The Importance of a Morning Fitness Routine
Working in a virtual world has many perks: no commute, waking up later, and wearing pajamas on the job to name a few. On the other hand, remote working also leads to a very sedentary lifestyle. You can wake up 5 minutes before your first meeting, walk 2 feet to your desk chair, sit in your chair for 8+ hours, and then eventually go back to bed where it all began. Obviously, this is a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is that there isn’t any natural point in the day where we are expected to be active and release energy. From personal experience, I have found that this work routine is not conducive to productivity. I feel sluggish and lazy throughout the day, regardless of how much coffee I drink.
A solution that I have found to be transformative is the implementation of a morning fitness routine into the workweek. The keyword here is routine. There is a huge difference between working out sometimes after work when you feel like it or have time versus consistently waking up at the same time every morning and doing something active before you start the workday. The workout itself should depend on what best suits you. Whether it's running, riding a bike, lifting weights, or doing yoga, the activity itself can do wonders for your physical, mental, and emotional health. After my morning workout, I feel invigorated, motivated, and locked in for a day of work. This is partially due to a boost in the Cortisol hormone that occurs after working out in the morning. The Cortisol hormone is in charge of making us feel awake during the day and multiple studies have shown that working out in the morning can significantly boost levels of Cortisol. Hormones aside, there is a real intrinsic motivation factor in knowing that you just did a full workout before most people have even woken up.
Waking up earlier than you have to isn’t easy regardless if you’re a morning person or not. The key to making this process easier is consistency. The first few times the alarm rings at 6:00 AM, it will take some effort to not hit the snooze button and sleep for 2 more hours. But, as you normalize this as a routine, it will feel more natural when the alarm goes off early. Your body will know what's coming and be expecting the morning workout. I have also found it helpful to have a 30-minute ramp-up period in the morning before working out to get the body and mind in a good place. For me, that typically consists of having a cup of coffee and reading the news. This allows for some brain stimulation (and for the caffeine to kick in) before waking up the body.
Equally important to ramping up in the morning is calming down the night before to get the appropriate amount of quality sleep that is necessary to make this routine possible. I have developed a series of habits that have helped me to go to sleep early. These include drinking tea (non-caffeinated) such as Chamomile about an hour before I want to go to sleep. Chamomile tea has natural sleep-inducing effects that help relax the body and mind. Sleep meditations are also extremely helpful to ease tension in the mind right as you are going to sleep. The Calm meditation app has a whole section dedicated to sleep meditation that I find very useful.
The morning fitness routine has been an essential part of achieving a work-life balance. It has allowed me to maximize productivity during the day, while also feeling both physically and mentally healthy.
