I’ve never been a morning person. I cherish my sleep, so there are few things that would make me voluntarily give up those few extra minutes of precious dream time early in the morning. My mother, on the other hand, has been religiously waking up at 7am almost every morning for the past 30 years to workout at her gym.
It takes dedication and commitment to be able to get up bright and early in the mornings to exercise, but the payoff can be great. There are many benefits to the early morning workouts. Exercising first thing in the morning has been shown to jumpstart your metabolism and keep it going at a higher level throughout the day. This means that you’ll burn more resting calories even if you are not being as active the rest of the day. Early morning exercise also boosts energy and decreases food cravings, so you can kick those snacks and empty calories to the curb. The result: a more pumped up and active you!
I’ve started to trade in my last hour of sleep in the mornings for an hour of exercise and have already started to feel much better throughout the day. In fact, people who work out in the morning have shown to stick to their exercise plans better than people who plan to exercise after work. One way to look at it is that there’s no room for excuses for not working out in the morning, it’s the first thing you do when you get up.
So are you ready to set your alarm clock a little earlier in the mornings to squeeze in some exercise? What are your thoughts on the early morning workouts? Share your morning exercise tips with us in the comments section below!