You’ve heard before that people who work out first thing in the morning tend to be more successful at following a fitness program. Ever wonder why? Well, yes, a lot can be said for getting it done and getting on with your day.
If you want to exercise consistently and long term (like the rest of your life), exercise in the morning as the odds will be greatly in your favor. Over 90 percent of people who exercise ‘consistently’, do so first thing in the morning.
If you find that it’s way too easy to avoid your exercise routine, it’s likely that you’re approaching your day backwards. Trying to fit it in long after your day has begun means you open the door to all kinds of distractions, temptations and excuses, and it’s not easy trying to generate the energy to move past these “dream stealers”.
Here are 8 tricks to help you become an early morning exercise
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Set your intention – consciously decide the next-day’s intentions to actively and mindfully create a positive expectation for the next morning. Whether or not you should workout is not a decision you can make in the morning. Your pillow and blanket will win every time. You must make up your mind the night before and make it a non-negotiable plan. Set the alarm. If necessary, set 2 alarms 5 minutes apart to get your butt out of bed.
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Prepare, prepare, prepare – pack your bag with everything you’ll need. Lay your workout clothes out where they are easy to pop on.
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Start with one or two days – pick the days that are going to be easiest to manage and choose mornings where you can get to bed early enough the night before!
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Eat that frog – your ‘frog’ is your biggest, hardest and most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on. Tackling that task first before you do anything else without thinking too much about it will make more impact on your success at anything in life more than any other quality or skill you can develop. Successful, effective people are those who launch directly into their major tasks and then discipline themselves to work steadily and single-mindedly until those tasks are complete.And… it does leave you with a wonderful feeling of satisfaction as your early morning exercise session is likely to be the hardest thing you will have to do all day.
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Develop strong self-discipline – getting up early in the morning to exercise enhances your personal discipline. Think of it as a “TEST” or personal challenge and just like any habit, developing the discipline to get up and get it done only gets easier with time. More importantly, this discipline is likely to spill over into other areas of your life. After all, if you’re going to such lengths to exercise early morning, pairing that with healthier eating, as an example, makes good sense.
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Focus on the outcome -there are so many benefits to persevere and develop this wonderful habit – jumpstarting your metabolism, regulating your appetite to not only to eat less but making better choices with healthier portions of healthier foods and so on.
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Change your mindset – “But I’m not a morning person”. None of us are morning people until we become morning people and shift our mindset. Say “I am becoming a morning person”, and then become one.Take that mindset a step further and make another profound change – learn to LOVE your early morning exercise session. Make a decision to look forward to it, and enjoy this special self-care time.
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Love your life – Do I even need to argue this one? You have created a strong habit of morning exercise, your metabolism is flowing, your body is looking and feeling better, you’re sleeping well and you have a positive mindset. What a perfect to start your day.
Life is good and fitness makes it BETTER – without health and energy, NOTHING else matters!
Try it for yourself – be your own coach and get yourself moving!
If you truly want to take command of your life and avoid disease somewhere down the road – exercise is key.
“Reclaim Your Longevity” can help you do just that.
For more tools and resources from Carolyn Hansen to assist you in attaining your health and fitness goals and achieving the success you desire in life, please visit:
