When you want to get to the beach faster, take a shortcut. It’s also true when your destination loses 20 pounds before you hit the sand. The promise of a shortcut is extremely appealing because we know that the road to a slimmer, muscular body is long and difficult.
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But if there is a notch that makes it easier than anyone else to achieve the body you want through exercise, we have found it: exercise first thing in the morning. (And for more tips, check out these Scientific Mental Hacks to Lose Weight.)
Does that sound awful? It may even feel awful the first time you try, but it works like a charm. Countless athletes and coaches agree, including Natasha Funderburk, RN, CPT, a personal trainer certified by the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) and an ACE Behavior Change Specialist.
“I know it sometimes [it’s hard] to get up and immediately jump into a workout, but when you train in the morning there are so many good things that happen, she says.
For example, exercising in the morning can actually make you feel more energetic as the day goes on. A 2010 Australian study found that people who exercised in the morning and also took short breaks during the day scored higher on attention, visual learning and decision making compared to sedentary people.
And in an animal study, researchers in Copenhagen found that exercise in the morning results in an increased metabolic response, which means that rats can break down sugar and fat better. (Read more: An important side effect of exercising in the morning, says study.)
Finally, research even shows that morning exercise is associated with greater physical activity for the rest of the day.
We asked the owner Funderburk trulysimplyhealthy.com to tell her best tips to start exercising in the morning and the benefits of doing so. Read on, and for more on healthy eating, do not miss easy ways to start losing weight immediately, according to science.
When you exercise out of the way in the morning, you will find that you suddenly have a lot more time in the day to get everything else done. However, if you interrupt your workout later in the day, your life will always be busy, and this may make you more likely to blow it.
“When I get home or finish everything I do at the end of the day, I’m so tired that the last thing I want to do is get up and move when I can lie on the couch,” says Funderburk.
Set your alarm 30 to 60 minutes earlier than you normally do to create “me” time for your workout, Funderburk suggests. Place the alarm clock or phone across the room so that you have to get up to turn it off and force yourself to move. “Put out your workout clothes the night before. Fill a water bottle or make your meal before workout ready to go,” she says. The easier you make it to start training, the better. “Exercising in the morning also means going to bed earlier,” she says. “Plan it in your calendar as a work meeting. When you treat your workout as a meeting, you are less likely to skip it.” And for better sleep, check out 9 eating habits that are harming your sleep, according to doctors.
“An added benefit of morning exercise is that when you start the day making a healthy choice, you are more likely to continue to make healthy choices throughout the day,” says Funderburk.
It has been backed up by research, which has shown that exercise in the morning is associated with greater physical activity for the rest of the day. What’s more, other studies show that aerobic exercise, such as walking, reduces the craving for fast food and high-carbohydrate carbohydrates later in the day. Related: Avoid these worst habits for a flat stomach, according to experts.
“There is this big misconception that you need to spend hours training to get the best results. Not true,” says Funderburk. In fact, a long workout can sabotage your motivation. “You can get a super effective strength training of 30 to 45 minutes if you use your time wisely. HIIT (high intensity interval training) should be 15 minutes or less. Cardio, if you add it after weight training should be about 20 minutes.”
Jumping into a workout before eating breakfast is not only time efficient, but it can also speed up weight loss. “If your goal is fat loss, then try fasting cardio,” Funderburk suggests. “Exercising in a fasting state forces your body to burn fat because it does not draw from the latest energy stories (the food you just ate).” A small study in Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism found that people who fasted before workouts in the morning reduced the number of calories, they ate the rest of the day and increased fat burning while exercising.
If you have tried to exercise in the morning and you are still gaining weight, this may be why.
