Why you should exercise in the morning

Now this is a challenge of mine this year; to get back into the routine of working out in the morning as I know it’s far better for me that waiting until later in the day. I used to be able to spring out of bed in the morning at 6am and be out pounding the pavement by 6.05am, however now it takes me at least 10 minutes to get out of bed. So this morning, yes I worked out in the morning but I wasn’t exercising till 6.20am… god knows what I did for 20 minutes!

Now you may not be a morning person; I’m definitely not, but when you find out the benefits of working out in the morning I’m sure you’ll want to at least try to get out of bed 30 minutes earlier!

1. More effective fat burning – a recent study from the Imperil College showed that the optimum time to burn fat is between 6am and 8am… so when you workout in the morning you will burn more fat than if you workout in the evening!

2. You are more likely to work out consistently – studies show that 90% of people who workout consistently, workout in the morning. The reasons below may be the reasons why.

3- A boost to the metabolism – similar to the fat burning… when you workout you rev up your metabolism and keep it higher for hours… sometime for at least 24 hours! So the higher your metabolism at the beginning of the day the more calories you burn throughout the day!

4. More likely to make healthy choices throughout the day – studies have shown that those who workout in the morning are more likely to eat healthy throughout the day. Their morning workout regulates their appetite and when they are hungry they pick healthier options because they started their day healthily. It essentially puts people in a healthly mindset for the rest of the day.

5. The more you workout in the morning, the easier it becomes if you exercise at the same time each morning and make a habit of it, your body will slowly adapt. So after a few weeks of dragging yourself to your workout you’ll soon be able to wake up in the morning earlier without difficulty.

6. A boost to brain power – Research shows that exercise increases your metal acuity, this can last for four to ten hours after exercising! So if you workout in the morning you will gain a boost of brain power that could last most of your working day… there’s no point wasting that brain power  while you’re sleeping!

7. No excuses – If you workout in the morning you are guaranteed to get your workout done! If you leave your workout till later in the day, life can sometimes get in the way or your become unmotivated and won’t do it after a busy or stressful day at work. If you work out in the morning you don’t have an excuse!

8- Always time – if you are one of these people who finds it difficult to find the time to exercise, then just wake up 30 minutes earlier and do your workout then! Everyone can get up 30 or 60 minutes earlier, if you need to, go to sleep a little earlier so you don’t miss out on any of your sleep!

So there you have it 8 reasons to set your alarm 30 minutes earlier tonight! If you really do struggle to get up in the morning, do it incrementally. Each day set your alarm to go off 5 minute earlier, after 5 working days of of doing this you will have managed to push your get up time forward by 25 minutes.. enough time for a quick workout!

Are you a morning person? Do you prefer to workout in the morning or evening? What are your top tricks to make sure you get up to squeeze in your workout?