Imagine working all day, and instead of ending the day tired you still have energy for an adventure. Imagine having the focus of a lazer beam, and feeling like you’re getting twice as much done as before.

Feeling on top of your game & entering flow states just like that is critical when it comes to feeling fulfilled in your life.

This is possible, and I’m going to share the one simple trick which did it for me. It’s not a drug, it’s not a pill, and it’s not that crazy. Here it is.

Early Morning Exercise

Waking up early, ideally with the sun, and going for a nice hard workout gives me so much energy & passion for the rest of the day. Highly success entrepreneurs & top performers all around the world have even turned this into a ritual.

Working out in the morning is natural, and in my opinion more potent than anti-depressants for depression, and more effective than caffeine for energy/focus.

Why Not At Night?

Some people work out before bed, and it works for some people. Based on my research, the science seems to say that morning workouts are more effective.

Intense workouts release “endorphins” as well as other feel-good chemicals in the brain. These chemicals increase your ability to focus, feel happy, and engage with life.

Working out at night prevents you to fully enjoy the benefit of this because it stays in your brain all day. If you go to sleep, you are spending 6-9 hours unable to enjoy the perks!

Reducing your body temperature is one of the ways your body self-regulates and helps you go to sleep. Working out increases your body temperature, which can prevent some people from easily transitioning into sleep later.

I’ve worked out in the evenings, and I don’t find it effective. You are also more tired due to the stresses of day-to-day life, so you’re more likely to not give your all.

When I work out in the morning, I find that the “evening tiredness” does not come at all. My ability to focus & feel energetic does not fade, but it certainly does if I don’t work out.

Energy breeds more energy my friends. Do the workout in the morning, so that you can have more energy for your evening!

Why Early In The Morning?

It doesn’t have to be super early in the morning. Even 0800 is great! Sleeping in has all kinds of negative effects, and no one is truly a “night person.”

Take a night person into the middle of the woods camping without any artificial light and you’ll find that this night person magically becomes a morning person, rising and falling with the sun.

This is a bit controversial, but while some people (like myself) are more prone or able to stay up later, we are all essentially morning people.

Getting up early puts you in tune with your circadian rhythm. Even if I black out my room, I always feel a bit “off” if I sleep in late.

When you work out hard especially in the morning, you increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which increases intelligence, mood, memory, along with several other good things.

As mentioned earlier the hard workout releases a lot of endorphins, which give you more energy as the day progresses.

After my workout I usually have a “buzz” which makes me feel high. I relax, and then I have a seemingly infinite amount of energy for the rest of the day. If required of me, I can even stay up very late.

Endorphins give you the power to have lazer-sharp focus throughout the entire. These chemicals stay in your brain, and even if you don’t consciously realize it, you will ride the high throughout the entire day.

Don’t take my word for it, test it yourself! For 2 weeks wake up early & do a hard workout. For the next 2 weeks, go back to sleeping in and working out later (or not working out at all). I guarantee you’ll notice a negative change.

My Favorite Morning Routine So Far

I’m always practicing, testing, and adjusting, which is why I say “so far” because my morning routine may change in the future. This current morning routine has been most effective for me.

First, I wake up early. If I wake up with the sun, I feel best, but I don’t always wake up super early. Waking up even between 0700-0800 is great.

After waking up, I drink some water, then sit down & relax. I like to meditate, pray, and visualize future success. I especially enjoy giving thanks for what I have. Cultivating gratitude helps you receive more joy in life.

I then go for a hard run. Running is my favorite athletic sport because of the “runner’s high.” Despite probably being in the top 1-5% of runners, I don’t run for performance or any other reason than that I feel really good after it.

The run is also a great opportunity to visualize more success. I like to visualize my body glowing with perfect health, and this has been helping my chronic pains quite a bit to the point where I’m now having pain-free moments!

Running is a mind game, not a body game. You run faster or slower based on how well you can visualize yourself channeling the negative energy of your body out into your feet. This challenge also makes it enjoyable for me.

When I want to quit, I visualize the dark energy flowing into my feet and into the pavement. I visualize wind flowing through me. If the sun is hot and hurting me, I visualize it as actually giving me power. Running is a visualization game, nothing else.

After the run, I do some stretches & relaxation. I only drink water, and generally I haven’t eaten anything by this point. I feel high, amazing, and on top of the world. Visualizing success is so easy when you run like a champion.

I forgot to mention that occasionally I’ll do push-up/sit-up and other body-weight exercises before the run. Besides a warm-up jog, strength training should always be done before running, in case you want to lift weights and run.

After the run I drink a ton of water, and if I’m hungry I grab a fruit or nuts. I relax, and often will lay down on the couch to close my eyes and just feel good. I’ll often visualize my successes I want in life too.

Once I feel recharged, which takes 10-30 minutes, I’ll feel amazing, energetic, high, and on top of the world. With breaks I could easily work all day, whether the work be physical or mental in nature.

If I’m hungry I’ll eat a healthy breakfast, or I’ll wait until later when I’m hungry. No need to force yourself to eat if you’re not hungry, your body is self-regulating and eating food on a schedule makes no sense (this may be why 2/3 of Americans are FAT).

Workout Hard For Max Benefits

Notice how I said “hard” workout. If your diet is right, a hard workout will not negatively impact your energy later. In fact, the harder the workout, the more energy you will have as long as you’re not pushing the limit!

I notice more benefits when I run more instead of less. 4 miles feels better than 2 miles, and 6 miles feels better than 4 miles.

This is because the harder you workout, the more endorphins get released in your body. It increases blood flow and does other things I can’t so easily explain.

Your body is an abundant machine and if you don’t use it you lose it. People that workout always look so much younger than they actually are.

I encourage you to push yourself, as long as you don’t go past your limit. Finding this balance is a bit hard at first. There’s a difference between feeling like it’s hard, and legitimately needing to quit.

It takes some practice to find this balance, and you will fuck up sometimes. That’s okay.

Wake up early, work out hard, and enjoy the benefits for the entire day. Rinse and repeat every single day and the benefits start to stack up.

For example, today I was not able to workout due to travel. Still I felt good and had a great amount of focus. The benefits of being healthy stack up so that things like jet lag & sleep deprivation don’t affect you so much, if & when it happens.

Good luck & get to it! Let me know if this helped or not,
-Michael