Friday, April 12, 2013

Become an "Early Riser!"

Source here.

Why workout in the mornings?

1.      You might sleep better at night.  Researchers at Appalachian State University found that participants who worked out at 7am slept longer and better than when they worked out at 1pm or 7pm. 

2.       Even after moderate-to-vigorous exercise in the morning, you will probably not eat more.  Studies (here and here) from BYU found that people did not eat more food to “make up” for lost calories during exercise.  Not only that, but when neural activity was measured while participants looked at pictures of food, those who worked out in the morning weren’t as interested in or as excited by food.

3.       Better sleep + Exercise + Eating less can mean a significant decrease in cancer risk for women.  A study presented to the American Association for Cancer Research showed that of the 5,968 women followed, those with more than an average 7 hours of sleep per night (see reason #1 to work out in the mornings), along with consistent exercise had the lowest overall cancer risk.



Source here
 
You might be asking, "Getting my workout overwith in the  mornings would be great, but what if I'm just not a morning person?"  Here are some ways to "trick" yourself into becoming one!

What is your “Why?”
Figure out your goal or overall motivation for working out in the first place.  Have something specific you can think about when the alarm goes off and you’re talking yourself into staying in bed.

Prep as much as possible the night before, then GO TO BED
Make sure your clothes, water bottle, coffee, snack, etc. are all prepped and ready to go so you don’t have to worry about it in the morning.  But most importantly, go to sleep!  Get enough rest so that you won’t be as tired the next day.

Sleep in your workout clothes
Sometimes this is all the motivation you need early in the morning.  You’re already dressed, now all you need to do is brush your teeth, put on your shoes and head out the door. 

Consider moving your alarm clock
If you have to get out of bed to turn off your alarm, you might as well stay up and workout!  I sometimes put mine in the bathroom and if I’m already dressed and out of bed, I might as well stay there and brush my teeth!

Finally, Take advantage of our Early Risers special and leave all excuses behind!




 

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