There is no better feeling than post-workout endorphins after a morning gym session. Getting it done early means you start the day on a high note and are less likely to flake on your workout when other responsibilities crop up throughout the day. Unfortunately too many of us hit the snooze button on the alarm and never actually make it to the gym. If you’re eager to get into the groove of working out early but are struggling to change routine, read below. You’ll learn some behavioural hacks that will take you from night owl to early bird in no time.
Set Yourself Up For A Good Sleep
Before overhauling your routine, it’s important to set yourself up for success the night before. A poor sleep will either lead to an unenthusiastic morning workout or have you snoozing your alarm and not going at all. Research shows that ensuring your bedroom is slightly cold plus limiting caffeine, alcohol and phone use before bed are effective ways to improve sleep quality. The blue light emitted from your phone disrupts your circadian rhythm and makes your body think it’s still daytime. So keep that phone on the other side of the room and ideally, put it on do not disturb mode. Cooling your room down helps because colder body temperatures increase drowsiness and signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. Avoid wearing thick, warm pyjamas because no one falls asleep easily when they are sweating up a storm. Finally, everyone knows that caffeine destroys your quality of sleep but some might be surprised to find out that alcohol does too. Cut off your caffeine intake around 2pm in the afternoon and avoid finishing the day with an alcoholic nightcap if you want to optimise your sleep. Following these obvious yet important protocols is the first step to ensuring your morning workout goes well the next day.
Agree To Meet A Friend
Friends keep you accountable. Interestingly, we don’t mind breaking promises to ourselves but we are far less likely to disappoint other people. According to a Harvard Business Review study, your likelihood of achieving a goal on your own is 10–25% but it increases to 95% when you have someone regularly checking up on your progress. This is especially true if the person keeping you accountable is higher status than you are. We are wired to avoid disappointing others because people who break promises usually get ostracised from their social group. Back in the day, getting kicked out of the tribe usually led to starvation. Our minds therefore evolved to be concerned with reputation which is good news for those wanting strategies to get them to the gym in the morning. Find a buddy to workout with (ideally someone you hold in high regard) and assure them you’ll be there. Just doing this means the chances of you actually showing up to the gym will skyrocket.
Prepare Your Outfit
Another behavioural change that might seem unimportant initially is setting out your gym clothes the night before. Not only does this save you time and energy the next morning when you’re half awake and groggy, it also works as a situational habit cue. Seeing our gym clothes laid out reminds us that it is time to go workout. It’s just like how seeing a notification icon leads to us checking our inbox. Little habit cues act as important signals for our brains. Sports psychologists also say that the right outfit can even improve our exercise performance. When you put on new fitness gear, you get into character like an actor putting on a costume or an athlete putting on their uniform. The act of getting dressed into the right gear mentally prepares you for the task at hand. So pick out your favourite activewear and get it all ready to go the night before. Not only will this expedite the process of getting ready, you might even train harder as a result.
Reward Yourself Afterwards
Positive reinforcement or using a reward as motivation helps cement an occasional activity into a regular habit. Psychologists use this as a tool to help patients introduce new behaviours or strengthen current ones. Think of it as the light at the end of the tunnel or a pot of gold and the end of the rainbow. You’re more likely to make morning workouts part of your routine if you have a reward to look forward to afterwards. Post-workout treat ideas could be a barista coffee, a handful of fluffy NZProtein marshmallows or putting money in a jar to eventually spend on new clothes or a massage. Choose something that is meaningful to you and use it as motivation to get up early and thrash your workout. A little reward is all you need to transform a desired behaviour into your default behaviour.
Conclusion
A lot of people hate working out early but they do it anyway because the benefits are too numerous to count. You’re a better person physically and mentally when you prioritise your health and fitness. Getting a good sweat session done first thing in the morning will set a positive tone for the remainder of the day. So plan an early morning workout with a friend, get that outfit ready the night before and set yourself up for a quality sleep. Don’t forget to reward yourself with a post-workout treat and soon enough, those early gym sessions will feel like a normal part of your daily routine.
Written by Lauren Carruthers.