Over the years I’ve grown to love exercising in the morning. It frees up my evenings, leaves me fewer excuses for skipping out on a workout, and helps me feel more alert throughout the day.The sense of accomplishment compounds throughout my day, giving me positive feelings that carry into client meetings and work sessions with my team.
Tips and tricks from Jane Wang, CEO of Optimity
Research shows morning workouts can also improve sleep, acuity, and productivity, as well as positively impact diet and exercise habits. At Optimity, we are tracking how it impacts business metrics and employee perception.
However, just because I love morning workouts doesn’t mean I leap out of bed at the sound of my alarm, eager to exercise every day. I’m not naturally a morning person, so I find it tough to head out for a run before the sun rises or attend a 6AM burpee bootcamp. I’ve skipped my fair share of early workouts, but I’ve also gotten quite good at not skipping them too, thanks to a little strategic planning, preparation and positive thinking.
If you’re wanting to become more of a morning exerciser, here are some of my top tips. Maybe they’ll help you too!
1. Ease into it. If you’ve never exercised in the morning before, don’t sign up for 6AM personal training sessions five days in a row. To start, schedule one morning workout per week.
2. Enlist a buddy. It’s a lot harder to skip a morning sweat session if you have someone counting on you to show up. No one wants to be that person who bails!
3. Before you go to bed, decide exactly what morning workout you will do. For example, instead of saying, “I will exercise before work tomorrow,” say “I will jog 2 miles and do 30 pushups before work tomorrow.” This allows you to budget just the right amount of time you’ll need to fit in your workout. It also prevents you from dozing back off to sleep while pondering what type of exercise you’ll do.
4. Give yourself a reward. When your alarm goes off, don’t dwell on how much you’d rather fall back asleep or how tired you are. Instead, give yourself something to look forward to. It can be a delicious breakfast sandwich or smoothie after the workout, a more-indulgent lunch to treat yourselve (sushi versus salad), or even permission to get that item you have been eyeing for the last few weeks (that book, that gadget, or that shirt)!
Working out in the morning isn’t for everyone, but I’m living proof that the non-morning person can live better with a little self-actualization at the beginning of each day. Hope this helps!
Let’s build a community:
Do you prefer morning, afternoon or evening workouts? What helps you early exercisers get out of bed in the morning?
