How to Crush Your Morning Workout

Want to get into morning workouts, but can’t seem to get into a good groove? Check out these morning workout tips to help you get moving.

While it is a controversial topic, I still stand firm that morning workouts are where it’s AT for the working woman. Why? Because adopting a morning exercise routine is the reason why I have been able to workout consistently over the last 7+ years while working full-time and building my own business.

When working with clients who have busy schedules, I always recommend they give morning workouts a try, especially if they struggle with making excuses and skipping their workouts after work. Trust me, I get it. If I wait until 5pm to work out, that gives me all day to think of an excuse not to – and putting my workout off until later in the day guarantees I’ll find an excuse not to (unless I have a fitness-related event or planned workout date).

But training in the morning? Total game-changer. The biggest advantage to morning workouts is you get them out of the freakin’ way. After a long day at work, you can go home knowing you’ve already done something great for your body, giving you more time to relax in the evening and to unwind from the day. Another bonus to early morning workouts, is you’re less likely to be interrupted. If you’re easily distracted by your phone, your kids, or people needing you when trying to workout in the afternoon, working on your fitness before everyone else wakes up can be a great option.

Last but certainly not least, my favorite benefit of morning workouts is the amazing impact it has on my ability to stay energized and focus for the rest of the day. Getting a good sweat session in first thing sets you up for a more focused, calm, energized, day.

Honestly, when it comes to crushing your morning workout – the hardest part is getting out of bed and getting going. I won’t lie, it’s tough. It’s still tough for me some mornings and I’ve been doing it since 2011 🙋🏾But once you get into a good groove the results are more than worth it. Here are 5 game-changing tips to help you crush your morning workouts.

Ease Into It

Sarah Wolfe Photography

If the idea of an early morning HIIT session sounds awful, start creating the habit of morning exercise by waking up to stretch, foam roll, or do lower impact. Even if you wake up just 10 minutes earlier to do a simple yoga flow, you’re hard-wiring your brain to begin craving morning movement. Once that becomes routine, you can start replacing your morning stretch sessions with higher-intensity workouts one at a time until you transition to morning workouts.

Use this tip to stop snoozing

Getting out of bed is hands-down the hardest part of morning workouts. Yup, way harder than the workout itself. And the snooze button is often the main accomplice. If you struggle with battling the snooze button, try this tip.

When your alarm goes off in the morning, instead of pressing snooze, get up and immediately start making your bed without turning off the alarm. Think of turning off the alarm as the prize for getting up and making your bed. Once you’re up and your bed is made, it’s time to kick things into gear.

Don’t Make Any Decisions

Decision fatigue is real, friends. No one wants to wake up at the crack of dawn and pick out a workout outfit, look for missing headphones, and think of wtf to do when they get to the gym (ain’t nobody got time for that)

If you want to actually make your morning workouts happen, set yourself up so you don’t have to make any decisions in the morning. Have your workout written down and in your phone ready to go. Pick out your gym clothes the night before and keep them in a place where you’ll see them first thing in the morning (or if you’re like me, sleep in your workout clothes so you wake up ready to go). Have your gym bag packed complete with headphones, a towel, a water bottle and anything else you may need.

Hydrate

For the love of all things holy, please please drink some water first thing in the morning. After a long night’s sleep, your body needs to be rehydrated before consuming any caffeine or before performing any sort of physical activity. Personally, I love warm lemon water first thing in the morning, but if plain water is more of your thing that totally works too. Aim for 20 ounces soon after waking up to rehydrate you, and get your energy level up for working out.

Fuel Up

Pre-workout nutrition choices are highly individual. What you should eat pre-workout totally depends on your individual body, what workout you’re about to do and what your goals are. Below are some suggestions, but please, always check in with your body and experiment to find what works for you and speak with a doctor or RD before making any major dietary changes.

If your goal is to gain muscle or support endurance workouts consider having a serving of carbs + protein before your workout:

• A piece of fruit with nut butter
• A small serving of oatmeal (~½ of what you might have for breakfast) with protein powder

If your goal is to boost overall athletic/physical performance consider having a serving of protein before your workout:

• A small protein shake
• Boiled eggs

If your goal is to lose body fat consider having a serving of protein + fat before your workout:

• Boiled eggs with a small serving of nuts
• Lean Meat such as deli turkey with a small serving of nuts
• Coffee with coconut or MCT oil and 1 Tablespoon protein powder

And on the note of coffee, if you tolerate caffeine studies suggest it could boost overall performance (source). I know I definitely need all the boosts I can get in the morning 💁🏾☕

And there you have it! Five tips I swear by to crush early morning workouts. Now I would love to hear from you.

Your Turn:

• Do you workout in the morning? If not, are you open to giving it a try?
• If so, what are some of your favorite morning workout tips?