping 😉 )
6. You will get improved sleep
According to the National Sleep Foundation, working out in the evening may interfere with your sleep, while on the other hand the best time to exercise to get the deepest sleep later is in the morning.
This means that you will most likely have a more stable routine and fall asleep faster when you workout during the morning.
Also by exposing yourself to the light early in the morning, there is a chance you will have a higher production of melatonin (the sleep hormone) later at night.
7. It may help with losing weight!
Early morning workouts may help with losing weight, according to this study here.
This is because your body will burn more fat throughout the day when exercising in the morning before breakfast.
This will also set the tone for the rest of the day, and will together with making healthier choices maybe help you lose weight!
So HOW do I exercise in the morning?
Set the bar low
One of our core values at Habithon is that small actions, when done every day, lead to big results in the future.
A lot of people nowadays see exercising in the scope of either running a marathon or deadlifting 200 kg.
Stop comparing yourself to others and stop caring about how society frames exercise.
Exercising can be everything from taking a 10-minute walk, running on the spot for 2 minutes, or just doing 10 pushups.
Get yourself into the mindset of taking small actions towards your desired goal.
Also, as mentioned before, the morning exercise is not the time to try to set a new personal best.
Your morning exercise should be seen as a way to get your body moving and get you up and running for the day (no pun intended).
Also, if you see morning exercise as a burden, you have the wrong mindset going into it.
Your morning exercise should be seen as a gift, that you have the chance to move your body, enjoy nature, and feel really really good afterward.
Therefore it is important to set the bar low, and see your morning exercise as something enjoyable.
Implement a morning routine
The easiest way to make morning exercise a daily habit is by incorporating it into your morning routine.
By having a morning routine that you execute every day, you will start an automatic process and not think about the energy and willpower it will take to do the morning exercise.
By setting up a morning routine, you will have the best chance of succeeding in completing a morning exercise.
So how do you set up a good Morning Routine? Well, one way is by starting our Free 7-Day Morning Routine Guide!
With our Free 7-Day Morning Routine Guide, you will learn one of the best and most easy ways to exercise in the morning through HIIT.
Other suggestions for exercising
Exercising can include so many things, therefore here is a list of suggestions on how you can do morning exercise:
- Take a 20-minute walk
- Try out 5-10 minutes of HIIT
- Do 20-50 situps
- Jog for 10 minutes
- Begin with 10-20 pushups
- Try 50 jumping jacks
- Do 10 burpees
Of course, there are so many more things that you could during your morning exercise.
To make it enjoyable, I would suggest you do your most favorite exercises in the morning, therefore you have something to look forward to.
If you would like more guidance, here are a few channels that could help you.
Use this unique tool to implement morning exercise!
One of the problems with implementing new habits is consistency.
For example, exercising in the morning won’t help you in the long run if you only do it once in a while, remember it is the small things you do daily that will lead to amazing results in the future.
So how do you build consistency?
One of our favorite tools we use to build consistency in our new habits is by using the Vanaboard.
The Vanabord is an incredibly good looking offline habit tracker that lets you develop new good habits or get rid of bad ones.
We love the experience of using the Vanabord, it is so easy to use and makes habit implementing fun and enjoyable.
Our friends at Vanaboard have given you guys a 10% discount should you want to buy one for yourself. Click here to get your Vanaboard at a 10% discounted price! (Discount already applied to the link).
Last notes…
Hopefully, by now you will have convinced yourself that early morning exercise is a good habit to implement to build yourself up and set the tone for the rest of the day.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t or can’t exercise later in the day. Personally, I recommend you do both 😉
Exercising in the morning means that you prioritize your health and well being first, which is absolutely an essential element to create a good life and becoming the best version of yourself in the long run.
Don’t be the person that sacrifices health for wealth, be the person that takes care of yourself because you know your worth.
Nobody wants to be the richest person in the grave.
Also, there is nothing that gives you that level of self-confidence as being in the best fitness you can be in. Trust me on this one.
We want to hear from you, how important is exercise for you and when in the day do you exercise?
I wish you the best of luck in conquering the bed tomorrow morning and getting your ass out to exercise 😉
All the best, stay sweaty and healthy!
Gustav
Gustav
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