As tempting as it is to repeatedly hit the snooze button, check out these seven worthy reasons to workout, run or just get up and get your body moving early in the morning. Of course, if you can’t workout first thing, any time of the day is better than skipping!
Dodge Distractions: When you exercise early, it’s the first thing marked off your “to-do” list. Unforseen opportunities and obligations later in the day, like an unexpected dinner date or working late to meet deadline, can foil even the best-intentioned plan to workout or run.
Elevate Mood: Exercise, any time of the day, instructs the body to release mood-boosting, energizing endorphins the brain. Why not get your workout or “runner’s high” before the rooster crows and enjoy being in this happy place all day long?!
Improve Productivity: Exercise makes you feel more energetic through the day and also increases the release of serotonin, which leads to enhanced mental clarity. Chasing down these two perks early in the early hours just might make your day a whole lot more efficient and awesome.
Boost Calorie Burn: Calories continue to be torched at an increased rate for a couple hours (and in some instances, as long as 10 to 24 hours) after exercise. It makes much more sense to kick up your metabolism sooner rather than later to burn more quickly through the food you are eating all day.
Snooze More Soundly: It seems contrary, but research shows that people who wake up early to exercise get more sleep in the long run over those who schedule their sweat sessions in the evening. That’s because exercising at night raises your core temperature, heart rate and adrenaline levels to a degree that makes it hard to wind down and fall asleep.
Beat the Big Crowds: Face it, the gym and many running trails get pretty packed right after the work whistle blows. If you hit it early enough, you won’t have to wait in line for your favorite piece of gym equipment or knock elbows and trip over dog leashes on a jog.
Bragging Rights: Telling friends and colleagues “I’ve already run 6 miles and done 50 pushups this morning” totally trumps “Hmm, I might go workout later today.”
Equally important to morning exercise is a good breakfast, I’ve talking about the importance of eating a morning meal so many times in the past — especially one that is protein packed to help taxed muscles recover and fight off the “hangries” until lunch.
If I’m in a hurry,I typically grab a Core Power High Protein Shake out of my gym bag, but if I have a few minutes at home I like to whip a quick recipe like my Lemon Raspberry Protein Mug Muffin or another protein-packed breakfast recipe up my sleeve.
Do you workout in the morning? Is it a struggle or are you an natural early-bird? Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer
When I first wrote this post, I only had 3 obstacle course races under my belt (now quite a few more), but was trying to nab a coin for the Spartan World Championship . . .maybe that was a lofty goal, but I figured it within my reach — especially if I could optimize my performance with a fast run (I’m a lifelong runner). However, the races I had done to that point, like 2015 Spartan Beast Dallas and 2015 Spartan Spring Houston have been so flooded and muddy that I had the wind knocked out of my running wheelhouse. Oh, yeah – but that spear throw also stood in the way. Ain’t nobody got time for 30 burpees in a race, so I figured I needed to make my own spear and practice. (Editor update: I DID earn the championship coin and ran in the 2017 Spartan World Championships in Lake Tahoe, nailing BOTH the spear throws on the course . . . if only everything else went so well, haha).
