How to exercise before work

Mornings are a great time to workout and ensure you tick the exercise box without daily distractions hijacking your plans. There are loads of health benefits to morning exercise and here are a few tips to help you get going.

1. I have a dream

It can be tough to drag yourself from the land of nod so make sure you have a good reason and something that will motivate you - whether it’s health, training for an event, weight loss or simply wanting to start the day in a positive way.

2. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail!

There are a number of steps you can take the night before to ensure you are up and at ‘em bright and early. Make sure your exercise clothes and gear is laid out and ready to go, plan your running course, hydrate, avoid alcohol and eat a nutritious dinner and set your alarm(s)!

3. Hit the bed earlier

It makes sense that if you are going to get up earlier you need to go to bed earlier. So sacrifice that TV show, delay the important Facebook update and jump into bed an hour earlier than usual to give yourself the best chance of waking up when the alarm bells.

4. Success breeds success

Set yourself some small but realistic goals to get started, build into it and gain momentum. That could be starting with one early session per week. Start documenting your exercise, put a list up on the fridge and fill it in each time you get home. When you achieve your mini-goal, acknowledge it and reward your success.

5. We want you! Enlist and recruit

If there is someone waiting out the front of your house it is much tougher to hit the snooze button. Ask friends or family or look into local exercise groups so that you have someone to train with, someone you commit to - you can motivate each other and enjoy the rewards together.

6. The human psyche

List the positives of getting your workout completed early in the morning. Don’t think about what you are going to do, think about how you are going to feel once you’ve done it. Keep everything simple, alarm goes off, clothes go on, workout commences, get back home, endorphins charging around your body and you are ready to start another great day.

There is nothing prettier than a picture of you exercising as the sun rises! Share using #GenBetter