How To Create A Positive Morning Routine

When you wake up in the morning, you have a limited amount of time to get from waking up to starting your commitments for the day. Whether you’re a mum or you just want to make the most out of your mornings, things don’t always go to plan. 

That’s why a strong morning routine is so important to ensure that you start your day with everything you need to succeed!

Precommit to morning workouts

My morning routine begins the evening before. I set aside time to prepare for the next morning so I can move smoothly through everything I intend to do. This precommitment means there are no excuses when I wake up! 

For me, preparation is key. I choose to work out first thing in the morning while my family are still asleep. As a mum with young kids, I find that doing a morning workout ensures that I get it done and my plans won’t be derailed later in the day. 

My morning routine checklist

The night before I intend to train, I prepare everything that I’m going to need for my morning workout so I can get the maximum amount of sleep. This means setting up everything I need to get straight into my workout! I make sure that my home gym area is set up and my pre-workout coffee is ready on the kitchen bench. 

I even sleep in my workout clothes so that when I wake up, I just have to put on the socks and shoes I’ve set out the night before, have my coffee and get into my workout! This means that even if I do sleep in, I know I can still get it done before the family wake up. 

Once I’ve finished my workout, I wake my husband and kids so that we can start our day together.

When you have kids, you never know how the afternoons will go — the kids might have a lot of homework that needs to be done, they might have a temperature or just need time with their mum. By doing my workouts in the morning when the kids are asleep, I make myself available to be present with my family in the afternoons. 

My morning checklist: 

• Prepare workout gear
• Set out pre-workout coffee and snack
• Set out workout shoes
• Set alarms to wake up & to start working out
• Make sure everything is ready for a successful day

A healthy morning routine requires discipline

Having the discipline to complete my morning routine is important because it enables me to take that window of opportunity while my family sleep to focus on myself. If I miss it, I feel less motivated, less patient and I feel as though I have less to give to others throughout the day. Getting my workout done first thing, even though I am not a morning person at all, gives me the energy and vitality to bring my best self to my work and family. 

I jump on social media to say hi to everyone in my story, but I don’t scroll or check DM’s. This is essential to ensure that I stay focused on my goals and I don’t get distracted or devote my attention to something that ultimately won’t do me good. 

My routine is different on the weekend

Even though I’m a personal trainer, health and fitness doesn’t rule my life. I do my own training from Monday to Friday. My weekends are the time that I devote to having a social life, being a friend and connecting with the people in my life. On Saturday and Sunday I take two consecutive rest days to spend time with my children, get groceries, catch up with housework and spend time catching up with family and friends.

What if you aren’t not a morning person?

I am still not a morning person! I can’t get up early without effort, but I know that making the effort to better myself over time is worth it. I recommend making small changes and being consistent with them. As you successfully integrate small positive changes into your routine, you will become more confident and you won’t doubt that it is possible. 

With a pre-set morning routine, you are positioned to achieve what you’ve set out to achieve. If you wake up with no motivation, maybe you have a headache or you sleep a little over your alarm, the strategy you have put in place will ensure you still hit your goals for the day. 

It’s worth the effort because you will enjoy the return of starting your day in a successful way, and you feel like you are succeeding in life when you go against your natural inclination or habit to sabotage what you really want from the world. You have to make discipline into a lifestyle and choose something that you truly enjoy. I would never make myself get up and go for a 10km run, because I don’t enjoy that. I get up to do the style of training that I love, and then then my kids get to start their day with a positive mum!

When you work out in the morning, you'll often start your day with a sense of achievement and set the vibe for the day. But if morning workouts don’t suit you right now, don’t stress! There are also plenty of advantages to evening workouts. I love seeing my FIERCE Community train after their work day — there’s an incredibly positive energy as they use the workout to unwind from the day and release stress before spending quality time with family.

Six steps for your morning routine checklist

Your morning routine is something that you can control. Even though there are so many uncontrollables that can affect your morning, this is one thing you can use to set yourself up for success. This checklist is specifically for a morning workout, but you can apply it if you workout in the evening too, by ensuring you start the day with everything you need and the right mindset. 

Here are six steps to include in your morning routine checklist: 

1. Prepare everything that you can prepare the night before.
2. Set yourself an alarm to get up, to be out of bed taking your first step, and another alarm to start your workout! 
3. Remind yourself WHY you are doing this. Have a key message that focuses on your needs. Mine is “I love myself too much no to train”. Understand that self-discipline is self-love. Motivation does not play any part of your morning routine. I do this for my children, for myself, for my work and to motivate women around the world. Have a strong ‘why’ and make sure that it is very clear to you.
4. Find something that you actually enjoy. It’s incredibly hard to stick with a style of training that you don’t enjoy, so find something that is realistic for you. Always remember that health and fitness is just one part of your life, and it has to fit into the rest of your life and you don’t have to think too much about it. 
5. Get a stimulant first thing in the morning — if you are not a morning person, a shot of coffee can do wonders for giving you a boost in the morning. Ask your coach or sports nutritionist what will be best for you. 
6. Set yourself up with a motivating playlist, speaker or podcast to listen to. Find something that helps you to grow and to feel the way that you want to feel first thing in the morning. 

When should you change your morning routine?

When you feel like your morning routine isn’t serving you any more, then change it. If it’s not making you happy or making your day more fulfilled, you will know internally that your morning workout needs to change. This doesn’t just mean that you do a workout that you don’t like, it’s whether you love the style of training and it’s giving you a positive post-workout vibe. 

If you find yourself needing a change, consider changing the type of training you do, the time that you train, or add in something extra to maintain your motivation. I know that some women do one #FIERCERIDAY workout to mix up their other training — find what will work for you!

Your fitness routine should form a foundation for your life

No matter how you choose to set up your morning routine, make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons!

The whole purpose of sustaining a healthy lifestyle isn’t to reach a specific aesthetic goal through training and nutrition. The goal is to create a foundation for your life, to put you into a better position than you are currently in, in every area of your life. 

Chontel