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It can be difficult to resist tapping the alarm snooze button, especially as the days grow shorter and the light grows scarcer. However, setting your alarm a bit earlier to make time for a short morning walk exercise provides significant benefits. For example, according to a study, early morning sunshine exposure has been associated with reduced body mass index (BMI) and improved sleep cycles. Other researches suggest that walking has far-reaching advantages for our physical and mental health, showing that even short morning walks promote creativity and mental wellness.
Of all, talking about starting your day with a morning walk exercise and actually doing so are two entirely different things.
Here are six morning walk tips for bridging the gap between talk and action.
Top 6 Ways to Make Morning Walk Exercise a Habit
1. Set Out Your Walk Gears The Night Before
Preparing your morning walk exercise gear the night before removes one of the important steps in getting out the door. “We can often persuade ourselves out of exercising because it takes too much effort to prepare.” Streamlining the preparation process increases the likelihood of getting started. It also gives you a sense of guilt if you don’t go for the morning walk. “So, all you need to do is set out your workout clothes the night before.”
2. Begin with Small Morning Alarm Changes
Commit to waking up 20 minutes earlier than usual for 2–3 weeks. It may appear to be a stretch at first, but it will pay off. “We often create the excuse that we don’t have time to fit in the things that we need whether that’s making time for morning walk exercise or making time for friends and loved ones.” After a few weeks, when the alarm and the morning walk become routine, you will be less likely to hit the snooze button. And, you’ll be able to get in that extra bit of morning activity that your body may have really needed.”
3. At Start, Keep Your Walk Short
“It takes time for behaviour to become a habit.” You could simply walk around your block or commit to 10 minutes of walks. You’ll be less likely to skip your walk if you do this. As your streak of consecutive days of walking grows longer, your motivation to keep going will grow greater.” Increase your mileage on days when you’re feeling strong or have a little extra time. Simply, start with short walks and gradually increase your time for morning walk exercise.
4. Get Your Friend for a Morning Walk
Agree to go for a morning walk with a good friend before work, meet a neighbour, or plan a weekly morning walk exercise with a family member. The small social pressure of meeting others will keep you from bailing at the last minute. Humans have an intrinsic need to please, which can be used to your benefit. Not to mention that starting your day with someone else allows for some social interaction, which is beneficial to both physical and mental health.
5. Connect Your Morning Walk with Something You Enjoy
Incorporate a morning walk exercise into your routine and pair it with your favourite songs playlist or news podcast. Its 15–20 minutes and you have nothing else to do except walk around, so do your favourite activities in that 15-20 minutes to make your morning walk more fun. Whether you like to check out new music on Spotify or walk that extra mile to your favourite coffee shop, you’re more likely to make walking a habit if it’s associated with something you enjoy.
6. Change Your Morning Walk Exercise Routine
Instead of walking the same loop around the park every morning, consider exploring different locations in your neighbourhood or going down streets you’ve never been down before. Seeing new sights along the way will busy your brain and divert it from thinking about the walks or the distances that need to be covered. This can keep the morning walk exercise interesting and make it something you look forward to on a daily basis.
Conclusion
So, these are the six morning walk tips to make walking more enjoyable, easier to fit into your morning routine, and something you can stick with for the long haul. Follow these simple steps to make your morning walks a habit!
Do you have any other handy tips to make morning walks a habit? Share them in the comments section below!
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