Man, I wish I could bottle what I’m feeling right now. Even though I’ve been regularly working out for over 4 years now, its feel-GREAT factor never ceases to amaze me. It really is one of those feelings that not even a million dollars could buy (a billion dollars may be a different story ;-)). Like I do every Monday morning, I woke up to hit the gm before work, but today I really pushed myself to run further than I have in a while…metaphor aside, I went that extra mile. Thanks to that, I am filled with renewed energy and optimism for the day ahead. Not even getting drenched on the walk home from the gym could rob me of this feeling. Without fail, every session leaves me feeling a hundred times better both mentally and physically.
I’ve read loads of articles which promote exercise first thing in the morning because that is when ‘ your body’s fat burning potential is at its peak, it boosts your metabolism for the rest of the day’ yaddy yada yada. To be honest, I really can’t be bothered to get bogged down with such technical details. The fact of the matter is that if you exercise and get your heart rate moving, you WILL burn fat. It’s just about finding what time of day suits you as that’ll make you likely to stick to your routine. Personally, I love working out first thing in the morning. It really sets me up for the day ahead and as cheesy as it sounds, something about finishing it first thing in the morning makes me feel on top of the world- I blame it on the endorphins.
Before the day has even really begun you feel like there has been a job well done. Every bite of breakfast feels like you’ve earned it and it just tastes THAT much better. You know that if you’re feeling exhausted at the end of a long day at work, you can go home and sit on your sofa doing absolutely nothing GUILT-FREE. Yes, sometimes it is a struggle to get out of my warm bed which I have nicely moulded myself into. Yes, I do mentally contemplate the insanity of leaving my bed when the alarm goes off at 6.45 am, but nine out of ten times, I’m able to remind myself how great I’ll feel after. What makes it a lot more do-able for me is planning ahead:
- Each night I mentally prepare yourself. Just thinking I will go prevents me from making excuses the next morning. I also take a few minutes to map out my workout (e.g. run 8 km and then do arm weights, or 30 minutes of interval running, 15 minutes cross trainer, and then arm weights, etc)
- Start on Monday. I always do my longest run of the week first thing on a Monday morning. It starts my week off at the right foot and gives me the momentum for the rest of my morning workouts
- I set my alarm to a time which still lets me hit ‘snooze’ for 20 minutes
- Make a playlist which will keep you pumped during your workout. As exhausted as you are, it’s slightly impossible to stop yourself from doing a little jig when you hear ‘Tik Tok’
AND THE BIGGIE
- LAY OUT EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED FOR THE NEXT MORNING including clothing (shorts, sports bra, t-shirt, socks), pouch with essentials (money, keys, hair tie), towel, water bottle, umbrella if you living in London or Mumbai, and of course a fully charged iPodà Who can be bothered to remember all this first thing when you wake up!!
Fortunately, waking up to exercise has become a habit for me and my body clock naturally wakes up by 7 am. I know exercising first thing in the morning isn’t for everyone. Some use exercising as a tool to de-stress after a long day. One thing is for sure, no one can deny the therapeutic effect of a good workout. Even if someone tells you that you “should” do more weights or you “should” vary up your routine, do whatever makes you happy as that is what will boost your mood! Have a great Monday guys!