Many people exercise simply to lose or manage their weight, but there are other important benefits. Exercise helps reduce anxiety, supports your immune function, and improves your quality of sleep.
A lot of people prefer to work out in the morning for a variety of reasons. However, if you are not one of them, you may be wondering how people can get up and get moving that early.
One of the most common reasons people like to work out in the morning instead of in the afternoon or evening is because you can get your workout out of the way by doing that and you will have increased energy throughout the day.
Working out in the morning is kind of like breakfast in that it boosts your metabolism at the beginning of the day. Because of this, you will burn more calories throughout the day, just by exercising in the morning. One study also found that morning workouts are often preferred by people who have trouble sleeping at night. People who work out in the afternoon tend to carry that energy into the evening and may have a hard time getting to sleep.
Another reason to work out in the morning it that it will keep you consistent. If you set your alarm for the same time every day, you will stay on schedule with your exercise and your body will appreciate the routine. Also, if you don't give yourself time during the day to come up with excuses or have other things get into your schedule, you won't go a day without a workout. If you get up and get going as soon as your alarm goes off, you are more likely to workout without making an excuse.
Working out in the morning is one habit that is common among successful people. In fact, Al Sharpton works out on a stationary bike every morning before going for a run. After doing the cardio exercises, he focuses on stretching and lifting weights. When he can't get to his workout at home, he uses the gym at work during the day to get some of his fitness in.
When Al Sharpton exercises in the morning, he doesn't care about his appearance and typically just wears old clothes. Added to a diet makeover, this morning workout routine has allowed him to lose over 100 pounds.
James Citrin, CEO of Spencer Stuart, also gets moving by 6:00 am. He uses this quiet time to reflect on his priorities for the day and mentally plan out how he wants his day to play out. Citrin actually asked various executives whom he admired about their morning routines when he was researching for an article he was writing. Among the 20 people he interviewed, the latest any of them slept on a regular basis was 6:00 am.
The truth is, successful people create priorities they want to accomplish, or positive habits that they like to do during the day, and early mornings are the time when people often have the most control over their schedules.
In a world of chaos, the day can easily slip away from you as other people's priorities make their way into your life. Seizing your mornings is similar to the idea of paying yourself before you pay your bills. If you don't pay your bills until the end of the month, you will only have whatever money is leftover to use. The same goes with energy during the day. If you wait until the end of the day to workout, you can only use the energy that you have left over.
When it comes to working out, consistency is key. So as long as you do it as much as you can, you are benefitting your body. So try to get into the routine of getting up and working out right away so you can be sure to improve or maintain your physical health. It something in your life has to happen, it has to happen first. So take whatever priority that you have and move it to the beginning of your day so you can be sure that it gets accomplished.