Let’s move: Morning and night-time rituals
If self-talk is not enough to get you jogging straight out of bed at this point, BMX freestyle Olympic champion Logan Martin has another suggestion.
“The best advice I could give someone that struggles to work out or go for a walk or anything like that is to dress up like you are going to go to the gym,” Martin told Olympics.com for Olympic Day. “Put your trainers on, dress up like you are going to the gym, and that almost gives me the motivation to then start working out.”
As much as he loves gym attire, however, the Australian rider is often still wearing pyjamas when he starts doing his first running laps.
“My morning routine pretty much consists of chasing the kids around the house, getting them dressed and getting them ready for the day,” Martin said of his early cardio session. “There is a little bit of exercise in running around after them.”
While chasing toddlers around the house isn’t for everyone, many athletes encourage incorporating exercise into a morning routine.
Stretching and low-impact exercise, such as yoga, is one simple way to start moving.
“The main thing that I do when I wake up in the morning is do a little bit of dynamic stretching,” USA Figure Skater Their malinin told Olympics.com. “It really warms up my body a little bit to go through the day so that I’m not walking with a really sleepy body. It’s very good to get warmed up before you go into your day because you don’t want to have small, minor injuries that could then affect your sport or your activity.”
Similarly, surfer Baum opts for gentle stretching on a foam roller in the mornings, while breaking athletes often choose yoga as a way to warm up for their intense dance practice.
“One of my favourite exercises to keep me fit is doing yoga,” said Dutch B-boy Lorenzo told Olympics.com. “I try to do it every day because it helps me stretch and helps me loosen up for when I have to practise.”
B-girl Vanessa of Portugal shares that habit: “I can’t move in the morning. My body is very stiff so I think a very nice yoga session in the morning and before bed sometimes is just perfect.”
