Morning Walk
The Top 3 Benefits Of An Early Stroll
A morning walk can be one of the best ways possible to start your day. It can actually be the one single habit that makes your mornings so much better. Try it and you will see! I promise.
But why is it so good? The three main benefits are right here:
- Gets you moving
- Gives you some time to relax
- Provides a batch of fresh air
1. Get Moving
The fact that it gets you moving is really what your body needs in the morning. Just simple walking will make your blood pump faster and release a bunch of endorphins to make you feel awesome!
When you sleep, most of your body systems and organs actually enter their second stage where they conserve energy and recover. So after a long night of lying in bed it's essential to get your systems up and running again. And you want to do it straight away.
If you're like most us, heading to work or school right away where you spend 90% of your time sitting at your desk, then this can be a real game-changer. With those habits you really don't give your body a chance to get ready for a productive day.
And if you are looking to lose some weight, then let me tell you a secret. A morning walk or morning exercise will make you burn fat throughout the day! Yes, it's true. You will burn fat as an effect of getting your systems really up and running. Pretty great, huh!
2. Get Relaxed
As I said, taking a walk in the morning will also give you some valuable time to relax. Basically, you will get some time to plan your day and to get into the right mindset. This can really be valuable, trust me.
Just walking and thinking is almost like morning meditation. The great thing is that your mind is really pure and clear in the morning, giving you time to think constructively.
Just don't walk too fast... There is actually a relationship between how fast you walk and how well you are able to think. At a certain pace your brain's focus will shift over to being able to keep your speed up, hence less power for your constructive thoughts. So try to keep it fairly relaxed if you really want to walk and think.
3. Get Some Fresh Air
A batch of fresh air is of course another strong motivation for going for a going for a morning walk. You know how it feels to fill your lungs with a big breath of crisp and chilly morning air.
And the silence or bird twitters that usually shapes the morning time is ideal to give you a calm, stress-less and motivating morning walk.
A great little exercise I often use to get the most out of the morning air and really wake up is to do the following:
- Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds
- Hold the air in your lungs for 16 seconds
- Breathe out through your nose for 8 seconds
This will make sure you really let the fresh air work through your entire body. When holding your breath you make it possible to extract all the toxic waste collected in your body and be released when breathing out.
Do this exercise 10 times in a row and you just gave your body a great cleanser.
Make It Awesome With These Tips
Of course, the conditions has to be the right ones to even make it possible for you to go for a morning stroll. But even if you don't have the great outdoors just outside your home, you can still get a lot from talking a walk.
I suggest going for a 15-30 minutes morning walk. Any shorter might not be able to get you into the right mindset.
Just choose any possible round you can take. Strive for quiet, beautiful and easy to walk. I'm sure you can find something to try.
But what about...
"Should I walk by myself or with a friend?"
I think there's no problem walking a friend. Sure, it might not give time to think, but sometimes time to talk can be as useful for you. Going with a friend can give you that extra push to make sure it really happens. You know how easy it is to procrastinate and do it the next day... But why not vary and try both to see what you like and what works.
If you give it a try I'm sure it can become a habit of yours to go for a morning walk. Remember, getting your body moving and your brain thinking while inhaling some fresh air can shape your entire day for the better.
Early Riser > Morning Exercise > Morning Walk
Thanks for reading! By Matthew M. McEwan
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