Our 3 Tips For Early Morning Workouts are bound to help you get out the door and our post-workout Dairy Free Tropical Smoothie Recipe is simply delicious!
Now that winter has arrived with it’s freezing, biting winds – my workout routine has come to a slow crawl. Most of the year, I have very little trouble motivating myself to get in a run during the early morning hours. But now that winter is here, my motivation is seriously lacking and knowing that I am going to have to leave my warm, cozy bed to step into the freezing, catch-your-breath cold isn’t helping.
To be honest, working out isn’t my most favorite part of the day. I’d much rather be snuggling in bed with my kids, under a pile of fuzzy blankets. But over the years, I have found that the best way to make sure that I really do exercise each day is to abide by a schedule. For me, that means working out early so it’s not hanging over my head all day long.
In order to have a foolproof morning workout routine, I have to be as organized as possible. This means that I make sure that all of my gear is ready to go the night before and that I give myself two choices of exercise. If the temps are decent, I go running outside. But if it’s freezing or pouring rain, I head down to the basement and log some time in on my spin bike.
Getting out of bed before everyone else isn’t really fun and I really have to convince myself that hitting the snooze button is a terrible idea. But by being organized, and keeping my decision-making to a minimum, I ensure that I won’t get distracted — or even worse, talk myself out of exercising. By following these simple tips, I find it much easier to stick to an early morning workout routine.
3 TIPS FOR EARLY MORNING WORKOUTS
Tip 1: Go to bed
Make sure you go to bed early. If you stay up late watching a Downtown Abbey marathon, chances are you are going to be tired in the morning. I try to limit my tv watching to a half hour before my ideal bedtime. I also put on something boring that I know I won’t get sucked into. After a half hour, I am usually ready to turn in for the night.
Tip 2: Organize your gear
Nothing grinds my morning to a halt faster than not being able to find socks or my reflective running vest. Make sure you have everything (clothes, sneakers, iphone, headphones) in a neat pile. If I’m not sure about the weather I will create a second workout gear pile for my alternate exercise choice.
Tip 3: Set your alarm
I’ll be honest, usually I am so tired when I go to bed – the last thing I want to do is think about getting up. Many times I will “forget” to set my alarm. But, I didn’t really forget – I just couldn’t image getting up in the predawn hours for a workout. Leave your alarm set, all the time. If you make a routine of getting up at the same time every day, it won’t be so tough after awhile. Soon your body will naturally adjust to the set time.
Once I make it through my workout, I like to make sure I have healthy breakfast. One of my favorite post workout breakfasts is this tropical smoothie with Silk Dairy-Free tropical pineapple yogurt alternative. Silk Dairy-Free is made from the goodness of plants instead of dairy, and provides 6 grams of soy protein per serving, with real fruit and no artificial flavors or colors. If you would like to learn more about the Silk Community and Silk Dairy-Free, sign up for their newsletter!
Do you have any tips for working out in the morning? Please share in the comments below!
Thanks for reading,
Daniele
DAIRY-FREE TROPICAL SMOOTHIE
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup Silk Dairy-Free tropical pineapple yogurt alternative
- 1/3 cup Vanilla Almond Milk, unsweetened
- 1/3 cup Aloe Water, pineapple variety
- 1 banana, medium
- 1 cup frozen peaches
- 2 teaspoons flax seeds
Directions:
Step 1: Throw everything into the blender and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine. #SpoonfulOfSilk
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