6 Crucial Morning Workout Tips for Women

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Article by: Rob Simpson

All exercises in general are essential for your physical and mental well-being. However, nothing makes you feel energetic and exhilarated like a well-planned morning workout. It will lift your mood, increase your concentration, and keep you going through a busy and stressful day. All of these factors will help you lead a happier life over time. 

Morning exercise can also help you sleep better. According to National Sleep Foundation, people who work out on a treadmill at 7:00 AM, sleep longer, experience deeper sleep cycles, and spend 75% more time in the most reparative stages of slumber than those who exercise at later times that day. If you have sleep trouble, morning exercise could be your potential solution. 

However, most women, especially working moms, often have extremely busy mornings. So, keeping up your morning workout routine is usually easier said than done. Here are six tips that will not only help you maintain your workout schedule but also improve it. 

1. Start Your Workout after Waking up

One of the first things you need to keep in mind is to start your exercise immediately after waking up. Turn it into your habit. The primary reason behind developing this practice is to create a workout schedule. Also, it will help get straight to your exercise without procrastinating. 

Of course, immediately after awaking up doesn’t mean you have to start squatting the moment you step out of the bed. After waking up, you can freshen up and drink a glass of water before starting your exercise. However, avoid the temptation to check your phone or turn your TV on as it will make you procrastinate. Once you have freshened up, however, immediately roll out your Yoga mat and start working out.  

2. Warmup Before the Workout

You will also need to warmup before the workout. When you sleep, the body temperature goes down. On the other hand, when you start a rigorous activity like an exercise, your blood pressure and respiratory rate increases, which in turn, increases you body temperature.  

If you start off with your workout without a warm up, you will most probably jolt your muscles back into a highly active state. The sudden change may cause a muscle sprain or even a more serious injury. 

A warmup, however, will prepare your nervous system and muscles for the coming physical exertion. So, make sure to loosen your joints and get your blood circulation going by performing at least 15-20 minutes of warmup. 

3. Plan Your Breakfast in Advance

As mentioned before, most women, especially working moms, have a very morning schedule. Depending on what suits your body, you can either have a pre-workout or a post workout breakfast. In either case, you don’t want to spend time preparing this meal in the morning. 

So, you need to plan your breakfast the day before. From a smoothie or protein shake to a vegan meal or protein-rich breakfast, you must plan for a healthy breakfast. Some of the ingredients you can include in your breakfast are berries, almond milk, soya milk, chia seeds, yogurt, and protein-rich foods like eggs.

Avoid eating carbohydrate-rich foods like bread, fried foods, potatoes, and also sugary foods like cold carbonated drinks, doughnuts, cakes and pastries. If possible, you can also create a weekly breakfast and exercise schedule a few days after starting your workout regime. Talk to a nutrition expert if needed. 

4. Keep It Short and Simple

Although you want to burn as many calories as possible during the workout, you don’t have to create an extensive or complicated exercise schedule. If you over do it, you are more likely to feel tired for the rest of the day. 

That said, you do need to include at least one explosive exercise with full-body movements in your workout. The most common examples are lunges, burpees, tornado jumping jacks, jumping squats, and explosive pushups. 

However, you can also try a suitable workout shared by a fitness expert. Since, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many fitness centers and personal trainers have started offering online exercises through Zoom, Instagram, and other channels. 

5. Include Stretching Exercises

Just like an explosive exercise, your morning workout also needs to have at least one stretching exercise. Stretching helps keep your muscles healthy, active, and flexible. The increased flexibility can help improve your daily life as it will decrease the chances of joint pains in the long run.  

You can perform a variety of stretches, ranging from seated hamstring stretch to neck release stretch. Choose stretch exercises for each part of your body. However, when it comes to static stretches, you shouldn’t perform them before your workout. 

As the muscles aren’t warmed up before the exercise, this type of stretching isn’t going to help you prevent any muscle injuries. It can also affect your explosive exercise performance and activity level during the workout. So, make sure to perform these after your explosive workout session.  

6. Keep the Distractions Away

The last, but the most important step, is to keep the distractions away. Find a private area in your house where you can work out without any disturbance. Whether it is your exercise equipment or your workout clothes, make sure to keep everything ready the day before. Looking for your yoga leggings in the morning will only distract you. 

You can also play music to prevent disturbance caused by traffic and any other noises. You can also partner up with your spouse or a friend or a roommate for morning workout sessions. You can take a bike ride or do yoga together. Having a partner can encourage you to keep your morning workout routine going. 

Conclusion 

You can truly enjoy the benefits of morning workout only if you take a few precautions. Hopefully, these five tips will prove helpful in creating an energy intensive and explosive workout schedule. However, do take your strength, stamina, and existing medical conditions into account before planning your workout. Ask for expert advice if needed before beginning. And yes, feel free to share your morning workout experience and whether these tips were helpful for your fitness, in the comments.

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About The Author: “Rob is the founder at FitClub Agency, a full service Fitness Marketing agency specialised in helping Gyms, Fitness Studios, Personal Trainers and Sports Brands. Connect with Rob on LinkedIn for a chat to find out how they may be able to help”.