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Why morning exercise is best

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Do you lie in bed in the mornings saying to yourself: "I’ll go to gym after work", or "I’ll start on Monday…I promise!"? Does this sound familiar?

Well, do you realise that exercising first thing in the morning can be an important tool to overall fitness and weight loss? Admittedly, some mornings you may only have time for a 10-minute run, but it's important to try and do something every day.

But why mornings...?

1. By biting the bullet early, you “kickstart" your metabolism and keep it elevated for hours; sometimes up to 24 hours! And that means burning more calories all day long.

2. Many people find that morning exercise "regulates" their appetite for the day and that they're not as peckish.

3. When you exercise in the morning, you'll feel revitalised. This will make a difference to your whole day.

4. 90% of people who exercise regularly, exercise in the morning. Once you’re into the habit, it seems easier to stick to an exercise regime in the morning.

5. You should ideally exercise at about the same time every morning and therefore get into a habit of waking up at the same time. Your body will soon pick up on your newly found discipline. The endocrine system and circadian rhythms in your body adjust and voila!... exciting physiological things happen within your body.

6. Because you do the same thing everyday, your body begins to prepare itself for an earlier wake-up. You benefit from that in the following ways:

  • It gets easy to wake up. Your body doesn’t get confused - as in the case of waking up at different times everyday.
  • Your metabolism and all the hormones involved in human activity increase while you’re sleeping. Hence the reason why you feel more energised and ready to train when you wake up.

7. In our busy schedules, we often conveniently find something else to do instead of exercising. Exercising first thing in the morning is really the only way to make sure that nothing else will come in the way.

8. Morning exercise can become more than a physical experience. Some people look forward to the time they can spend alone taking care of their body and soul. Many make use of the time to plan their day, free their minds or pray.

9. Research shows that you think sharper for four to ten hours after exercise. You’ll get more done at work.

10. Finding time in the morning is always possible. People who exercise regularly have higher quality of sleep and therefore need less sleep.

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