30 Things You Can Do at Night to Make Your Morning Workout Better
Waking up refreshed, lacing up, and getting out for a fantastic morning workout isn’t always easy. Maybe the snooze button is too tempting to resist, or it feels like it takes you forever to get your gear together, so by the time you’re prepped, your workout ends up being much shorter than you want. Or you end up skipping it altogether.
But you can avoid that morning heel dragging. All it takes is some planning the night before. Here are 30 pre-sleep tips that can give you the post-sleep energy you need to crush any workout.
[Build your personalized and adaptive training plan for FREE with Runcoach.]
Not only will you know whether to grab your toughest rain gear or not, but glancing at the weather can begin getting you in the mindset for a workout—even if it’s not outside. That’s because you’ll be “setting your brain” on anticipation mode, says Taylor Jacobson, founder and CEO of Focusmate, a developer of productivity and anti-procrastination software. That makes it easier to get going in the morning.
If you want to power up, those Zen-like tones need to go. Instead, set your alarm to play music that is energizing, suggests Darria Long Gillespie, M.D., an ER physician and director of clinical strategy at digital health company Sharecare. Draw from your workout playlist, with a song you already associate with exercise.
[Related: Want to start running? The Big Book of Running for Beginners will take you through everything you need to know to get started, step by step.]
Part of your workout gear pile should be what you’ll wear, including socks and underwear. Having absolutely everything ready doesn’t just shave off a few minutes in the morning, it’s a signal to your brain that you’re doing this, Dr. Gillespie says. You eliminate excuses that might come up otherwise.
Since you know what the weather will be, you can assemble your workout stuff. Dr. Gillespie recommends putting everything together, from your shoes and sunglasses to headphones, rain jacket, and water bottle.
Bright lights first thing in the morning will shut off your brain’s melatonin release, signaling it’s time to wake up, says Gillespie. Either have a light near the bed, or be ready to grab your phone and look at it on a bright setting, she suggests. Not only will that help you wake up faster, but she says that it will also make it easier for you to fall asleep at night.
Much like collecting your gear and putting it together, do the same with whatever you use as fuel before your workout. That might be pre-workout in a shaker, celery and peanut butter, or your go-to protein bar. Whatever it is, have it out and ready.
If you have a long-term goal for your training plan, that’s great. But also know your goal for the next day. Jacobson says setting short-term, realistic goals can help you get into the rhythm of daily wins—giving you the buzz necessary to make your morning workouts into a regular habit.
If morning workouts are a struggle, you can get into the habit easier by keeping a log of your goals—and then jotting down whether you reached them, post-workout. This will help your brain adjust to exhibiting more discipline, says David Greuner, M.D., surgical director at NYC Surgical Associates.
As you set your goal for tomorrow, glance through the past week, or even the past month, and see how far you’ve come. Greuner says that this habit can make you feel a surge of accomplishment, and sets you up to keep that good groove going.
Once you have everything set out and ready, it may be tempting to think you can stay up later since you’ll be saving time in the morning. Resist. Going to bed at the same time every night helps you set up a habit that makes you feel more rested in the morning, according to Nate Watson, M.D., advisory board member at SleepScore Labs. That boosts performance for your workout.
You don’t have to go to bed with a rumbling stomach, but aim to stop eating at least two hours before bed, advises Watson. That minimizes the possible of sleep disruption due to digestion. Also, he adds, lying down while you have a full stomach increases the chances of GERD, which sabotages your sleep quality.
Avoid alcohol at least three hours before bed, recommends Michael Breus, Ph.D., author of The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan. Although booze can make you feel sleepy and aid in falling asleep, ultimately it disrupts the restorative sleep you need for better workout performance.
By now, it’s become common advice to shut off those screens—TV, smartphone, and computer—for an hour before bed. That’s because the blue light emanating from those glowing rectangles interferes with melatonin production, making it more difficult to get quality sleep, says Breus.
Although it may not feel like it when you’re dragging after lunch, caffeine can stay in your system for hours, Breus notes. Try to stop drinking the stuff by 2:00 p.m. or earlier, so it’s out of your body by the time you’re ready to sleep.
A heavy dinner can make for a bad workout the next day, since your body will still be trying to digest it, says dietician Shelly Wegman, R.D., L.D.N., of Rex Wellness Centers in Raleigh, North Carolina. She suggests a meal that includes a lean protein, and some carbs from fruits or vegetables.
Because you’ve already set your goal and know your workout, you can figure out what you’ll need during the activity. Wegman says that if you’re exercising for more than an hour, it’s helpful to aim for 20 to 30 grams of carbs, and to fuel up about 45 minutes into your workout. Get these ready to go the night before so there is no scrambling in the morning.
Knowing what you’ll be eating after you crush your workout is one more way to get into the right mindset. Wegman suggests choosing a lighter meal designed to refuel and repair, like avocado toast with black bean salsa, or egg whites scrambled with some spinach.
You have everything you need for the workout tomorrow already set out, but consider putting together a “just in case” bag as well. That might include an extra bottle of water, sunscreen, a backup pair of shoes, another shirt, and different socks, as well as protein-rich snacks like nuts. Keeping this bag in your car makes it easier to adjust for weather changes, and also to sneak in a workout on the fly.
You’re ready to take your favorite HIIT class or to tackle speed work at the track. But surprise, the instructor is sick, or there’s a track meet you didn’t know about. Always have a plan B so you can adjust quickly.
Knowing your pal will be waiting is a major boost for accountability, says Wegman. Better yet, get a couple friends together for the workout, so you can be sure you’ll have a partner even if someone is a no-show.
If you want the best performance in the morning, skip exercising before bed, advises Mary Ellen Wells, Ph.D., director and assistant professor of neurodiagnostics and sleep science at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Exercise creates temporary stress in the body, and that can sabotage restorative sleep. Save your energy for the next day instead.
Making your bedroom into a dark, cool place prompts deeper sleep, Wells says. If you tend to wake up easily whenever there’s sound, she suggests adding a white noise machine.
About an hour before bed, slip into a hot bath—or even just run your hands under warm water if you’re short on time—since this can increase your temperature temporarily, causing your body to start the cool-down procedure. This process slows heart rate and breathing, putting you into relaxation mode.
Take at least at few minutes to sit quietly, close your eyes, and imagine the best morning workout possible, suggests performance coach Barbara Cox, Ph.D. She notes that this technique helps you “feel” a sense of accomplishment, and that can be a huge motivational push.
As part of your visualization, or just to chill out in general, do a conscious breathing exercise in which you make your exhales longer than your inhales. That will lower your level of cortisol, the hormone responsible for your “fight or flight” reactions, helping to you wash away some of the day’s stressors.
If you’ve been feeling challenged by your goals lately, imagine that you’ve already reached them, and then write down your success as if it’s happened. For example, you might jot down, “Finally hit my PR this morning,” even if that has yet to occur. Cox says that gives the brain additional fuel to get to that point.
In addition to writing your goals, put your workout on your calendar. Set an appointment with yourself that might include a notification ping. That’s another level of accountability, and it feels good when you don’t “skip that meeting,” says Jacobson.
Even if you look at your cat and say, “Mr. Peepers, I’m working out in the morning,” that can be helpful in terms of accountability. A better tactic might be telling an actual person who can then check in on whether you went through with your plan. But maybe Mr. Peepers will also look judgy if you stay in bed instead.
Whatever you say to yourself will be true, says Jacobson. If you label yourself as a procrastinator, then it’s more likely that you’ll wake up and put off your workout. But if you give yourself a gold star in self-talk—you’re amazing, you’re an athlete, you got this—then it can have a profound effect on your mindset and outlook.
Sometimes, working out can feel like a chore that only brings enthusiasm once it’s completed. But you can hack your brain to think otherwise, Jacobson notes. Even if it feels hollow at first, telling yourself that you’re psyched for the workout will…well, actually get you psyched, he says.
30 Things You Can Do at Night to Make Your Morning Workout Better
Waking up refreshed, lacing up, and getting out for a fantastic morning workout isn’t always easy. Maybe the snooze button is too tempting to resist, or it feels like it takes you forever to get your gear together, so by the time you’re prepped, your workout ends up being much shorter than you want. Or you end up skipping it altogether.
But you can avoid that morning heel dragging. All it takes is some planning the night before. Here are 30 pre-sleep tips that can give you the post-sleep energy you need to crush any workout.
[Build your personalized and adaptive training plan for FREE with Runcoach.]
Crush every a.m. run with some p.m. planning.
Solve the daily Crossword
