Fitness
7 Habits for a Healthy Morning
Well, hello there! I apologize for the long hiatus… See, I started a second writing job last month so my focus has been elsewhere. I still love writing and I still love-love Chin-ups & Cupcakes, however, at the end of the day, I have a hard time gathering my thoughts to write some more! I finished my other work a little early this week, so I finally found the time (and the ambition) to write a new post. This week, I wanted to share the 7 habits for a healthy morning that I personally try to incorporate into each day to get started on the right foot!
I’ve been wanting to write this one for a while, because I think these habits can help you too (especially if you’re not a morning person.) Since I’ve began incorporating these habits into my daily routine, I’ve noticed that I’m much more focused and productive throughout the rest of my day. Don’t get me wrong, I love working from home, but working from home comes with a bunch of extra distractions! Getting my brain and body right in the morning, sets me up for success! It can work for you, too!
Early Bird
Okay, so number one is: wake up earlier! I can hear the moans and groans, already… You’re probably thinking, “Erin, you know I’m not a morning person. How on earth is your first healthy habit to wake up even earlier?!” Well, stop panicking and I’ll tell you. Getting up early will allow you to perform these habits, each morning. If you truly struggle with waking up on time, set your alarm just 5 minutes earlier each day. This will allow you to slowly get used to waking up 20, 30 or even 60 minutes earlier. The more time you have in the morning, the more productive you can be!
Drink Water
CHUG, CHUG, CHUG. Wait, okay, so you don’t have to chug, but it’s a good idea to drink a full glass of room temperature water relatively soon after waking (within the first 5-10 minutes.) Drinking water first thing in the morning will 1. Keep you full until breakfast and 2. Get your digestive system cranking. “What does that mean exactly? Isn’t my digestive system constantly ‘cranking’?” Think of it as a reboot. Drinking water on an empty stomach: flushes the system of toxins, enables your body to absorb more nutrients, increases the production of new blood & muscle cells, balances the lymph system, boosts metabolism (Yay, weight loss!) and even gives you glowing skin! Did that sell you? Drink your water, boys and girls! Strive for eight, 8 oz. glasses per day, minimum.
HIIT it!
For those of you that don’t know, HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Performing cardiovascular exercise early in the morning will get your blood pumping and your body ready for the day! I love working out early in the morning because it sets me up for success. If you exercise early, you won’t be able to talk yourself out of it later on in the day. Get up and get it done! Now, if you want to go for a run, I’m not going to try and stop you, however, if you’re not a runner we can keep it simple. Perform 10 rounds of 30 seconds of jumping jacks + 30 seconds of mountain climbers, no rest! BOOM. You have 10 minutes of HIIT. Of course, you can feel free to switch it up.
Try one of these HIIT workouts, written by yours truly! 🙂
Stretch
Practicing a stretching routine (preferably a total-body routine) each morning can provide you with several benefits. These benefits include improved posture, fewer aches and pains, increased blood flow and more energy! Try my Lean & Limber, Flexibility Routine! Stretching is one of my favorite ways to center myself. It promotes a sense of calmness, which gets me focused on the day. Not to mention, it’s an excellent stress reliever. Give it a whirl!
Set a Goal
Let’s be honest… how productive can you truly be, if you don’t set any goals for yourself? These goals can be work related, family related or even health related! Did you want to get ‘insert task here’ completed at work today? Maybe you want to make sure you spend an hour with the kiddos tonight instead of worrying about something else. Perhaps your goal is to get in 10,000 steps today! Whatever it is, planning your day in the morning will allow you to figure out what you need to do ahead of time to meet these goals. That way, you won’t be scrambling to make it happen later on!
Fuel Up
This is my favorite part of the morning. While this is mostly me telling you to eat a nutritious breakfast, you can also use this time to sit down and drink a hot cup of coffee. I gotta tell you, sometimes I go to sleep at night, just so I can wake up and drink more coffee. Is that wrong? If it is, I don’t want to be right. Coffee just tastes better when you’re sitting on the couch. As far as breakfast goes, you should aim to get a solid amount of protein with a side of carbs & fats. Every morning, Mike & I eat 2 eggs & a slice of cheese on an English Muffin. It tastes fantastic and it holds me over until lunch time. Skipping breakfast is a habit that you absolutely need to break (unless you’re practicing intermittent fasting) but chances are you’re not. Staying fed will keep your metabolism up, allowing you to burn more calories!
If the thought of cooking breakfast in the morning is just too much too handle… cook it ahead of time! When I was training clients at 5am, there was no way in heck that I was going to wake up and cook. I would make these little egg muffins ahead of time that I could nuke in the microwave and scarf down. Trust me, you did NOT want to be one of my early morning clients if I had not been fed. Hunger would bring out the demon, and the burpees. Sorry, guys.
Oh, what was in the egg muffins? Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grab a 12 muffin baking tin. Scramble 12 eggs, mix in some red & green peppers, maybe a little jalapeno, some cheese of your choice (I used shredded Parmesan) and distribute evenly throughout the tin. Bake for 15 minutes and there you have it. 12 little, high-protein, egg muffins. Mike and I would both eat 2 each morning, leaving us with 3 mornings of stress-free breakfast! You’re welcome, clients…
Avoid Technology
Last, but certainly not least, save the tech stuff for the office. I understand that many people, myself included, use their cellphone as an alarm. That’s fine, but after you wake up, put the phone in your purse or briefcase and leave it there until you get to work. Get yourself a stop watch so that you can time your HIIT intervals without your cell phone! We use technology all day long, so give yourself a break in the morning. If you turn on the television or open up social media, your chances of having a successful morning plummet. Aside from distracting you, the news and social media have a knack for increasing stress and frustration. As I said before, let the morning be YOUR time. Focus on YOU.
What do you think? Are you going to try and incorporate these 7 habits for a healthy morning into your routine? If you are, I’d love to hear about it!
I can’t make any promises, but I’m going to do my absolute best to publish new posts more often. I’m thinking the next one will be a new workout of sorts. Stay tuned!
Until next time,
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