master the morning workout rountine
As I mentioned recently, I had to completely flip reversed my work out schedule. Instead of hitting the gym in the evenings, I had to some how mould myself into a morning person. Sounds simple enough, however whilst in a cycle of not sleeping and then wanting to sleep the day away, this was no easy feat. It took a lot of perseverance and a handful/weekful of sleepless nights before I finally got in to the swing of things. I’ve now been waking up and working out for over 2 months and it’s safe to say I’ll never go back to my old ways, so I decided it was about time that I put together my tips for mastering the morning workout.
No.1 – Preparation
It sounds simple enough but having everything ready to rock when you rise, really will make the process run smoother whilst also enabling you to stick to strict early morning time schedules. I give myself exactly one hour in the gym and another hour showering and getting myself ready so that I’m back home and sat at my desk by 8am! We prep everything, from our breakfasts to outfits, everything is laid out or packed so that your sleepy little head doesn’t have to deal with it at 5:00am!
No. 2 – Rise with the sun
OK so this might not be possible throughout the colder months where we barely see the light of day at all. But I can safely say that I don’t think getting up at 5am would be possible if it wasn’t for my Lumie Alarm clock, It starts waking me up with a faux sunrise 30 minutes before my alarm is due to go off so the shock of the dreaded bleep doesn’t abruptly wake me from my slumber. I really feel like this has a profound impact on my mood throughout the day.
No 3 – But first, Coffee!
I allow myself one big, strong, black cup of the stuff just as I wake up, and that is it as far as my coffee consumption goes lately. I had to drastically cut down on the amount of coffee and green tea I was drinking once I started suffering with poor sleep and I haven’t looked back since. Now I have replaced caffeinated cups with warm mugs of Skinny Me Tea. My favourite being the ‘Acai’ tea. Point blank I can tell you there is no tea out there that will make you lose weight on it’s own, all the teas are available and recommended to be used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise regime. This won’t ever be your quick fix but it could be a helpful push and that is why I drink them. I can’t use caffeine to give my metabolism a shove so I leave it down to the Acai berries from Skinny Me Tea which like Avocado’s, contain monounsaturated fats (MUFAS) which make you feel satisfied for longer.
No. 4 Enjoy.
Stop and appreciate how beautiful that time of the morning really is. Watch the sunrise, the flowers bloom and the frost form throughout the seasons. This is a time that few are fortunate enough to witness, so breath it in and use it’s lure to motivate you every time the alarm sounds!
