3 tips to get a great workout in before the city wakes up.
I love a good early morning workout. It’s a great way to start your day, but at times they can be pretty hard to get motivated for.
Here are 3 ways to ensure that you have an awesome workout:
1. Get your blood pumping asap
It’s not just about waking up, but how you wake up.
Here’s a helpful little routine that have helped me dominate my early morning workouts. I used to feel flat heading into the gym early in the morning, but I’ve found that getting my blood pumping as soon as I wake up gives me a big time boost, and gets me ready for an intense workout.
- No snooze button – as soon as you hear your alarm, jump out of bed, literally.
- 20 push-ups and 20 sit-ups – just to get the blood pumping and your heart rate up. It’ll give you a nice little boost whereas you might otherwise find it hard to get moving that early.
- Move fast – get everything done fast, stress walking fast, if you walk upstairs for breakfast, run.
2. Pre and post workout nutrition
You need to be giving your metabolism a boost if your goal is fat loss, but no matter what your goal is, you should be giving your body a source of fuel, both in the short term but also in the long term. Here’s a great pre workout shake that’ll give your body fuel throughout your workout, give your metabolism a nice little boost and help your body burn fat and build (repair) the muscle you’re breaking down during exercise.
- 1/4 cup dried oats
- 1 1/2 scoops protein powder
- 1 small banana
- your choice of water, milk, or natural fruit juice
As I mentioned a second ago, your body needs a source of fuel. If you’re trying to burn fat, you need to be preserving as much muscle as possible, if you’re trying to build lean muscle, you need to be giving your body something to burn so it doesn’t “burn” muscle.
I’ll have this shake starting with about 5-10 minutes to go in my workout. It’s simple, but it gives your body the nutrients it needs to begin repairing your muscles that you have just been breaking down.
- 1 1/2 scoops protein powder
- gatorade or other sports drink
- 1 multivitamin
Also, I have a cup of coffee before I head to the gym. Coffee is very high in antioxidants, it also speeds up the fat burning process, improves concentration and will give you a much needed energy boost before heading to the gym.
3. Crank up the music on the way there, and throw on some headphones
Be mentally prepared for what you’re about to do. I know it’s just a workout, but you can’t treat it like that. You have to give it the importance of a prizefight for a title if you want to truly kill your early morning workout.
Throw in some tunes on the way there that’ll get you pumped. If it helps, use an ipod when you workout to ensure that no one will talk to you and distract you from the task at hand like so many people enjoy doing.
Also, have your workout written down, pay attention to your rest periods and don’t get distracted. A workout shouldn’t be taking more than 45 minutes. It should remain intense from the first rep to the last and each of the things I just mentioned will help you achieve this.
———————————
What helps you kill an early morning workout?
