Exercise in the Morning

Morning workouts are a great way to ensure that you get some exercise before the daily rigmarole starts distracting you with excuses not to. Virtually any exercise is suitable for your morning routine, as long as you ease into it and refrain from pushing yourself too hard too soon. Adopting a few other simple practices, like turning in early and placing your alarm clock out of reach from your bed, can help ensure that you stick to your regime without turning back in for more sleep!

Steps

Setting Yourself Up for Success

1. Prepare for the following morning. Lay out all clothes and equipment that you will need for your morning workout before you go to bed. Minimize the number of tasks that you need to perform in the morning so you can start your workout with as few distractions as possible. If you go to a gym rather than exercise at home, make sure your to-go bag is packed with everything you’ll need before turning in for the night.
2. Get an adequate amount of sleep. Get seven to nine hours of sleep before attempting morning workouts. Ensure that you will wake easily with a sufficient amount of energy to perform your workout efficiently. If you need to seriously adjust your sleep schedule to achieve this, stick to shorter workouts in the morning. Gradually go to bed earlier each night by 15-minute increments until you are sleeping a full seven to nine hours.
3. Force yourself to get out of bed. Place your alarm clock on the other side of the room from your bed. Preempt the risk of a sleepy hand hitting the snooze button and upsetting your routine. If you hate springing immediately out of bed upon waking, set a second alarm so you can adjust with another 10 or 15 minutes spent lying down. Resist climbing back under the sheets, however, in order to avoid getting too comfortable.
4. Control your environment. Turn on the radio or design your own invigorating playlist to stimulate your brain. Switch on all the lights to wake up your eyes and lessen the desire to crawl back into your dark bed. Keep the temperature in your house cool to cold to keep you alert and eager to warm up through exercise.
5. Consult a doctor. Before beginning a new routine, make an appointment if you suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure, too much cholesterol, or obesity. Let your doctor know that you intend to start a morning exercise routine. Ask their advice to establish a workout regime that accommodates your personal needs and risk factors.

Following a Basic Routine Exercise

1. Warm up. Before you start your workout, do something to get moving and prepare to work out. Here are some ways that you can warm up:
   • Ride a stationary bike for ten minutes on low resistance, or go for a really quick jog around the block.
   • Jump rope for five minutes.
   • Use a foam roller to roll out your muscles.
2. Perform squats. Strengthen your legs, hips, and knees all at once. Place your feet slightly more than hip-width apart, with your toes pointed forward. Raise your arms straight in front of you. Sink into a squat until each knee forms a 90-degree angle. Then push with your toes to rise back into a standing position.
   • Limit yourself to two sets of 15 reps each at first. Then either add reps to each set or add another 15-rep set to your workout.
   • Sink into a lower squat for a more demanding squat as you develop strength and flexibility.
3. Strengthen additional leg muscles with lunges. Target your glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Position your feet under your shoulders. Keep your hands on your hips. Take one step forward so that your knee is directly above your toes. Your other knee should almost touch the floor as you do so. Use your forward foot’s toes to push yourself back into your original position. Repeat with your other leg.
   • Start with one set of 8 reps per leg, for a total of 16. Add additional reps as you grow used to each set. Aim for 12 reps per leg, for a total of 24.
   • Be careful not to push yourself too hard with this exercise. Keep your reps to a moderate number. Stagger your sets so you are only performing lunges every other day.
4. Do push-ups. Exercise your triceps along with the muscles in your chest and shoulders. First, lie on your stomach. Place your hands under your shoulders and then extend your arms. Now raise your body into your starting position, so only your toes and hands are touching the floor. Lower your body again, inhaling as you do. Now “push up” with your arms, exhaling at the same time.
   • Limit your sets to a reasonable number in the beginning. Make sure that your arms are controlling both the rate of ascent and descent. If you are so tired that you are letting gravity do the work for you, lower the number of reps per set until you are back in control of each whole rep.
   • If you can't do a full push-up, you can put your knees on the ground to help build up your strength.
   • You can also stay in the top point of your push-up position, your "plank," as an exercise for your arms, shoulders, and core.
5. Do jumping jacks. Place your feet side by side with your toes pointed forward and your arms hanging by your sides. Then jump from your toes, spreading your feet apart from each other. At the same time, raise your arms to either side and over your head until they touch. After landing with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart, jump again, bringing your feet back together and your arms back down to your sides.
   • Begin with one full minute of jumping jacks. Add another once the first minute is easily accomplished with minimal tiring. Continue to add one-minute increments until you reach your desired total.
6. Do calf raises. Calf raises are a great way to define your calf muscles and build strength in your legs. To do calf raises, stand on a step or a raised surface, with the balls of your feet on the step and your heels hanging off. Pull in your abs. Raise your heels so that they are higher than the balls of your feet. Hold this position, and then lower. Repeat.
7. Use curls to build your biceps. While seated, place your elbow slightly behind your knee, on your thigh, with a dumbbell in your grip and your forearm extended directly in front of you. Then “curl” the weight by drawing the dumbbell up until it is level with your shoulder without moving your elbow. Draw your breath in as you do so, and then let it out as you lower the weight.
   • Start your morning routine with one set of 10 reps per arm. Complete one arm’s entire set in one go before switching arms. As each set becomes easier, either add more reps per set, or alternate between arms with multiple sets of 10 reps.
   • As your muscles develop, try standing up instead of sitting down to strengthen other muscles in your legs, hips, and core that help stabilize your body during lifts.
8. Do kick backs to build your triceps. Stands with one leg forward. Keeping your back flat, bend your torso forward. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, keeping them parallel to your torso with your elbows bent. To do the kick back, keep your upper arms still and straighten your elbow, bringing your lower arms as far back as possible. Return to the original position, with your elbows bent, and repeat.
9. Do high knees. Doing high knees is like jogging in place, except that you should lift each knee to at least hip height. Your arms should naturally follow with this motion. You should be touching the ground only with the balls of your feet.
10. Go for a jog. Aim for a half-hour run at 5 mph. If needed, take baby steps and start by simply walking. Go out for a brisk 10-minute walk at first to get used to your morning routine. Gradually bump up the time by 5-minute increments each day. When you feel ready, break your walk up into running/walking intervals. Jog for one minute, walk for the next four, and repeat. Increase the amount of time spent jogging and decrease the time spent walking by one-minute increments until you are comfortably jogging for 30 minutes straight..
    • You can either make your jog a daily part of your routine in addition to your other exercises, or alternate between jogging one day and doing other exercises the next.
11. Stretch afterward. Either include a post-workout stretching session in your daily routine, or join a yoga or pilates class with your workout timed just beforehand. Increase your flexibility while minimizing the risk of injury during future workouts. Hold static poses for a minimum of 30 seconds, before mild pain and tightness has a chance to become major.
    • Stretching (especially static stretching) is more beneficial after workouts than before. Although stretching beforehand can increase flexibility, studies have shown that it does little if anything to prevent injury. It also may reduce the power and speed of your exercises.

Getting the Most out of Your Workout

1. Eat a snack and hydrate. Boost your energy levels with roughly 200 calories before working out. Allow at least 45 minutes for your stomach to digest this before exercising. Use this time to stretch, go to the bathroom, shower, or perform other small tasks. Depending on climate, drink between 8 and 16 ounces of water roughly 20 minutes after eating to hydrate yourself without impeding digestion.
   • If you're trying to refuel after a workout, you should try a combination of proteins and carbs. For example, you could have a few slices of deli turkey, a cheese stick, and an apple. You could also eat a protein shake and a banana.
2. Watch tutorial videos. Buy, rent, or subscribe to workout videos or apps. Use visual guides to see exactly how to place and move your body so you perform exercises correctly with less risk of injury. Seek out DVDs or programs that deal specifically with any issues that you might face (such as weight-gain, scoliosis, or other physical factors) to find exercises that will meet your needs.
   • Research videos online before following their instructions. Make sure that an exercise physiologist helped develop the program to ensure that you are following the best practical advice.
3. Alter your routine. After you grow accustomed to working out each morning, change what you do each day. Avoid having your body grow too comfortable with doing the same thing day in, day out. Build a new schedule so that you are doing exercises A, B, and C one morning, and exercises X, Y, and Z the next. Add new exercises to your routine to challenge your body.
   • Maximize your time by sticking to compound exercises, which target muscles throughout your body for a more thorough workout. In addition to lunges, push-ups, and squats, try bench presses, deadlifts, dips, good mornings, military presses, pull-ups, and rows.
4. Maintain your intensity. Keep your routine relatively short (ideally 30 to 40 minutes). Use this short time to perform your exercises with a high level of energy. Avoid conserving energy in order to work out for prolonged periods. Expect your body to be tired after your half hour workout.
   • When starting from scratch, expect your body to need about four weeks to build endurance. Don't push yourself too hard too soon.

Tips

• If you have trouble motivating yourself to do exercises, you could try going to a morning exercise class (such as a spin class or a boot camp style class) or using an exercise DVD.

Warnings

• Be careful of compressing your spine early in the morning. Don't do sit-ups; to engage your core, do a plank instead.

Related Articles

• Be Motivated in the Morning
• Get Into a Morning Routine

Sources and Citations

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• Stay Motivated at the Gym
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• Exercise While Sitting at Your Computer
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