When it comes to workouts, consistency is key. Waking up early in the morning is a good way of achieving that, as many people are already exhausted and stressed out by the end of the day.
Though there is no best time to exercise, working out in the morning seems to be beneficial in helping you jumpstart your day. Morning workout helps to loosen up your muscles, alleviate tensions in your joints, increase blood flow throughout the body.
Exercising helps the body produce feel-good hormones (endorphins), therefore, receiving an early dose before setting out would brighten up your day. The common issue that most people seem to have with early morning workouts is establishing a routine and sticking to it.
Few Tips to Help you Get Started
- Prepare your workout gear the night before
- Always get a good night's rest
- Set multiple alarm times
- Gradually increase your workout time
- Get a morning workout partner and keep each other accountable
- Find workouts you love and stick to them
Simple Morning Workouts to Do
Cat Camel Stretch
This is a great warm-up exercise, it encourages spinal flexibility and stabilizes the abdominals. It enables your lower back to move better.
Instructions
- Go down on your hands and knees, make sure your hands and knees align with your shoulders and hips. Also, let your back remain in a natural position.
- Mimic a camel hump by arching your back upwards, tuck in your head and tailbone as though your head will touch your pelvis. Take a deep breath in.
- Now arch your back downwards while lifting your head and sticking your tailbone out. Take a deep breath out.
- Repeat this sequence of movements slowly 4-5 times.
Squats
Squats are very doable as an early morning exercise, they will help strengthen your legs, hips, and knees all at once. Squats are great because they improve athletic abilities. A study in 2012 showed that deep full squats improve vertical jump by enhancing the ability to develop force.
Instructions
- Stand with your feet apart, allowing for an inverted V-shaped space from your hip down.
- Tighten your stomach muscles.
- Stretch your arms in front of you for balance.
- Lower down, as if taking a sitting position. You can go down to angle 90 or more
- Go back up by lifting your back and straightening your legs.
- Repeat sequence of movement 10-15 times.
Crunches
Crunches strengthen your abdominal muscles and as a bonus gives you fine abs lines.
Instructions
- Lie flat on your back on a floor or yoga mat.
- With your hip wide apart, bend your knees. Keep your feet flat on the floor
- Lock your hands together and place them behind your head.
- Contract your abs and inhale while gently lifting your shoulder blades off the floor.
- Exhale while returning your back slowing to the starting position.
- Repeat sequence of movement 10 - 15 times.
Push-ups
Push-ups are a great upper body exercise. It works on strengthening the muscles of your shoulders, chest, arm, hip muscles, abdominal, and back.
Doing push-ups have beneficial health implications, as it turns out regular push-ups might just save you from future cardiovascular disease complications.
Instructions
- Get down on all your hands and knees. Spread your hands just enough to have an inverted V-shaped space between your arms, so they are wider than your shoulder.
- Straighten your legs and arms.
- While keeping your back straight, lower your body towards the floor. Then stop when your chest is at the same level as your ankles.
- Push yourself back up by flexing your triceps and biceps.
- Repeat sequence of movement 10-15 times.
Burpees
Burpees are a full-body calisthenics exercise that builds muscle endurance and strength in your upper and lower body. (hips, legs, buttocks, abdomen, shoulders, arms, and chest)
Instructions
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder length apart.
- Now squat down and keep your hands on the floor just around your legs.
- With your hands firmly rooted to the floor, jump and lunge your feet backward (into a push-up position) so you land on your toes.
- Still keeping your hands on the floor jump back into a squat using your hips.
- Repeat sequence of movement for about 1 minute.
Plank
The plank exercise is more of a strength and endurance-building workout than a cardio exercise. It is the perfect core strengthening exercise because it works on muscles of your back, chest, neck, shoulders, and abs. Here's is How to Plank longer: Top 5 Plank tips.
Instructions
- Go down on your knees and hands.
- Assume plank position by stretching out your legs and resting on your feet.
- Keep your hands straight and perpendicular to your shoulders.
- Hold your position for 20 secs to start with and try to increase your time gradually.
Resistance Bands workouts
- Resistance bands are cheap, portable, and dynamic in their effectiveness with a variety of workouts. They are extraordinary tools for increasing strength and building muscle. Resistance bands work with the same principle of providing resistance in both the concentric and eccentric phases of the exercise.
The great thing about resistance band exercises is that they can be incorporated into just about any form of antagonistic muscle movement. The fact that they come in looped or straight bands of various sizes and strength make them easily adaptable. Here are a few resistance bands workouts to add to your early morning routine:
- One Arm Biceps Curl: stand on the inside of the resistance band with feet shoulder-width apart. Grasp the band with one hand so it gets to your thigh level. Then pull by moving your elbow towards your shoulder to get a good bicep contraction. Repeat sequence then switch hands.
- Front Squats: place your feet inside the resistance band with your feet barely wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull the band up to rest on your shoulders. Lower into a squat, with your knees in between the resistance band. Then use your hip to return to the starting position.
- Press up: put one hand at one end of the resistance band and use the other hand to drag it along your back. Get in a plank position and repeat the push-up sequence above.
Stay Fit and Healthy
Early morning workouts will help you begin your day with a lot more energy, optimism, and focus. You can choose a couple of the workouts discussed above to start with. Establishing a routine is a gradual process, start slow and try not to overwhelm yourself too quickly. Remember to have fun!
