My best friend and I are sitting in a cafe after finishing a 7am workout. She just screamed, “I love workouts in the morning!” And I agreed.

She laughed at me saying the transformation of my early morning self to the way I am now was funny. When she came to pick me up at 6:30am I was groggy, half asleep, grumpy and did not want to be bothered out to get out of bed. But after our workout I felt so energized, motivated and in such a great mood! However, I still do not enjoy waking up on a foggy morning at the butt crack of dawn knowing I am about to sweat my face off. The only thing that gets me moving is knowing how great I’ll feel after the workout. It really does make the whole day that much better. Working out any time of day is awesome, but I like to mix things up and head to the gym early morning when I can.

Here are my five reasons to workout in the morning.

1. Getting your body up and moving first thing in the morning jump starts your metabolism, and helps you burn calories more efficiently the rest of the day.

2. Your energy level will sky rocket. I feel more awake, well rested and ready to take on the day after I have a great workout session.

3. You will be more productive. After working out I am able to put more focus on tasks throughout the day. I am able to get more things accomplished and the work I produce is of higher quality (most of the time at least).

4. You don’t have to dread  think about your workout the whole day. Sometimes if I’m constantly thinking ‘I have to workout’ while I am at work, grocery shopping and running errands, it stresses me out. It’s nice to know that your workout is done and over with and you have the rest of the day to enjoy. You feel like you’ve accomplished something. Plus, it feels good to have checked off 100 burpees before 8am.

5. Stress levels will drop. As well as being more energized, you will feel less stressed throughout the day if you exercise in the morning. You will also feel better about your work-life balance!

Depending on your schedule, morning workouts may not … well … work out. But give it a try sometime, maybe on the weekend? It may make a difference in your productivity or even the way you feel throughout the day.

And in case you were wondering what today’s workout consisted of!

200 Meter Run
10 Deadlifts (135 pounds)
15 KettleBell Swings (35 pounds)
10 Deadlifts
200 Meter Run
10 Deadlifts
15 KettleBell Swings
10 Deadlifts

This article was originally featured on Cortni M’s blog, Yakka Fit. For more workouts, http://www.yakkafit.com/ Featured image via.