Early Morning Exercise Is Amazing Beyond All Reason

People will constantly tell you that they are not "morning people." I think they mean that they don't like to get up early--that they would much rather go to bed late and sleep in than get to bed early and rise early. There's a seven a.m. meeting and the person who comes in late excuses himself, "I'm sorry, I'm just not a morning person!" But really what kind of an excuse is that? In the reality, even the most disciplined among us would like to sleep in. But there are so many things to do in the mornings! Our church leaders have counseled that there is "power in the mornings," indicating that it is a good time for prayer and scripture study. Also, if there's anything you need to do around the apartment that you don't want anyone else to know about, or that you don't need anyone else around for, get up early and get it done. It's likely that your roommates are just as lazy as you would normally be. But how do you go about making yourself a morning person? It really would be so much easier to just press the "snooze" button indefinitely or to just get up late like a normal person. What's the key to loving the mornings, even when you've had a late night?

I will admit that I was never a morning person either. I hated to get up for early morning seminary and relished every chance I got to sleep in until noon. This changed last summer when I participated in a swim team that practiced at 5:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. There is nothing more physically cleansing and invigorating than swimming early in the mornings. I would come home and the whole world felt beautiful and open. I was up early enough that I had time for scripture study and prayer. I had time to prepare for the day and make myself a good breakfast before work. Plus, it always feels really good to walk around all day knowing that you've exercised... at least I feel proud and happy during the day after I've exercised. This is very vain and awful, but it's fun to think to yourself, "I got up and exercised this morning... and no one else here did! Mua ha ha ha!" It's not usually quite that wicked-sounding inside my head, but if I've exercised in the morning, I feel empowered and more confident in myself. I also feel like I can eat more during the day, which doesn't really make sense if I'm trying to lose wight. However, there has been scientific research suggesting that people who exercise before noon (in the mornings) are more likely to lose weight than those who only exercise in the afternoons or evenings. So if you just want to maintain your current weight and not demoralize over eating a bowl ice cream or going out to lunch, swim in the morning... or participate in whatever kind of exercise suits your fancy.

Anyway, in the course of making myself get up for early to swim, I became a morning person, and now I love to get up early so that I can swim. I'm crazy... I know. This, of course, does not mean that I don't like to sleep in on the weekends. I would die if I had to get up at 5:30 or 6:00 every single morning of my life. The principle point is that if you want to become a morning person, want an ideal time to exercise, want to lose weight, or just want a fantastic start to your day, your should start exercising in the mornings. It's awesome. It's hard at first and makes you develop a lot of self-discipline, but it's awesome. Try working out with a group or team at first... that will make you be accountable to someone for showing up. It's a lot harder to try to do all by yourself. If I hadn't had the swim team, I'm not sure that I ever would've gotten up and gone swimming that early. If I hadn't carried that habit of early morning exercise on into college, I would probably weigh like 200 pounds right now. No joke. However, I love swimming and getting up early to swim, so if you have any inclination at all, I would recommend that you plan out your workout schedule today and begin tomorrow morning. You will only regret it for the few minutes in between when you make youself get out of bed and when you start working out. But you are tough and can get through it. I believe in you! Become a morning person and begin your early morning exercise routine as soon as possible!