The Best Workout for Mornings
Struggling to wake up in the morning and find an effective workout routine? You’re in luck! This article will provide you with the perfect morning routine to help you feel energized and start the day off right.
Quick facts: Best Workout For Morning
- ✅ Working out in the morning can help you increase alertness and productivity throughout the day – Mayo Clinic
- ✅ Morning workouts can help you better manage stress and anxiety levels – Harvard Health
- ✅ A study found that people who work out in the morning tend to eat better throughout the day – Journal of Physiology and Behavior
- ✅ Exercising in the morning can help you get better quality sleep at night – Sleep Foundation
- ✅ Morning workouts can help you maintain weight loss – American Council on Exercise
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Warm Up
A morning workout can be a great way to set the tone for your day, but it’s important to be sure you are properly warmed up for your workout. Warming up can help to improve your performance and help to reduce the risk of injury.
Let’s look closer at the best warm up exercises for a morning workout:
Stretch your muscles
Stretching is an important part of any workout; however, it can be especially beneficial for your morning workout. Stretching before you begin your morning workout will help to warm up your muscles, reduce the risk of injury, and increase your range of motion. It is recommended that you hold each stretch for 30-60 seconds and focus on the major muscle groups like your hamstrings, quads, and shoulders.
Starting off with dynamic stretches is also beneficial as they simulate movements you’ll make throughout your workout while elongating and warming up muscles at the same time. To get started with these type of stretches, you can begin with a few sets of:
- Arm circles
- Leg swings where you move back and forth or side to side while keeping control of the movements.
Overall, including stretching in your morning workout routine is a great way to help prevent injuries while improving flexibility.
Do some light cardio
Light cardio is a great way to warm up in the morning. This type of exercise typically involves maintaining a low-intensity activity for a long period of time. Examples include brisk walking, jogging, stair climbing, or biking.
Light cardio helps to raise the body temperature gradually, reduce tension in the muscles, improve circulation, and increase oxygen levels throughout the body.
Additionally, light cardio improves flexibility by warming and stretching out the muscles used during exercise. This can help prevent injury and ensure that your body is prepared for more intense workouts later on in the day. Finally, starting with light cardio gives you an energy boost that can help set you up for success during your workout or day at work or school.
Strength Training
Strength training is a great way to start your day, as it is a full-body workout that helps build strength, increase muscle mass, burn calories, and improve your overall fitness. It is also a great way to increase your energy levels, as it helps to keep you motivated and energized throughout the day.
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of strength training and how to do it effectively in the morning:
Choose exercises that target your whole body
When it comes to strength training, choosing exercises that target all of your major muscle groups is the best way to maximize your workout time and gain all-over strength. Include exercises such as squats, pull-ups and press-ups. Also, don’t forget to add compound movements like deadlifts and lunges that target multiple muscle groups in one movement.
You may also want to choose a combination of free weights (dumbbells, barbells, etc.), resistance bands or machines as part of your strength training routine. Doing so will allow you to effectively challenge different muscles at different levels depending on what fits your individual goals best.
Additionally, for maximum results, focus on proper form and work at challenging enough weight or resistance that will help you reach failure within 8-12 reps per set.
Perform exercises with proper form
When undertaking strength training in the morning, it’s important to perform exercises with proper form to maximize effective muscle engagement and avoid injury. Poorly performed exercises can be inefficient in building muscle and can cause injury. Always keep your core engaged throughout the workout and maintain good posture.
Start with a lighter weight than usual and progress slowly as you become more comfortable with each exercise. Remember to warm up prior to any high-intensity exercise such as weightlifting or plyometrics, by performing dynamic stretching like leg swings or arm circles. Rest between sets should range from 30-90 seconds depending on the difficulty of the exercise and how quickly your muscles recover from fatigue.
Overall, proper form is key when it comes to prolonged injury prevention and achieving desired results from strength training.
Increase intensity gradually
When you increase the intensity of your workouts gradually, it gives your body time to adjust and get used to the strain. Increasing intensity too quickly can cause injuries due to the sudden shock to the system and can have a negative effect on your motivation.
Starting slowly and gradually increasing intensity is also important for building strength. When you start out with lighter weights, you are able to do more repetitions and learn proper form. Once you progress, you can begin increasing the weight in small increments so that your muscles are challenged and learning continues.
Finally, building up intensity gradually also allows you to focus on mind-muscle connection; connecting with each muscle group as you press and pull each rep. This increases muscular activation, which leads to greater muscle growth faster!
Cardio
Cardio is a great way to start your day. It can help increase your heart rate and boost your energy levels, giving you a great way to start your day! Cardio also helps to improve your overall cardiovascular health, reduce body fat and increase endurance.
Let’s take a look at some of the best cardio workouts for mornings:
Choose exercises that challenge your endurance
Exercises that challenge your endurance are great for mornings since they will give you a sustained energy boost throughout the day. Cardio activities like running, biking, or swimming are excellent choices because they can be done in a variety of ways and offer different levels of intensity so you can adjust it to how you’re feeling.
- For running, choose routes that have hills or inclines to up the difficulty.
- For biking, opt for windy roads or trails with sharp turns and changes in elevation.
- Swimming is an excellent way to get moving because it can be done indoors at any time of the year and also has different strokes that target different areas of your body for an even more varied workout.
All these activities will help you build stamina over time as well as get your heart rate up and give you an extra boost of energy for the rest of the day.
Monitor your heart rate
Monitoring your heart rate during your cardio workouts is a great way to gauge the intensity of your exercise. Knowing your maximum heart rate helps you determine the range at which you should aim to exercise for optimum health benefits.
To find out your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220 beats per minute (220 bpm). So, if you’re 40 years old, then 180 bpm (220 – 40) is the upper limit of your target heart rate zone.
Ideally, during a morning cardio workout, you should aim to reach and sustain somewhere between 50-70% of this maximum heart rate zone throughout. This will maximize calorie burning potential while still allowing adequate recovery time in between sets so that you can finish strong with an energized and refreshed feeling.
Incorporate interval training
Interval training is a type of workout that involves alternating short periods of high-intensity exercise with lower intensity recovery periods. This type of training offers a great way to burn fat, build muscle, and get the most out of your morning workout. Interval training can also be used in addition to aerobic exercises like running, cycling, and swimming.
To incorporate interval training into your morning workout routine, start by warming up with light cardio—such as a slow jog—for at least five minutes. Then increase the intensity to an all-out sprint for between 30–60 seconds before returning to a slower pace for one minute. Repeat these intervals until you’ve reached your desired level of exhaustion or until you’ve completed the duration of your chosen workout session. Interval training is not only an effective way to work out in mornings but it also helps you mix up your routines while still delivering an effective and safe workout experience.
Cool Down
After any workout, it is important to cool down in order to reduce the risk of injury and soreness. Cool down activities will help your body transition from the intensity of the workout into a more relaxed state.
In this section, we’ll look at the best cool down exercises for a morning workout:
Stretch your muscles
Stretching plays an important role in any successful morning workout routine. Stretching helps you warm up your muscles, improves your range of motion, and signals the brain that it’s time to get moving.
To properly cool down and stretch after a workout, start with dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretches involve active movement of the body, like lunges or arm swings. This type of stretching warms up muscles by increasing blood flow to the area. Static stretches involve holding a position for a few seconds, like reaching for your toes or folding your arms across your chest while rotating your torso from side to side. These stretches can increase flexibility and help you relax after a vigorous workout.
Incorporate both dynamic and static stretching into your daily routine for the most effective cool down session possible!
Do some light cardio
Doing some light cardio in the morning is an excellent way to get your heart rate up and wake your body up for the day ahead. Light cardio will help get your metabolism going and improve your overall cardiovascular health.
When it comes to a light cardio warm-up, you can do any type of aerobic exercise such as running, jumping rope, jogging, walking, or swimming. You should aim to keep your intensity low by conserving energy and focus on increasing your range of motion. Doing some dynamic stretches can also help improve flexibility and range of motion while keeping the intensity low. Keeping the intensity low during warming up will help prevent injury while still allowing you to reap the benefits from doing some light cardio in the morning.
Foam roll
Foam rolling is a great form of self-myofascial release (SMR) for your muscles. It helps to reduce soreness and prepare your body for the day ahead. Foam rolling should be done regularly as it can reduce the risk of injury by increasing circulation and releasing any knots in your muscles. It also helps to improve alignment and balance of the body, allowing you to move more efficiently when exercising.
To foam roll, place a foam roller on the ground, then begin by gently rolling over each muscle group. Focus on any particular areas that are tight or painful. You can do this by taking small rolls over them and applying pressure until you feel discomfort that gradually lessens with time. As you roll, keep your breathing deep and controlled while using an even pressure across the muscle tissue to get optimal results. You should feel a release of tension in your body as you move through it; this indicates that the foam roller has worked its magic!
Recovery
Recovery is an important part of any workout routine, and it becomes even more important when working out in the morning. After all, you need to be adequately recovered to make the most of your workout and to get the best possible results. But how do you recover after a morning workout? Let’s look at some of the best strategies for recovery after a morning workout:
Get enough sleep
Getting enough sleep is one of the most important aspects of recovery for any athlete. Sleep helps your body restore energy, repair muscle tissue and rebuild strength. It’s also essential for mental well-being, keeping your brain sharp and focused.
When it comes to recovery from a workout, there’s no substitute for good sleep habits; aim for 7-9 hours a night. If possible, try to get your sleep schedule dialed in so that you’re getting up and going to bed around the same time each day. To make this easier, it can help to limit screen time before bed, as exposure to blue light before bedtime can interfere with your natural circadian rhythms and keep you awake longer. Finally, certain supplements (like magnesium or valerian root) may be beneficial if you find yourself having difficulty sleeping at night.
Eat a balanced diet
Eating balanced and nutritious meals is the key to helping you recover quickly. Not only will you be able to speed up recovery, but it will also help fuel your body for your next workout.
After a workout, replenish your muscles with high-quality carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, oats, and quinoa and protein sources like lean meats, nuts, eggs, beans, and legumes. Also make sure to include plenty of fruits and vegetables into your diet to get in important vitamins and minerals that are essential for optimal performance. Eating healthy post-workout can help reduce muscle soreness as well as ensuring that you have the necessary energy for your upcoming workouts.
Stay hydrated
Staying hydrated is an important part of both pre and post-workout routines. While exercising, the body produces sweat which helps cool off our bodies, however this causes us to lose electrolytes, minerals and water. In order to prevent dehydration it’s important to replenish these lost nutrients and fluids by drinking plenty of water.
Before a workout it is recommended to have some form of carbohydrate snack at least 30 minutes prior in order for the body to receive energy. During a workout you should aim for about 8 ounces every 15-20 minutes to stay hydrated during exercise.
After your workout don’t forget to rehydrate! Rehydrating after a heavy workout session is just as important as before so make sure you get enough fluids and electrolytes back into your system in order to replace what was lost. Drinking water, coconut water or sports drinks are great options for post work outs as they contain essential electrolytes like sodium and potassium.
FAQs about: Best Workout For Morning
Q1: What is the best morning workout?
A1: It depends on your fitness goals. Generally, a combination of high-intensity interval training, weight training, and cardio is recommended. It is also important to warm-up prior to your workout and stretch afterwards.
Q2: How much time should I dedicate to morning workouts?
A2: Ideally, you should aim for 45 minutes to an hour of exercise. You can also break it into smaller chunks of time if needed.
Q3: What is the best time to workout in the morning?
A3: The best time to workout in the morning is when you feel most energized and alert. This could be different for everyone, but typically it is between 6-8AM.