Training in the morning: How NOT to fail at morning exercise

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Why training in the morning is boosting your superpowers? Do you have deadlines? A bag of work on your desk? Meeting after 6 p.m.? Your friends spontaneously meet for an after-work dinner?

Welcome aboard.

We all know the many seductions and commitments that clash with our evening workout.

Almost everyone knows the problem. As does the obvious, but the seemingly impossible solution: workout in the morning.

Believe me, I know how tempting the thought of lying in bed for another hour and just hitting snooze can be. And trust me, it IS possible – even if you thought you weren’t a morning person.

Follow this 7-step plan and you’ll soon be wondering how you ever started your day any differently.

Training in the morning #1 – Take small steps

Even the best workout in the morning is worthless if you’re completely bleary-eyed. Many studies now show a connection between obesity, overweight, and listlessness on the one hand and lack of sleep on the other.

In addition, the less you’ve slept, the bigger the bastard gets.

Your strategy for success is this: First decide when you want to get up to have enough time for fitness, muscle, or running workout.

From there you calculate the time you want to be in bed the night before. Most people need 7-8 hours of sleep to be healthy and stay lean.

If you usually hit the sack around midnight, don’t take on too much at once and get trapped by 9 pm expecting to fall asleep immediately.

There’s a simple trick to outwitting your inner clock: Feel your way forward in 15-minute increments.

Go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night until you reach your ideal sleep time. Of course, you can already do a morning workout until the time comes: 15 minutes is enough!

You can get suggestions for at home in the training plan for exercises with body weight.

Morning Training #2 – Find the best strategy

Is the gym really your best option at 6 am? If it’s on the way to the office, maybe.

Otherwise, the travel time will be added and maybe you can get through your morning routine faster at home than in the studio.

Try it.

Anyway, there are more options than excuses for a short workout in the morning: Buy a workout DVD or find a good training plan for at home – both can be just as effective as muscle training in the gym.

Or you go jogging around the block. If you live in a big city, there might even be boot camp sessions at a park near you.

Find a sports program that you can look forward to without having to put in too much effort in the morning – apart from the effort involved in the workout itself.

My favorite start is with super fast HIIT training in the morning! After 15 minutes of wake-up HIIT, I am feeling much better and can go for a longer run or walk.

Training in the morning #3 – Plan for failure

Yes, you’ve read that correctly. Of course, you should plan what your perfect workout looks like in the morning.

But hey, we live in the real world and something can always come up. Prepare yourself mentally for something to go wrong – and come up with a plan B.

How do you go through your workout if it should rain in the morning? What can you do if you are stuck in traffic on the way to the studio and only have 30 minutes to train instead of 45?

If you answer questions like these in advance, you’ll have fewer and fewer excuses when something unforeseen does happen – you’ll just pull your backup plan out of your pocket.

Training in the morning #4 – Be corruptible

Even if you’ve had a solid 8 hours of sleep, getting up when it’s still dark can be a real challenge.

So I recommend bribery. be corrupt If you like to start the day with a coffee from your favorite café, ask for something in return.

You only treat yourself to it if you have actually been running or have completed your workout.

Tip: choose bribes that support your fitness plan and don’t torpedo it.

No matter how tasty, the chocolate croissant might not be the best idea. How about a new pair of running shoes or a cool sports accessory?

Morning Workout #5 – Put together a motivating playlist

Never underestimate the overwhelming energy that a motivational playlist can unleash in you.

By the way, you don’t have to wait with the Sport Songs until you start your fitness program. Why don’t you load it into your alarm clock as a wake-up song or start the player as soon as you get up? (If your partner wants to continue sleeping, I recommend headphones)

Find your absolute top songs, the ones that get your heart beating in seconds, and then vary the playlist to keep it fresh and motivating.

Here you will find inspiration for the best workout songs.

Training in the morning #6 – Tell your friends

For example on Facebook. I don’t mean that you share every detail of your insane workout with the world – we all have people like that on our Facebook updates.

But get feedback and support from your social networks, your community can help you reach your fitness goals – especially in the morning when you might need it most.

Post your training plan the night before (“Tomorrow morning I will start with the Kettlebell Swing Challenge!”). With an announcement in advance, it will be easier for you to get out of bed the next morning.

Morning Workout #7 – Be Prepared

Make the hurdle as low as possible for the next morning.

Your running clothes are ready, your shoes are ready for the way to the bathroom, your post-workout snack is ready, and the coffee machine is ready-to-go.

All you have to do is get up, get dressed, press a few buttons, grab your sports bag, and off you go.

You will find that the temptation to go back to sleep is less, the more you have prepared the night before.

Lifting in the morning vs evening or afternoon

When is the best time to lift weights? Training first thing in the morning.

When determining the ideal time of day for muscle building, the American Council on Exercise recommends three major hormones to consider.

They all have something to do with your body’s circadian rhythm, which is a 24-hour clock regulated by light and darkness.

Your hormones can do their intended duties if you have a consistent sleep cycle in which you get up and go to bed at the same time every day:

Cortisol: Cortisol, sometimes known as the stress hormone, typically rises in the morning. Cortisol, like caffeine, aids in the maintenance of energy and alertness throughout the day.

Adenosine: This hormone begins to function as cortisol levels fall in the afternoon. It aids in the relief of exhaustion at the end of the day.

Training in the morning vs afternoon

Some people may benefit from lifting at this time of day to give their bodies an energy boost. Others may feel better after a short nap, meditation, or mild exercise, particularly if they have chronically low cortisol owing to long-term stress.

Melatonin: The “sleep hormone” begins to work just before bedtime. Meanwhile, your body temperature dips, only to increase again in the morning, along with your cortisol levels.

Lifting weights at night can raise core blood temperature and decrease melatonin production. After a few hours, the blood temperature decreases, and the sleep cycle is disrupted.

To avoid sleep disruptions, ACE suggests ending activity three to six hours before bedtime.

Strength training in the morning and cardio at night?

The simplest and most obvious response to the question of the ideal training times is to exercise whenever you have the time and motivation.

In every instance, you can do something to improve your body, fitness, and health.

When looking at training hours from a physiological standpoint, things become a little more complicated.

Because the following is true: if you want to achieve the best results for your (not-quite-quite) dream body, you must carefully select your workout periods. It makes a difference whether you train in the morning, noon, or nighttime.

Which workout hours you choose are also determined by the goals you want to achieve with the sport. We go over the benefits of individual workout times in greater detail.

Early workout times reduce body weight and accelerate fat loss

The early workout accelerates the breakdown of excess body weight. If you want to drop a few pounds, begin your workouts early in the day.

Belgian scientists found out, in their study, that those who exercised before breakfast gained almost no weight, and maintained a good blood sugar level.

During the day, their participants burnt more fat than the others.

Should you workout in the morning on an empty stomach?

Here is the conclusion: If you want to lose weight (or not gain weight), consider doing out before breakfast = exercising in the morning on an empty stomach! Results from the Belgien scientist study.

Is weight training in the morning good?

Is the goal of your sport to stimulate muscular growth and achieve a defined physique?

Then afternoon and evening training periods might be ideal for you. Here, performance is very high; strength training allows you to totally immerse yourself and so contribute to muscle gain.

The level of testosterone is also important for muscular growth. This is especially high in the early morning, so you can train to gain muscle here.

Training first thing in the morning

Meal timing is a vital component of any training routine, and there’s something to think about when determining when to lift weights.

With a morning workout, keep your breakfast light. A rapid source of energy is whole grains like bread, a banana, yogurt, or another carbohydrate.

Basic explanation:

If you start your training in the morning on empty stomach, you will lose fat faster and it’s also good for your heart. The trick here is, if you seriously strive for fat loss, to stay away from any food for at least one hour after your morning training!
If you are after gaining muscles, training in the morning is perfect as well, with one main difference. I would recommend you take before training supplements, BCAA, vitamin C, and vitamin B, and as your morning training is over, drink a protein shake.

Training in the morning – Conclusion

We, humans, are creatures of habit.

And it takes 21 days to replace old habits with new, more useful ones.

3 weeks is not a long time when you consider how long many people have been toying with the idea of moving their training to the morning and being able to enjoy the evening with the relaxed feeling of having already done everything that was strenuous for the day.

If you take the 21 days and gradually follow the 7 steps, you will soon start the day regularly with a clear conscience, something for your body and your health.

And the thought of staying longer and skipping sports will fade away more and more.

There is something magical about working out in the morning. But there are a few risks that you should know about and avoid. I’ll point them out in my next article soon.

For people just starting exercising, this article could help you with your training in the morning routine.