Adopting one of these habits will jump start your morning

Posted April 4, 2017By Tania Haas, Staff Writer

Morning workouts can be the best workouts. You exercise with the sunrise, and ensure you are clear and charged for the day ahead. Though, for many, mornings more likely involve hitting the snooze button until it’s time to rush out the door. We asked Medcan fitness trainers for their best tips to make morning workouts happen:

• Trim down evening obligations. In order to get enough sleep, you need quiet time to decompress after a long day. Give yourself an hour in the evenings to wind down, so you can get a minimum of 7 hours sleep. When you try to accomplish too many tasks in the evenings, you hurt your ability to wake up fresh.
• Place your alarm clock across the room and skip the snooze button. Strategic clock placement forces you to get out of bed in the morning and discourages you from being on your phone before bed or during the night. Set the alarm for when it’s time to rise, and if necessary another a few minutes later. Any drawn out snooze systems will disrupt our REM cycle and make for a groggy start to the day.
• Reward yourself with a delicious morning drink. Hamza Khan, a fitness trainer at Medcan likes to start his day with a butter coffee (grass-fed butter, coconut oil and palm oil blended with coffee) to help fuel his high-powered mornings. If your workout is less intense than a trainer’s, a lower calorie protein-packed, low-sugar smoothie with seeds, nuts, berries and spinach may be your best choice. You can add a shot of espresso or matcha tea to give it a caffeinated kick.
• Splash your face, put on tunes, and let in the light. Research shows that a little stimulation can help get us moving. Splash your face with water when you wake. If you put on some of your favourite music and open the blinds, you may find your energy levels will have increased by the time you’ve brushed your teeth.
• Set realistic expectations and ease into them gradually. Don’t be overambitious with your plan, recommends fitness trainer Jenna Martin. “Set a goal that doesn’t overwhelm you, like aiming for 10-minute interval workout. I set my calendar with what I’m going to do that week, and then I don’t have to think about it. Once you begin you’ll do more, but even 10 minutes every morning can have a huge impact on your health.”
• Revisit your why. Intentions can drive our actions better than any coffee,” says fitness trainer David Coutts. Become clear on how this behaviour links to your overall mission and purpose in life.