One of the best benefits of getting a morning workout in is you will probably feel more motivated throughout the day, and you will also enjoy a boost of metabolism that will burn calories at a higher rate to jump start your morning. Along with burning calories faster, when your workout is over and it's time for breakfast, studies show that you will have less of an urge to eat a big meal or over eat.
One more benefit you will gain from working out in the morning is you will get it out-of-the-way for the day. If you decided you still want to workout later, that's great, icing on the cake. But unexpected problems that might get in the way of your workout will no longer be a problem.
But how do you get up early enough to plug a workout into your morning?
Here are 8 tips that I use to get you up and motivated.
Get Enough Sleep
This one is a no brainer -- if you don't adjust your sleep to get at least seven to eight hours, than you won't accomplish your morning workout goals. You might be able to get a couple days in at first, but eventually the tiredness will catch up to you, and you will fall short of being motivated for a morning workout.
I had a hard time going to bed early at first, but eventually my body adapted and it just became routine; and missing my favorite show was not much of an excuse, it was as simple as figuring out my DVR.
Put Your Alarm Clock Out of Reach
If all I have to do is roll over to turn off my alarm clock, I can easily just roll back over and fall back to sleep. But getting out of bed to turn off my alarm gets my blood flowing, if I stretch a little bit -- a few jumping jacks or something along that line gets me just motivated enough to get the show on the road.
Don't Turn On the T.V.
Turing on the T.V. can be a distraction, and if that distraction keeps you from getting out the door and off to the gym, then you are just cutting into the time that you should be using to workout. I wait until I get to the gym and then worry about the news and sports. The news won't change that much between the time I wake up till the time I get to the gym.
Make Sure Your Prepared the Night Before
Once I have gotten up to turn off the alarm, and I have my workout gear all ready to roll, I am then just about ready to leave for the gym. Outside of a trip to the bathroom, I should be just about out the door.
Sign Up for Classes or Get a Workout Buddy
Reasons to get out of bed to workout for me is mind, health and body -- that should be enough, but that does not always sound so good when you're nice and comfy in your bed. If you have to; having an obligation to show up somewhere should be just enough to avoid those thoughts of just giving up for the morning and telling yourself, "I'll do a workout later or I will get back to it tomorrow."
Let Your Body Adjust
This is important to know. Your body is not a machine. When you change your workout routine, for the first week give or take, could be a little difficult. Tiredness and soreness might be a little more than usual until your body can adjust to the new routine, but eventually your body will find a way to adapt.
Enjoy Your Breakfast Guilt Free
Reward yourself with a good breakfast guilt free. You obviously don't want to go backwards, but you can get motivated for that morning workout knowing you can enjoy your breakfast with a metabolism that will fight off calories quicker and more efficient than if you just rolled out of bed to eat.
Just Get Dressed
This may seem like an odd one, but there has been times when I didn't want to workout, but got dressed anyway. The more I walked around with those clothes on, sat down and turned on the T.V., or whatever I do regularly -- eventually something feels off and I might just find myself motivated to go to the gym instead of switching my clothes again. Much like having your gear ready the night before, you are half way there, you may as well finish what you started.
It's easy to find many excuses not to workout, it's even easier to find excuses if you have to get out of bed early to workout. But if you take some of these simple tips and utilize them properly, you might just find yourself in a morning routine that you can stick with.
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