11 January 2012

PERFECT DAY TIP #2 : EXERCISE AT SUNRISE

This is the second post in the Perfect Day Tip Series. If you missed the first post, you can read it here.

Up until 6 months ago I was not a morning exercise person. Not at all. In fact, I had a massive resistance to the idea of exercising in the mornings and I had a whole bag full of excuses about why I could not do it. 

Although I had a pretty consistent fitness routine in the afternoons, I found that when life got busy or I got tired, this was the first thing to get the chop. So, to overcome my "I'm too busy" sabotage strategy, I thought it would be a great idea to get up early and squeeze in my exercise before work. 

For months, I really wanted to start to exercise in the mornings. I would think about it, set goals around it, and try to force myself to wake up for it, but it never happened. I always had so many valid  reasons why I couldn't - too tired... not enough time... it's too hard... too cold... too hungry...blah blah....







(above: a pic from one of my morning runs)

SO WHAT CHANGED?

Fast forward to now, and I pretty much never exercise in the afternoons anymore. Why? Because I love doing it the mornings so much!

So, want to know how I did it? Want to know how I changed myself from a 'chronic morning exercise procrastinator' to someone who jumps out of bed at 5am ready to go?

Well, I'll tell you!

HERE ARE MY HOT TO TROT, MORNING EXERCISE TIPS...

+ DECIDE
A lot of people like the idea of exercising in the mornings, but actually getting their butt out of bed and doing it is a whole other story. I clearly remember the evening I actually decided I was going to do this. I was totally committed. 

Before that it was just kind of a wishy washy desire. Once I decided it was going to happen, I became completely dedicated to doing whatever it took to make it happen. 

+ PLAN
Before I did anything, I started by planning everything that I would need to do to get it happening (trust me, you will be waaay too disorientated in the morning to try to plan any of it then!)

What to plan...
+ What time you will get up
+ What time you will get to the gym/park etc for your exercise
+ How long you will exercise for and what you will do
+ What time you will finish 
+ How long you will need to get ready for work 


+ PREPARE
Before exercising in the mornings, I would prepare everything I needed the night before. 

What to prepare...
+ Your clothes, shoes, and accessories (eg: ipod, hat)
+ Your gym bag 
+ Your food for the next day* 

*Now this is completely up to you. Personally, I was often in a bit of a rush to get ready for work, and I wanted to make sure I had healthy food after my workout. So I whipped my food up the night before.


+ CREATE A HABIT
I wanted to create this whole morning exercise thing, as a new habit for myself. I wanted it to become something I did easily. For me personally, I knew that if I only did this every now and then, I could easily fall back in to procrastinating on it and using the same old excuses. To succeed, I knew I had to make this part of my daily routine.

To create a rock solid habit..
+ Do it everyday (except Sunday mornings of course!)
+ Wake up at the same time everyday
+ Do it in a similar way everyday


STILL NOT CONVINCED? 

Well, maybe this will inspire you...

SOME OF THE (MANY) BENEFITS OF MORNING EXERCISE INCLUDE..

+ You get to revel in that amazing post-exercise-buzz all day long
+ It gives your metabolism an amazing kick-start
+ You can enjoy everything you eat even more because you know you have totally earned it
Your exercise is over and done with, so you do not need to think about it for the rest of the day
+ You will feel super proud of yourself
+ You will have a rockin' hot sexy body to show off as a result! What better reason is there than that?


So, over to you! Tell me...

+ What is your exercise routine?
+ Are you a morning exercise lover?

3 comments:

  1. so true! i love working out in the morning. it's all true what you said here. it's difficult but you can make it. im curious at what time you wake up. me -during spring and summer around 6 am, right now im waiting for my gym to be open at 6 am so ill be waking up around 5 30. a great challenge and huge motivation for upcoming summer. plus i love to be fit. afternoons suck when you work a lot and you're to tired to go to gym or you don't have enough time. mornings are much better!!!
    i wish you could share with us your healthy recipes, things you do for lunch for example.

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  2. Getting out of my nice warm bed is a challenge but it's the ONLY way for me to be consistent with my workout routine. I feel more energized and accomplished and not matter what unexpected event pops up in the day I've already taken care of myself first and that matters most. My saving grace has been planning ahead i.e. setting out clothes and shoes the night before. Two thumbs up on this post!!

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  3. miss deva - I currently wake up at 5:30, or even earlier sometimes. I like to be out on my run by 5:45 as that is when the sun rises here in summer. I am so glad that you are loving the morning exercise too. It is awesome that you are up and ready to be at your gym by 6am. Go girl!

    Thanks for asking about my healthy recipes, as you have now given me a great idea for a new post. I will bring you more information on food and what to eat soon!

    sunshine - sounds like you are rocking out all of the tips i recommend in this post. so awesome that you have a consistent routine happening. yep, laying things out the night before definitely helps!

    Connie xx

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