So Joe…

I’ve never considered myself much of a ‘morning person’. I would, however, like to increase the frequency of my cardio workout. Problem is, my schedule often doesn’t allow me to workout after getting home from work. Solution? Work out before I go to work. Their are a number of reasons to do this, besides easier scheduling:

1. When you wake up in the morning after an overnight 8-12 hour fast, your body stores of glycogen are somewhat depleted. Doing cardio in this state causes your body to mobilize more fat because of the unavailability of glycogen.
2. Eating causes a release of insulin. Insulin interferes with the mobilization of body fat. Less insulin is present in the morning; therefore, more body fat is burned when cardio is done in the morning.
3. There is less carbohydrate (glucose) floating around in the bloodstream when you wake up after an overnight fast. With less glucose available, you will burn more fat.
4. If you eat immediately before a workout, you have to burn off what you just ate first before tapping into stored body fat (and insulin is elevated after a meal.)
5. When you do cardio in the morning, your metabolism stays elevated for a period of time after the workout is over. If you do cardio in the evening, you burn calories during the session so you definitely benefit from it, but you fail to take advantage of the “afterburn” effect because your metabolic rate drops dramatically as soon as you go to sleep.¹

Some other reasons include:

1. It makes you feel great all day by releasing mood-enhancing endorphins.
2. It “energizes” you and “wakes you up”.
3. It may help regulate your appetite for the rest of the day.
4. Your body’s circadian rhythm adjusts to your morning routine, making it easier to wake up at the same time every day.
5. You’ll be less likely to “blow off” your workout when it’s out of the way early (like when you’re exhausted after work or when friends ask you to join them at the pub for happy hour).
6. You can always “make time” for exercise by setting your alarm earlier in the morning.
7. It increases your metabolic rate for hours after the session is over.²

I’ve also never been a ‘breakfast person’. After a lot of reading, I’ve found that breakfast can actually be beneficial in a number of ways; it kickstarts the metabolism which helps burn more fat, and helps keep blood sugar levels more even. This will also fit in with eating more meals per day (but keeping them smaller).

So, I’m going to get up a little earlier, jump on the rowing machine for 30 minutes, then shower, and finally eat breakfast as the beginning to my day. When should I get up? I’ll have the answer to that in my next post which will deal with sleep cycles…

1. www.bodybuildingforyou.com/articles-submit/tom-venuto/AM-fat-burn.htm [back]
2. www.bodybuildingforyou.com/articles-submit/tom-venuto/AM-fat-burn.htm [back]