http://www.MeaningfulHQ.com/how-to-wake-up-early-and-workout.html // 043: How To Wake Up Early and Workout // In this episode you'll learn about the benefits of waking up early and working out, and 7 simple steps to successfully turn it into a habit.
MeaningfulHQ.com // EP043: How To Wake Up Early and Workout

On today's episode of The Meaningful Show Podcast, you'll learn about the benefits of waking up early and working out, and 7 simple steps to successfully turn it into a habit.
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SHOW NOTES:


How to wake up early and workout: 7 simple steps to make waking up and working out a sustainable habit for life.


In previous episodes of the podcast — namely, Designing Your Morning Ritual, and How to Make New Year's Resolutions Stick — I’ve talked about how much I love waking up and working out. The reasons for this are many, including the research-driven data that shows how exercising in the morning actually gives us MORE energy, as opposed to the widely touted myth that working out early drains us of energy. 
Again, the reverse is true -- though not for every one, at least for most of us -- not only does working out in the morning help us become more energetic, it can actually set a powerful series of events in motion to help you create more productive days, weeks, months, and years for yourself. 


The Endorphin Effect: If you wake up early and workout vigorously for a minimum of 45 minutes or more, then a naturally-produced chemical known as Endorphin begins to surge through your body, giving you a natural high (also known as “runner’s high). This chemical kicks into your body because it’s meant to mask the pain your putting your muscles through when you lift weights or do hard core cardio. (Side note: when you’re lifting weights, you’re basically ripping and tearing your muscle fibers… the reason why muscles actually grow in size isn’t because of the lifting of weights, it’s because of the eating of foods. When you tear up your muscle fibers in the gym, you need to put nutrition-dense foods back into your body in order to give them a reason to re-build… and if you want them to come back larger, it’s best to optimize your diet accordingly.)


The Dopamine Effect: Now, once you’ve gotten out of the gym, you probably feel really good about yourself for having gotten up early and workout out. This then, gives you small doses  of yet another naturally occurring chemical in your body, known as Dopamine, which gives you the feelings of positive reinforcement for having done a good job. 


As The Day Goes On: Now you’re in your car and headed to work feeling like a champion. You already know that no one else in your peer group got up as early as you did to workout, so that just makes you feel even better. Whether that’s right or wrong is neither here nor there — but for a lot of us, it *is* true.


If you add a little morning meditation into the mix, that’s even better. And if you add a little visualization and gratitude action on top of that — well, then, you’ll *really* be setting yourself up for a kick-ass day.


Okay, I get it. So how do I get myself to wake up early and workout? 

1. Plan it out. Plan all your workouts BEFORE you step foot into the gym. Write it down, or get an app like Gym Buddy to keep you on track. Having plans and goals are crucial. Otherwise you’ll