PODCAST - How Exercise Supercharges Your Daily Energy (and Productivity)
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[00:00:00] Welcome to the Athlete with Asthma Show. I'm your host Johnny Ha, an ultra runner endurance athlete, and yes, a guy who's had an inhaler prescribed since birth. Despite doctors telling me I could never play soccer nor run a marathon, let alone a hundred K ultra. I prove them all wrong. This show is where I share everything I've learned from breathing techniques to mindset shifts to help you become the athlete and the person you truly want to be.
So if you're ready to achieve your goals, despite limitations, let's get started.
Until recently, even though I have worked out almost every single day, I typically have found myself working out in the [00:01:00] afternoon or evenings and while my thought process was right, because I have always used it as a way to transition from work to the rest of my life ~to play and have, and ~having a transitional routine is extremely important for all of us ~to create that separation in our lives. I. ~I am here today to share with you how exercise supercharges your daily energy and productivity, especially if you do it first thing in the morning. So I'm gonna first share the seven benefits you get from working out in the morning.
Then I'm gonna share with you what my daily morning exercise routine looks like. And ~then I'm even gonna ~give you a bonus routine that you can start integrating into your day, your week, or your monthly routines.
~Now, ~if you don't exercise consistently at all right now, I highly recommend that that is the first thing you start doing it matters ~much ~less when you do it, ~and ~it's ~much ~more important that you ~do ~do it because of the amazing benefits you get from exercise. Having a consistent exercise routine decreases all [00:02:00] cause mortality rates by 35%. This is the best thing you can do in your life. There is no drug, no natural remedy. There is nothing that you can do that gives you better results for health, wellness, and longevity in your life than having a consistent workout routine.
So that's step one is if you're not working out. Start working out when it makes sense for you every single day
then once you're ready to get even more benefits from working out beyond decreasing your likelihood of all cause mortality rates. I highly recommend you start integrating exercise into your morning routine. The first benefit is you're gonna get an energy boost, so you no longer have to worry about having your morning coffee.
Even taking a walk first thing in the morning gets your blood pumping and starts [00:03:00] preparing you for the day. Over the past week, I have been sick and every single day while being sick, I ~have ~opted to at least take a one to two mile run.
~Typically, you know me, ~I'm an elite ultra runner with asthma, so I will run for miles and miles and miles, but because I believe ~so strongly ~in the benefits that you get from working out and specifically working out in the morning, even though I'm sick,
I made sure to get out there and run, and this completely changed my energy every single day. Now I share a little bit more about how working out while ~being ~sick ~for the past couple weeks really impacted me in another, ~in another video and podcast episode. But in general, even when I'm sick.
It gives me an energy boost, even when I wake up and, you know, feeling a little depressed, feeling a little groggy, even though there's a lot of resistance in my mind and ~in my ~body saying, Johnny, I ~really ~don't wanna work out today. ~I make it, I take initiative to do it anyway.~
~I take initiative to do it anyway. ~I take initiative to do it anyway. The second. Is sharper focus. ~What does this mean? ~This means that oxygen and blood go to your brain. When you [00:04:00] exercise in the morning, you are literally telling your body to send more oxygen to your brain.
I find that ~when I work out first thing in the morning, I am, so I find ~when I work out first thing in the morning ~that ~the work ~that ~I do after is exponentially better ~than if I don't work out first thing in the morning. 'cause really ~my goal. ~Every single day ~with my workout routine, ~with my morning routine in general ~is to put myself in a state ~of being ~of abundance and opportunity.
~And ~when I do that, everything else ~that ~I do ~in ~that day is better. ~And that's why I, and that's why working out is part of my abundance. And that's why working out as a part of my, and that's why working out as a part of my abundance. And ~that's why working out is ~a ~part of my morning routine. ~It makes everything else better.~
Have you ~ever ~heard of be, do, have? Well, if you haven't, most of us think that if we're gonna get somewhere in life, we have to do, you do. Then eventually you're gonna have, and if you have, then you're ~eventually ~gonna be. So if you wanna be an ultra runner, ~you typically people, typically ~people think, ~well, ~I'm gonna run and the more I run, I'm gonna have better cardio [00:05:00] vascular, I'm gonna have stronger lungs, all these things, and eventually ~I'm gonna ~become an ultra runner.
Yeah, ~well, ~what if I told you ~that ~this is completely wrong? ~Well, you probably already knew that. 'cause ~B is on top. ~So ~you start with being, ~then this is ~followed by doing, and then ~this is followed by ~having, ~so ~when you start your day with less energy, maybe you're stressed, maybe you're feeling down, then you are in a state of being.
Of stress and lack, which means that when you get to the doing, you're ~gonna be ~doing stress and lack, which means ~that ~when you get to the having, you're ~gonna be ~having stress and lack. But if you put yourself in a state of abundance by working out and ~by ~doing ~a couple other ~things that help you ~and really ~bring your energy into ~this positive abundant, into this ~positive abundance,
then when you start doing from the being is gonna be abundance. You're gonna do [00:06:00] abundance, you're gonna have abundance. If you start working from the goal of I want to become an ultra runner, all you have to do is start imagining that you are an ultra runner and then communicate with it. What I like to do is write a letter to myself from my future self who is already being what I wanna be.
That's what I do when I train. I'm always visualizing. The finish line, I'm visualizing the goal and by visualizing the goal, I am in the state of being as a elite winning ultra runner. And then since that's what I'm visualizing, I start doing the activities that Elite Ultra Runners do. And then since I'm doing the activities that Elite Ultra Runners do.
I have what it takes to be an elite ultra runner, so I am an elite ultra runner. [00:07:00] Same thing here. By setting yourself up first thing in the morning with an amazing workout to boost your energy, to sharpen your focus, to have a better mood. That's the next one. If you have a better mood, ~I.~
~So you're happy. So ~your state of being now is happy, ~is ~grateful, ~is ~abundant. Everything you do is ~gonna be ~from that. Instead of ~being from ~stress tired, all these things, you're doing it from an energetic, sharply focused ~and ~better mood state. ~And this happens because ~endorphins kick in, stress drops and you start your day.
~Out ~happy. This is why I love working out in the morning, even if it's just for a few minutes to get those endorphins running. Next motivation, when you work out first thing in the morning, you are starting your day with a win. You are building momentum for the rest of the day. You have [00:08:00] achieved something that is good for you in so many levels.
First thing in the morning, at the very least, you are decreasing all cause mortality for yourself by 35%. By having a consistent workout routine. This is powerful.
Next, give less fatigue. Maybe you woke up this morning and maybe you did feel a little sick. While this is a great opportunity ~for you ~to ~go and ~do 25 pushups and 25 sit-ups, you will immediately start feeling less fatigued. Maybe ~you wanna ~do 25 burpees. ~Maybe you want to get outside and ~take a short walk. Maybe you want to get outside and take a short run.
This is the power of ~having ~a daily morning workout routine. Doesn't even have to be very long. It could be five minutes long. Now I'm gonna share ~with you in a little bit ~how my morning workouts look, but it doesn't have to be that long
next, I'm gonna start making healthier choices In life, moving [00:09:00] early makes you more likely to eat better and stay active. You are telling your brain that movement is important to you. I have my three pillars of Healthy Living Guide, and the number one pillar ~of healthy living ~is movement. And when you tell yourself first thing in the morning.
That movement is important to you. You are telling yourself that you are important ~to yourself. ~You are showing yourself that longevity is important. Instead of ~jumping on your phone and ~getting lost in ~the vortex of ~scrolling, you are doing something ~that is ~good for yourself. You're making a healthy choice, ~and you're kicking your day off with a, ~and you're kicking your day off with a win.
Hey, friend, I wanted to take a moment to ask you a quick question. Are you struggling to lose weight due to your asthma? If so, I get it. I used to run marathons and still kept gaining weight. [00:10:00] It wasn't until I learned about the three pillars of healthy living that everything changed,
so I put together a healthy living guide that you can access absolutely free by clicking the link in the description. This guide shares these amazing three pillars of healthy living that you can easily integrate into your life. To start losing weight and live healthier today. Click the link in the description or go to athlete with asthma.com/healthy-living-guide to grab your free copy.
Now let's get back to the rest of the [00:11:00] show.
Lastly, you're burning some calories. Depending on how long you're working out and what you're doing in the morning, you on the low end, are gonna burn between 50 and 150 calories. ~This is just if you decide to take a short walk. ~If you ~decide to ~do a HIIT workout, you might burn a thousand calories ~first thing in the morning.~
There's this HIIT workout I do on Sundays at the gym ~that~ I teach yoga at where it's an hour long and I ~literally ~burn a thousand calories this means that you can lose weight. so I love working out. So there's days where I'll work out multiple times a day, but ~now ~every ~single ~day I make sure ~to do something ~to move first thing. At the very least look at taking a run in the morning.
And when I ~really ~don't feel like working out, I start by telling myself I'm gonna run one mile. Now that typically turns into about two and a half miles ~because once the endorphins get going, because once the endorphins get going, I get really excited and 'cause once the endorphins get going. ~Because [00:12:00] once the endorphins get going, I feel good and I just feel like running more.
But this is on the low end. Today I decided to run for five miles, which when I'm not training, this is a longer run, but running is one of the things you could do in the morning. ~Typically. ~Sometimes I'll do a short run and then I'll do a short lifting workout after. That's a big thing I've been reincorporating into my life is lifting and I have two different lifting routines that I do.
One that has four exercises
and I have one that has eight exercises. And I've been trying to throw at least 10 burpees in at the end of these workouts as well. Now, if you don't have time to do anything in the morning, you have time to do 10 burpees. You could have 10 burpees. Be your morning routine. Do 10 burpees. 10 pushups, 10 [00:13:00] sit-ups.
There you go. You've done something for yourself in the morning. ~But lifting typically when I'm doing a four, but lifting when I'm. But ~when I'm doing four lifting exercises, maybe this is 20 minutes, maybe ~this is ~40 minutes, ~and these are probably more ~likely 15 ~minutes and like 30 ~to 35 minutes. This doesn't take very long ~at all.~
~And then ~I'll pair this with a run some days, other days ~I will throw in. Other days I will throw in ~a high intensity interval training workout. ~Now, ~sometimes I'll do this myself and I'll just put a 10 minute timer on, throw some burpees in some other exercises, and just hit it really hard for 10 minutes.
~Other times. And then ~once a week I go to a 60 minute ~class where it's a group class where it's a ~group class ran by my favorite gym owners, Scott and Gina at Endorphin. ~And ~it's ~just ~an amazing experience overall. then I'll actually go and play tennis ~after ~with my friends. The last thing that I'll do is take a walk or a hike, and this could be as short as 15 minutes. This could be as long as a couple hours, [00:14:00] but all of these things count. For you, what could you do for at least the amount of time that it takes to do 10 burpees, 10 pushups,
and 10 situps in the morning? This is it. Or if you wanna start ~even ~with less ~than this, ~pick one ~of these things ~and start with that. ~I almost guarantee you ~you're gonna want to do more. You ~just ~have to start moving ~now. I do have a bonus for you that has completely changed my life and I ~now I have a bonus ~for you ~that has completely changed my life.
And I have another episode coming out here soon, all about how this has changed my life. Cold exposure.
~I don't wanna spoil, ~I don't wanna spoil the episode ~all ~about how I've integrated cold showers into my ~daily ~routine. But cold exposure is a cheat code for ~me and ~my system feeling better ~when I take a cold shower. ~Within minutes, I can go from stressed out. Scarcity ~mindset, lack ~mindset, dreading the day ~to feeling abundant, to feeling abundant, ~to feeling joyful, abundant, and ready to go.
~This is amazing, and ~when you pair working out with cold exposure, [00:15:00] taking a cold shower after your workout. ~You are. You are supercharging your day to a next Le. You are supercharging your day to the next level of happiness. Productivity. ~You are supercharging your day to the next levels of energy, productivity, and joy. Now remember, I'm not a healthcare professional. I'm not a doctor, and you need to check with your healthcare professional ~and a doctor before you do any of this, and I highly recommend you talk with your healthcare professional or your doctor.~
~Before you do any of this, I have a dis and I highly recommend that you talk to your healthcare professional medical doctor. ~Before you do any of this, I have a disclaimer in the description below this video on YouTube and in the show notes. If you're listening to this as a podcast, I'll see you the next episode.
Thanks for tuning in to the Athlete with Asthma Show. I hope today's episode inspired you to overcome any perceived limitations you may have. Remember, your health and wellness journey isn't about perfection. It is about progress. So I invite you to take a small step right now towards your goals, and if you found something helpful here, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast with others on a similar path.
Until next [00:16:00] time, keep challenging yourself and redefining what's possible.
