Exercising Early in the Morning: Top Ten Benefits

1. Exercising early in the morning "jump starts" your metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours, sometimes for up to 24 hours! As a result, you’ll be burning more calories all day long—just because you exercised in the morning.
2. Exercising in the morning energizes you for the day—not to mention that gratifying feeling of virtue you have knowing you’ve done something disciplined and good for you. (Much better than a worm!)
3. Studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity—a benefit that lasts four to ten hours after your workout ends. Exercising in the a.m. means you get to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while you’re snoozing.
4. Assuming you make exercise a true priority, it shouldn’t be a major problem to get up 30 to 60 minutes earlier—especially since regular exercise generally means a higher quality of sleep, which in turn means you’ll probably require less sleep. (If getting up 30 to 60 minutes earlier each day seems too daunting, you can ease into it with 10 to 20 minutes at first.)
5. When you exercise at about the same time every morning—especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time—you’re regulating your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day, and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes. That’s beneficial because:
   
   • Your body’s not “confused” by wildly changing wake-up times, which means waking up is much less painful. (You may even find that you don’t need an alarm clock most days.)
   • Hormones prepare your body for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, etc.
   • Your metabolism, along with all the hormones involved in activity and exercise, begin to elevate while you're sleeping. As a result, you’ll feel more alert, energized, and ready to exercise when you do wake up.

 

1.  Many people find that morning exercise has a tendency to regulate their appetite for the rest of the day. Not only do they eat less (since activity causes the release of endorphins, which in turn diminishes appetite), they also choose healthier portions of healthier foods.
2. People who consistently exercise find, sometimes to their great surprise, that the appointed time every morning evolves into something they look forward to. Besides the satisfaction of taking care of themselves, they find it’s a great time to plan their day, pray, or just think more clearly—things most of us often don’t get to do otherwise.
3. Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don’t overtake your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic family life. (It’s so easy to wimp out in the evening, when we’re tired or faced with such tasks as rustling up dinner and helping with homework.)
4. More than 90% of those who exercise consistently have a morning fitness routine. If you want to exercise on a regular basis, the odds are in your favor if you squeeze your workout into the a.m.
5. Non-morning people can always trick themselves in the a.m. Having trouble psyching yourself up for a sunrise jog? Do what I did—tell yourself that you’ll still be so fast asleep that you won’t even remember—much less mind!  

via www.sparkpeople.com

I'm very keen on exercising and , generally, any kind of workout - especially aerobics, step, body pump, combat and pilates. I'm not very keen on machines , though. I've been exercising for almost 20 years now,  but I took a break from 2008 to 2011. In November 2011, I went back to gym. But this time, early in the morning as, due to work, I didn't have time to exercise later. In the past, I used to exercise after work, now I work out before work, from 8:00 to 9:00 am , three times a week. I'm not the morning type, though! I love sleeping in when I can. It was hard at the beginning, but now I am as fit as a fiddle and I don't even need an alarm clock any more! And, believe it or not, I feel so energetic at work even if I have to teach six hours in a row.

Comments

[Sophia]

I don't have time to go to the gym but I jog along the beach early in the morning from 6 to 6:30. And I feel great even on hard days at the workplace.

[Laura]

I brisk walk every day for twenty minutes between 7 and 8 am. This suits me well, as i later found out that Blood Type A( that's me) thrive on this form of non exertive, calming and "quieting " exercise.

[Marilou Kyriacou]

I used to exercise a lot, then gave it up and haven't been exercising regularly for the last 10 years. No excuses! Just..lazy! But your post has made me reconsider and I'm seriously thinking of joining a gym soon, early in the morning! I'm an early riser, anyway.

[Andy]

Good morning Anastasia. It's 6:00 am in Sydney right now and I can't wait to get to the gym before going to work. If I work out first thing in the morning there are no other unexpected events or distractions that can crop up during the day to keep me from getting to the gym. If I plan to exercise after work, for example, my obligations on the job can keep me there late or I can be too exhausted for a good workout. Most people who work out consistently do so in the morning.

[Jeff]

My schedule is so jam-packed that it's tough for me to squeeze in a workout. Setting my alarm to wake up at 05:00 to my favorite peppy song still seems cruel to me1 :-)

[Andreas]

Surely, exercising between 06:00 and 09:00 is far more beneficial than exercising later in the day. But whether you exercise before or after work, you've still got many health benefits to gain from regular workout. Here are just a few:

1. Resets your fatpoint.
2. Reduces the risk and severity of adult-onset diabetes.
3. Boosts immunity.
4. Lowers cholesterol.
5. Improves sex life.
6. Builds stamina.
7. Builds a healthy heart.
8. Slows aging
9. Increases lifespan.
10.Builds muscle.
11.Exercise also builds bone
12. Improves mood.
13. Sparks the brain.
14. Reduces the risk of cancer.

[Jean-Paul Bouvier]

Je suis tout à fait d'accord. Un peu de sport tôt le matin ça fait du bien. Dans la semaine, j'aime courir et le wk je passe une heure à la piscine - entre 7 et 8 H

[Stefania]

Swimming 3-4 times a week for half hour early in the morning (6-6:30) gives me a great energy boost for the rest of the day.

[Agnes]

Wow, 20 years, i am so impressed. Sadly, I never exercise. Never even been to a gym (bad, I know).