The Early Bird Gets the Worm Why Early Morning Workouts Matter
It’s 4 a.m., and long before the sun rises, Champions Fitness Center is ready to open! Throughout the week, high school and college athletes, professional men and women, and seniors, get in and get it done well before some of us are even out of bed!
Some people love the jolt exercise gives them in the morning. For others, not so much. Getting up early in the morning ensures that a workout happens. It provides you the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve done something beneficial for yourself before many people are awake.
Honestly, exercising in the morning is not as hard as you may think once you make it a habit. Starting your day with a healthy sweat has so many advantages! Here are a few reasons to start setting your alarm a little bit earlier.
You’ll Make Healthier Choices
When you’re proud of yourself for consistently killing that 5 a.m. gym session, you won’t want to ruin that healthy high by making unhealthy decisions for the rest of the day. Instead, you’ll likely try to keep that “feel good,” momentum going by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or ordering a salad for lunch.
Did you know that exercising in the morning can also help control and even encourage healthier food choices throughout the day? Let’s make that one more reason why we should give it a go!
You’ll Get a Restful Night’s Sleep
Research has found that people who exercise early may get a better night’s sleep. In one study, researchers studied people who exercised at three different times of day – 7 a.m., 11 a.m., and 7 p.m.
The researchers found that people who worked out at 7 a.m. went to sleep earlier, spent more time in deep sleep, and woke up fewer times throughout the night than their counterparts.
You’ll Lower Your Blood Pressure
People with hypertension (high blood pressure) are often prescribed a cocktail of medications by their physician. Lifestyle changes, such as exercising in the morning, may help. Exercising in the morning has been proven to lower blood pressure (BP) for a good portion of the day amongst older adults who are obese or overweight, especially women, compared with prolonged sitting.
A recent study indicated that people who worked out earlier in the day reduced their post-workout blood pressure by as much as 10%. That dip continued all day and lowered even more at night.
You’ll Boost Your Mood
Working out makes you feel good! People who exercise regularly, even for short amounts of time, feel happier than those who don’t.
Those individuals also have lower levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which helps improve mood. Who doesn’t want to start their day feeling optimistic and less susceptible to stress and anxiety! This will encourage you to have a positive, productive day.
You Could Lose Weight
If you’re exercising to lose weight, your results might slightly depend on the timing of your workouts. Recent studies have suggested that people who exercised before noon lost “significantly more weight” than those who exercised after 3 p.m.
The research also concluded that early morning exercise enthusiasts were slightly more active throughout the day. I bet you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that those individuals ended up taking more steps as well.
You’ll Have the Rest of the Afternoon and Evening Free
In a perfect world, you would look forward to your regular date with the treadmill. However, sometimes, going to the gym is the last thing you want to do. Especially during the cold, winter months!
If you schedule your workouts for early in the day, you’ll get your exercise done and out of the way. That will be one less thing you have to worry about later.
You Will Create a Sustainable Fitness Routine
When the demands and pressures of the day start to add up, you can be tempted to blow off the gym after work. Consistency is key when you are trying to develop a sustainable fitness regimen. If you can make a habit of waking up early and going to the gym, you will be motivated to maintain those healthy habits and exercise regularly. 
You’ll Burn More Fat
Did you know that fat oxidation is more likely to increase when you workout before breakfast? Fat oxidation is the process by which large fat molecules break down. Working out in the morning also boosts your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories for the rest of the day. This phenomenon is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC. EPOC is the result of an elevation in oxygen consumption and metabolism (Resting Energy Expenditure), which occurs after exercise as the body recovers, repairs, and returns to its pre-exercise state. This can happen for up to 24 hours, according to some sources.
You’ll Be More Focused
For many of us, an early morning workout is followed by work, school, running errands and managing a household. Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? Let’s face it, if exercising early can increase our energy and alertness throughout the day, it’s a win-win for us all.
In Conclusion:
Starting the day off with a healthy sweat has multiple health advantages. Though evidence suggests you’ll reap more benefits from working out in the morning, if it’s not for you, it’s not for you.
The best time to work out is when you can show up! Remember, some exercise is better than none at all.
If you’re eager to try a morning workout, make sure you get enough sleep and prepare for your workout the night before so the process will become easier! So, I’ll see you at 4 am? Good luck to you!
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