I'm a morning person, always have been. Even in college after long nights, I was up by 8. I don't remember sleeping until after 10 ever in my life, even if I had been sick. Now as a father with small children and full time job, I'm up by 5 am 5 days a week and no later than 6 on the weekends. I want to work out early and get it out of the way. I have the most energy in the morning and I don't want to come up with an excuse in the evening and forego my workout.
How do I do it? I wish I knew; my wife wishes I knew so I could show her the way. I get up when my alarm goes off, I don't hit snooze. I don't see the point. I get up, get out of bed, put on my shorts, shirt and shoes, and grab a small healthy snack. Then I check into WOWY and get my workout started. I need the discipline of the routine to keep me focused and on track, and I need the morning energy to get me through. I also find that the workout keeps me energized all day and ready to kick butt.
There are dozens, if not hundreds of research articles with varying opinions on the subject. Some say that working out first thing in the morning is best. Some say afternoons are best. Some say it doesn’t matter when you workout, the benefits are the same. Everybody is different, and reality does play a part, but I’ve found that morning workouts are the best for me. Your body’s metabolism runs higher when you are awake; you’re heart rate is naturally increased from being vertical, and you most likely do more walking and moving out of bed than you do in bed. The calories burned throughout the day are directly correlated to your heart rate, so it stands to reason that the more you get your heart going in the morning, the more the afterburn will help keep burning calories all day. The more calories you can burn in a day, the quicker you can reach your weight loss goals.
Another benefit of the morning workout is that it doesn’t let life get in the way. How many times have you planned to workout at lunch or after work, only to get derailed? Maybe a meeting pops up and you don’t have your lunch time free any more. Maybe your kids get sick at school and you have to take care of them. Maybe you are too stressed from a long day on the job that you’d rather stop for a quick drink after work. Maybe you worked so hard that you’d rather just veg out on the couch when you get home and have a pizza. Maybe each of those happens one day after another, and before you know it you haven’t worked out for a week, and you decide to try again next week, or next month, or next year. Those are just a handful of the excuses I’ve used in the past to deter me from reaching my fitness goals. Morning workouts take all of those excuses out of play.
I know that not everyone is a morning person, but give it a try. After a short adjustment period you might find that you have more time in your day, and less time and reason for excuses.
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