Finding the time and energy to work out isn’t always easy. This is especially true when you lead a busy life with tons of responsibilities.
Exercise is crucial for staying healthy and in shape. It also improves your mood and gives you a great burst of energy. For that reason, some people prefer to work out bright and early in the morning so they can have a good mentality for the rest of the day.
If you’re wondering about the pros and cons of working out in the morning, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll talk about the benefits and drawbacks of early morning exercise. We’ll also discuss what type of training is best before you start your day.
Morning Workout
The best time to work out has always been a matter of debate. Everyone has a different opinion of what period is more beneficial. And it is honestly safe to say that the best workout timing can differ from person to person.
Everything here should help you decide whether or not morning workouts are for you. Well, everything here plus a little testing on your part. But here I can show you the general pros and cons.
Morning Workout Pros
1. Kick Starts Your Metabolism
Metabolism is the activity of breaking big molecules into smaller molecules and the forming of small molecules into bigger molecules. The higher, or more active, your overall metabolism, the less fat your body will tend to store.
An early workout will boost your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories throughout your day.
2. Aids With Blood Pressure Management
If you work in a stressful environment, then you’re no stranger to bouts of high blood pressure.
A morning training session can do wonders for your blood pressure. It can reduce hypertension for a good chunk of the day.
3. Boosts Your Mood
Working out is an amazing way of boosting your mood. After training for an hour or so, your mindset completely changes.
Post-workout, the majority of athletes feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.
That’s why most people feel a burst of happiness following an exercise session. Although, there’s a little more to it than just feeling victorious.
Working out releases endorphins into your bloodstream. These are hormones that your body produces when you’re stressed or in pain to alleviate the situation.
Because of that, they can counteract negative emotions. They’ll relieve some of the stress and have pain-dampening qualities.
For this reason, after exercising, you’ll feel more relaxed and ready to take on the day’s challenges.
4. Helps You Beat the Heat
During summer, you may be discouraged from workout during the midday heat, especially during summertime. You may wait until the sun goes down, but many people are too tired to work out at night.
Thankfully, you probably won’t face this issue when you work out in the morning. If you start your exercise routine around sunrise, you can skip the heat altogether.
This means you have the chance to train outdoors. Not only will this help you stay in shape, but you’ll also get a dose of fresh air to kick-start your day.
5. Sharpens Your Focus
We all know the struggles of feeling groggy in the morning.
This can discourage you from doing your daily tasks and tempt you to procrastinate some of them, especially if they require too much focus from a tired mind.
A quick solution for this issue is working out in the morning. Many studies prove that exercise can enhance your concentration.
So, training before heading to work will help improve your attention span. On top of that, it’ll boost your ability to pick up on visual cues.
That way, no matter what the day throws at you, you’ll be ready to face it head-on.
6. Fewer Interruptions
There’s nothing worse than getting interrupted halfway through an exercise session. It’ll take you out of the zone and make it harder for you to complete the routine.
Unfortunately, this can be a regular occurrence when you work out in the afternoon. You’ll get a phone call about work, or an email that needs a speedy reply. This is also why I urge my clients to leave their phones elsewhere.
So, to ensure that doesn’t happen, you can exercise in the morning. If you wake up early enough, the world is still quiet with few distractions.
This will allow you to finish your training session quickly and efficiently. That way, you won’t need to worry about cutting your workout short.
7. Enhances Your Mindset
Working out in the morning can have an incredibly positive effect on your mindset. There are a few reasons behind this.
First off, you’ll have plenty of time to gently coax your brain out of sleep mode. Since you don’t need to start your to-do list just yet, your mind has a few ideas to concentrate on.
Other than that, you set the pace for the entire day. Because you wake up early, you’ll have the chance to schedule your day however you like.
Plus, if you play your cards right, you’ll no longer be in a rush to get out of the door in the morning. So, you’ll be able to enjoy your morning, without any added pressure.
Finally, an early training routine will help focus on making healthier decisions. That post-workout cleansing shower followed by a hearty breakfast never fails to adjust your mindset for the rest of the day.
8. Improves Your Sleep Cycle
Working out in the morning is an efficient way of regulating your sleep cycle. To help you understand this, let’s take a look at this study.
In this experiment, 20 prehypertensive adults participated in different training routines. Some of them worked out at 7 a.m., while the others exercised at 1 and 7 p.m.
The patients with an early training session showed improvement across many areas. For starters, they displayed signs of better blood pressure management.
Moving on, the study also demonstrates that they got better rest. The patients were able to fall asleep faster than their counterparts who worked out at night.
In addition, they were less likely to wake up halfway through the night. So, not only were they able to regulate when they went to bed, but they also got more hours of deep sleep.
9. Increases Productivity
Many of us struggle to be productive every day. It can be tricky to check all the items off your to-do list on time.
Fortunately, working out in the morning can help with this problem. Because of your heightened focus and improved mindset, you’ll be able to get through a lot more chores.
That means you’ll have more free time at the end of the day to kick back and relax.
Morning Workout Cons
Here’s why an early workout may not be suitable for some people:
1. You Have to Wake Up Early
While exercising in the morning has many benefits, there’s a bit of a timing drawback. To make sure you have enough time for a morning routine, you’ll need to wake up extra early.
On top of that, once the workout is over, you still need to shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for work. Typically, that means you’ll need to wake up at least two hours earlier than you’re used to.
That can be especially challenging for night owls or those with a family to run.
In addition, you have to maintain a stable sleep schedule. If you don’t get enough rest at night, you may not have enough energy to train in the morning even if you wake up on time.
2. It Takes Longer to Warm Up
When you sleep, there are nerve paths in your brain that’ll stop you from moving. This is to stop people from acting out (physically) their dreams.
That means you’ll remain in a stationary position for about six to eight hours. After all this time, your muscles and joints get stiff.
When you try to do vigorous exercise with tight muscles, the chances of injuries increase.
Luckily, there’s an easy workaround for this issue. Before you start exercising, you need to fully warm up. That usually involves some light cardio and a few stretches.
The con here is that the extra time needed to warm up can lead to longer workouts, meaning you’ll need to wake up earlier or spend less time in the gym.
3. Your Morning Routine May Be Less Flexible
We talked about how a morning exercise regimen can free up the rest of your day. However, this can sometimes be a double-edged sword.
This is because your mornings may become a little less flexible. Since you have to complete your routine, shower, and head to work, time may be a bit limited.
That means if an errand pops up in the morning, you’ll need to shuffle around your training session. This can lead to you having to skip working out altogether that day.
4. It May Not Be Suitable for Everyone
Working out in the morning is usually an excellent way of staying in tip-top shape. However, that’s not always the case.
Due to the changes in glucose levels and blood pressure, morning workouts may not be for everyone.
Some may struggle to keep up with the demands of an intense early routine. For example, diabetic athletes may have a hard time regulating their blood sugar.
Wrapping Up
There are many pros and cons of working out in the morning. Starting off, the benefits are a boost of energy, faster metabolism, and improved mood.
In addition, it’ll sharpen your focus, and you’ll face fewer interruptions. This should help you free up the rest of your day and allow you to relax at night.
Moving on, there are also quite a few disadvantages. These include increased warm-up duration and a slight chance of an inflexible morning routine.
Also, the early routine may not be suitable for everyone, especially those with medical issues. So, be sure to check in with your doctor before you start exercising.
