OVER THE PAST few weeks, it’s nice to see the dark wintry mornings fall away and the brighter mornings creep in with the sun starting to peak its head through much earlier.
For me, having an early morning routine is key and bringing in some form of exercise into your schedule has so many benefits.
For most people, a 9-to-5 work schedule, paired with family commitments and a social life, can mean most days are fairly jam-packed and finding time in the morning to exercise is something we tend to instantly rule out.
However, if it means something to you then you will make time for what’s important to you.
I used to leave my execrise until the evening and a busy day job meant I was following a routine of work, eat, exercise and sleep for five days of the week. However, with a change of career path, I have had to alter my routine to start the days at 5am in the gym with clients.
For most gyms and personal trainers the morning sessions generally can be the busiest time of the day with members and clients coming through the doors.
I feel that if you can squeeze some form of exercise into your morning routine then you’re off to a great start to the day — and if gyms are the busiest at that time of the day, then there must be some benefit to getting out of bed early…
Boxes off your training for the day
Getting your session done early is great for those who have a busy day ahead. A lot of the time the last thing people want to do upon leaving the office after a hard day’s work is then go to a busy gym.
Getting your workout in first thing is going to dismiss the chances of excuses and obstacles to work around as the day goes on.
As well as that your body is going to be far more energetic once you get moving after the first few minutes.
Remember a lot of the time the biggest hurdle when starting your session at 6am is the getting out of bed part. The build up is the worst part and once you do get over that initial hurdle and get moving into that warm up you’re already over the hardest bit.
Starts the day with a positive accomplishment
There is no better feeling than starting the day with a win and this is exactly what an early morning workout will give you.
Completing a tough workout gives you that sense of achievement which can only improve your mood and mindset for the day ahead. Sure, the initial post-workout feeling might leave you tired but the endorphins will soon kick in.
Not only will you feel awake and have more energy after your workout, but your mind will be ready to take on whatever tasks you have lined up that day.
Brings in discipline and real focus
I don’t think anyone will argue with me when I say that waking up early in the morning to exercise requires some sort of discipline. Just like any habit, developing the discipline to get up and exercise only gets easier with time.
I firmly believe that once you do keep the discipline it can only keep you on the right track and it focuses your mind towards your overall goal.
As well as that, keeping disciplined with your early morning exercise routine will surely carry over into the remainder of your day when it comes to making better and healthier choices such as eating better at lunch time or perhaps aiming to get enough sleep the night before.
Better daily function and body clock
Waking up early in the morning to exercise can help you sleep better at night.
Your body will enjoy a healthy sense of fatigue at the end of the day and will be ready to sleep.
For those who struggle to sleep at night and perhaps are training later in the day you should consider switching your sessions to the mornings.
I have found after an evening session, it’s difficult to switch off or slow down before bed, meaning it’s harder to get to sleep.
David Last is a personal trainer based in Dublin. For more information you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Or you can send him a direct message here.
You can also see some of his previous articles here.
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Dual Players, make 2 all Irelands, sounds to me like the experiment is a resounding success?
Dual players has been going on at minor level for years, it just so happens this year both teams were successful and went all the way to the final, which i would say was helped by a momentum gained from having dual players.
They were both successful in reaching the final and minor has 2 purposes, yes winning is one ,preparing seniors is another and having experience in a final will surely help .
Also why have so many only have those that will figure on team or used subs , have only hurlers after that this will reduce disturbance of squad.
Ger Loughlane point is much more important, with the size of the “home of hurling” and the amount of clubs not promoting football , why are these clubs not able to supply a minor team with only a few gems making the cross over.
Is the dual player an effort to promote hurling or demote football, Mr McKeever did not have to raid the issue the week of the final,
What Liam is actually saying is that the players are good enough there but with all the commitments they have at that age that it’s impossible to get a full panel together for enough sessions to understand how their teammates play, the more they play together the better they work as a unit, but they are missing that time to get the best out of the unit and that’s possibly why they fell at the final hurdle as it was impossible to get the right preparation done for it, it’s the age old saying “fail to prepare, prepare to fail”, it’s not the players fault, not the managements fault or the county boards fault, it’s the results of having a good underage structure, it certainly has to be looked at but it’s certainly a good complaint to have, I’d much prefer it than to been mediocre at one and non existent at the other
I’m saying it ages! Make a choice u either play hurling or football
making two All Irelands and winning none of them so where is the success there? Am I missing something!
I totally agree with Liam Cahill Tipperary is a hurling county always was and always will be
no point in sending a football team out against Kerry or Dublin and getting whipped by 20 points and being a laughing stock and then being too tired and lethargic to compete in the minor hurling final which is our priority sport
the County Board needs to have a good look at itself and decide if it wants Tipperary to win hurling All Irelands again or not
Bloody hell yet have more football all Ireland’s than Mayo! :(
I m fully behind the dual mandate. Well.done to tipp. Why make an 18 yr old choose for the sake of a medal? How is loosing a final, a single game, hindering their development? Wonderful achievement getting to both. Would they have won either if they had concentrated on one code? I dont think so.