The Importance of Early Morning Exercise

One of the things I've been wanting to get better at, something that mom has always done really well, is early morning exercise.

I'm not talking about doing Jillian videos or Just Dance 2 to get my blood pumping in the morning, although that probably wouldn't be a bad idea.  What I really want to do is more simple.  (At least to start).

For the past few days, I've been getting up just to walk for about 15 minutes in the morning, or almost the equivalent of a Hokegon (how do you spell that?) lap.  Although I can probably run or something like that, this exercise's purpose isn't so much for...exercise.

What this walk does for me is three things:

1) It clears my head
I don't know about you, but I'm not naturally a morning person (as much as I'd like to be).  I know you can get so much more done, and the general authorities and scriptures have even said that getting up earlier is key to reaching certain spiritual heights, but I just have not been able to get there yet.  What I can do, though, is start small.  For some reason, a lot of days I will wake up stressed and anxious about something.  But going for this morning walk really helps to clear out the cobwebs and see things more objectively.

2) It gets my blood flowing
Even if it's a little bit, it feels so good to have your blood pumping early in the morning.  This is especially true right now because the walk is happening when it's still pretty cold outside, and the cold air tends to get your body moving as well.

3) It stabilizes my appetite
Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.  Your body just went through 8-10 hours without food, maybe more, and it's at a point where it really needs to be nourished again before chugging along for the rest of the day.  What will you put into it after all that time?  Walking and getting a little exercise in first helps to get your body started off right - it knows that it's going to need energy for the day, and exercising first gives you both a little more self-confidence (if you don't overdo it) and your body gets prepared too.  It will likely make you a little more hungry, but that also makes it easier for you to tell when you are full.

Eventually, once my joints start waking up with me, I'll start running in the morning like Tim and Presley.