Are Early Morning Workouts Right For You?

by | Aug 2, 2017 | Fitness

When it comes to working out, our bodies are grateful no matter the time of day! However, if you choose to exercise in the morning your body may get some additional helpful benefits. What are they? Find out below!
01.

Choose Healthier Options

A morning workout can help influence you to choose better food options throughout the day. That’s right, pushing yourself early on may help you to be more conscious of the nutrition choices you make over the course of the day.1 By making healthier food choices, you’ll save calories overall!
02.

Boost Your Happiness

If you’re happy and you know it… work out earlier? Aside from eating healthier, when we exercise, our bodies are blasted with feel-good hormones known as endorphins.2 Who wouldn’t want to feel a bit happier in the morning? A good morning mindset kickstarts the rest of your day. If you’re feeling happy, that mood carries with you as your day progresses.
03.

A New Healthy Habit

Understandably, a rise and grind attitude may be hard for some of us to adhere to consistently. It’s easy to want to stay in bed for that extra precious bit of sleep. However, it is possible to achieve better long-term results if you can manage an early morning workout. Our bodies become used to routine and develop habits, which can take an average of about 66 days to develop.3 If you motivate yourself to get through the tough times, you can develop a healthy new behavior that will benefit you long-term.
04.

Save Yourself From Excuses

Oftentimes, as the day progresses our schedules get busy, making it hard to find time to work out. If you get it done early you save yourself from the distractions that can arise throughout the day. As Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, Chief Exercise Physiologist of the American Council on Exercise once said, “by doing the bulk of exercise first thing in the morning, you get your exercise in before other distractions can intrude…because once the day gets going, it’s hard to get off the treadmill called life.”4 Save yourself from excuses!
05.

Increase Natural Energy

For those of you coffee enthusiasts out there, a morning workout could help you cut back on caffeine by improving brain function naturally.5 However, it’s important to note that not everyone’s daily exercise ritual is going to be the same, or affect them in the same way. The important thing is that you’re up and moving on your way to becoming a better, and healthier, you. For a list of hours to visit your favorite City Sports Club gym, click here.

This article should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor. 

We hope this list better helps you reach those fitness and nutrition goals! Never give up on yourself. A small step in the right direction is better than nothing at all.

Sources:

  1. Dulan, Mitzi. “Http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2013/09/23/6-benefits-to-being-a-morning-exerciser.” U.S. News and World Report. N.p., 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2017
  2. Scheve, Tom. “Is There a Link between Exercise and Happiness?” HowStuffWorks Science. HowStuffWorks, 22 June 2009. Web. 01 June 2017
  3. Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W. and Wardle, J. (2010), How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 40: 998–1009. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.674
  4. Davis, Jeanie Lerche. “Lose Weight With Morning Exercise.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 01 June 2017.
  5. Pontifex, M. B., C. H. Hillman, B. Fernhall, K. M. Thompson, and T. A. Valentini. “The Effect of Acute Aerobic and Resistance Exercise on Working Memory.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 4 Apr. 2009. Web. 01 June 2017.