The Secret To Creating A Lasting Morning Workout Routine

Working out. It’s something that we all know we have to do for optimal health and wellness. However many people (including myself) struggle to find time for consistent sweat sessions.

In working with coaching clients, I’ve found it to be true that anything a person schedules, they usually do.

This blog post is about three easy steps that anyone can take to start and stick to an early morning workout routine.

Step 1: Pick physical activities that are enjoyable

• What’s exciting?
• What’s invigorating?
• What’s enjoyable but also a bit challenging?

The answers to those questions are the physical activities a person should explore in terms of the types of workouts that would suit them best. Brainstorming alone may not provide the answer.

Establishing a morning workout routine can be hard, so pick physical activities that you actually enjoy. Click To Tweet

For help with this, there are some great online workout quizzes that will help a person figure out fun physical activities for working out.

• What Kind Of Workout Suits You {Playbuzz}
• What’s Your Workout Personality {Fitness Magazine}
• Which Exercise Is Right For You? {Doctor Oz}
• Which Workout Should You Try? {BuzzFeed}
• What Workout Should You Do Today? {The Greatist}
• Rewired Fitness Personality Test {Bodybuilding.com}

Ideally a person wants to identify at least 2 to 3 activities that resonate with them. Trying out a few things can help someone get clear on what they really enjoy. Or even start with
just one. Variety may become more important down the line but just pick something that fits now! Working with a health and wellness coach can also be useful in identifying the ideal physical activities for a person’s morning workout routine.

Step 2: Prepare the night before

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as the saying goes. Now apply that to being prepared when establishing a morning workout routine.

Lay out those workout clothes and shoes, pack that gym bag, and fill up that water bottle the night before. These are just a few ways a person can prep for success for their early morning workout.

Prepare for that early morning workout by laying everything out the night before: clothes, shoes, water bottle, gym bag, etc. Click To Tweet

Remember, 4a.m. or 5a.m. comes early!  Working with clients as a health and wellness coach, trust me I hear this alot, lol!

Another way to prepare the night before is by doing a short meditation of how the workout will go the next morning. It only takes a minute or two. A person should visualize themselves having a successful workout. Take a moment to jot down what that successful morning workout routine looks like overall. Here are some visualizations similar to those that coaching clients have come up with:

• Visualize a serene smile while enjoying a 5-mile morning run.
• Visualize sweat rolling off the body and deep satisfaction as that last rep to failure is being completed
• Visualize eyes closed and deep ujjayi breathing as that yoga pose is held for one more second

Whatever success looks like for you, visualize it and own it!

Whatever success looks like to you, visualize it and own it! Click To Tweet

Step 3: Ensure you are getting enough rest

“Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. There is so much wisdom in that quote! Your body needs adequate rest. Experts say that 8 hours of sleep is ideal. For most of us getting 8 hours of sleep a night is next to impossible. So the next best thing is for a person to figure out what a sold night’s sleep looks like for them.

For me, that is 5 to 6 hours of sleep. If I can get sleep from 11p.m.-4a.m., I can easily get up and stay consistent with my morning workout routine.

Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise ~ Benjamin Franklin Click To Tweet

If anyone is asking themselves “how can I get enough sleep each night when I have a million things on my plate?” I will tell you what I tell my coaching clients…do it the same way a person plans a family vacation.  Start with the end in mind.

For instance, if a client wants to be in bed, lights out by 11p.m., they need to start planning their evening backward. One tip that I use myself is to plan my evening activities in 30 to 60-minute increments.  No, this activity won’t be easy at first. Expect it to be challenging. However as a person begins to plan in this manner, they will start to uncover activities that are taking up a lot of time, with very little return. Once those activities are identified, a person can more easily decide what is and is not important in their daily schedule.

Starting a morning workout routine? Then you need to rest! Start by planning your evening like a vacation, with the end goal in mind. This way you ensure you get enough rest. Click To Tweet

Another bonus is that planning backward will also allow a person to see how they can create efficiencies in their schedule.  Eventually, any person who takes this approach will become the master of their time and stop allowing time to master them!

Here are some books that I’ve read recently that I think would be useful for anyone trying to start a consistent morning workout routine:

• Home Workout For Beginners: 6-Week Fitness Program with Fat Burning Workouts for Long-term Weight Loss
• The Home Workout Plan for Beginners: A Simple At-Home Exercise Guide to Getting in Shape & Losing Weight
• Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body
• Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body
• The Year One Challenge for Women: Thinner, Leaner, and Stronger Than Ever in 12 Months (Muscle for Life)

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Other blog posts of interest:

♦ Overcoming Self-Sabotage: 3 Steps to Take Today

♦ 3 Steps to Getting Unstuck

♦ Am I Uncoachable?!