What’s your morning personality?
Are you the ‘don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee’-type? Or the ‘good morning world!’- type? It will come as no surprise to anyone who follows Nike trainer Kirsty Godso on Instagram that she is 100 percent the latter. In fact, she’s what Nespresso has identified as your typical ‘mover’; she feels energised when she wakes up, lives a healthy balanced life and of course, loves to exercise and keep fit.
Nespresso surveyed the morning rituals of 1000 New Zealanders and concluded that only 7 percent of Kiwis identified with this morning personality-type. So we thought we’d ask Kirsty to share with us her best tips for becoming the person who relishes making the most of the day, rather than hitting snooze five times too many…
FQ: What does your morning routine look like?
Kirsty Godso: I like to refer to the morning as my ‘turn up time’! From 5:30am I’m up and ready to hit my day at full force. If I don’t have to run off to a training session, I’m straight into coffee and eggs at home – I am very passionate about this start to the day! Then I play catch up on emails and calls to the U.S., where most of my work is now based, before heading to the gym to get in my own session before hitting up coffee number 2 and getting into the rest of my day.
If being an early bird doesn’t come naturally, what are your tips for working towards a more energetic start to the day – perhaps some gradual steps to take?
I understand early mornings aren’t for everyone, and winter can be especially tough. My advice is trying an earlier start for 2-3 mornings a week so the majority of the week is still in your sleepier favour but you can still have a few days to experience how much more you can really get under your belt before work starts. It really is the best thing if you can turn up to work at 8:30 knowing you’ve already crushed a workout and a healthy breakfast and don’t even have to clog your mind with the guilt of thinking/stressing/dreading about when you might squeeze a workout into your busy day.
Nespresso’s latest research identified that just 7% of Kiwis like to start their day with exercise! What’s your biggest motivation for getting up in the morning and exercising – what do you look forward to most?
Coffee and avocado! I don’t even set an alarm most nights – my body will wake me up with these two things heavy on my mind! I literally fly out of bed early to enjoy some coffee and food at home then I can still get to the gym nice and early for my first training session of the day.
Eating breakfast and getting in that first coffee is a key motivator for most people, but we can often get stuck in a culinary rut. Admittedly, mixing it up when it comes to breakfast isn’t as common as being experimental at dinner time… Do you have any awesome breakfast ideas we can steal from you?
I am a big advocate of breakfast! It genuinely upsets me when people say they don’t have time for breakfast, it’s like the ultimate time of day and they’re potentially missing out on it! There are so many delicious and healthy breakfasts you can make easily and quickly that will set you up nicely for the day. My favourite is a three egg scramble (no dairy added) where I will mix in seasonal vegetables and always accompany with fresh chili and avocado. Ideally you want to try and get a good serving of protein and healthy fats in at breakfast time – this will help stop mid-morning snacking and fuel you to focus on your work.
Do you have any tips for ensuring a good night’s sleep and being able to wake up refreshed?
I’d love to say I really unwind at night and don’t look at my phone or emails at least an hour before bed but I’m definitely guilty of doing that. I take magnesium at night to assist in my muscle recovery and it definitely helps my sleep too. I mostly just drink water at night time so nothing can interfere with my sleep. I think the most important thing with sleep is not pressuring yourself into sleep, just try and relax once you get into bed. We’re not always going to get the dreamy 8 hour duration sleep (not sure if I ever do to be honest), but enjoy the time you do have and use it as a time to reset.
Are there any advantages of working out in the morning as opposed to after work or during the day?
There are different benefits to working out at various times of the day and individuals will often find specific times of the day to be more beneficial for their training as it takes advantage of their body’s natural rhythm. Most important is that your best time of day to train is the time when you will be able to perform at your best and dedicate your full focus to your workout. To talk a little about each: Morning workouts take advantage of many of our body’s natural functions such as increased testosterone levels. This helps you to build more muscle mass and get stronger. Midday and afternoon workouts are great for raising endorphins and breaking up all the sitting that can occur in a work day. Evening workouts are known for being an excellent time to maximise your training due to strength and muscular function peaking in the evening. It’s also a great way to release any stress that has built up over the course of the day. My personal answer is that any time is better than no time at all.
If you could tell FQ readers to always do one key thing each morning, what would it be?
Write out 3-5 action items that you want to achieve that day (or even by a certain time in the day). It’s something I’ve been doing more recently and I’ve found that it has helped me be much better at attacking some tasks that I would normally put off a bit and it feels great once you’ve completed it. It could include things such as workouts or it could be admin things such as invoicing or it could even be ‘you time’ activities like booking in that overdue hair cut. Whatever it is, pick things that will clear your mind of unnecessary thought or worry about doing/not doing them #justdoit
