Super Charge Your Morning

In the past, I’ve spoken several times about early morning workouts.  I’ve usually discussed a variety of slow, controlled exercises to do as you roll out of bed.  Today, I’m going to suggest something different.  As usual, some of you may like this and some of you may not.  That’s perfectly fine, we all have our preferences, but I’ve been experimenting with this type of a morning routine for a few weeks now and it seems to be working great.  I’d also like to add a disclaimer that the following workout should NOT be attempt by anyone with health issues.  As usual, consult your doctor before making any radical changes to your physical routine.  That said…

Overall Theme

The idea behind this morning routine is to set the tone for the rest of your day and that this tone should be “high energy, let’s get things done!”  I’ve found that it works great for me on a workday but less so on a weekend when I want to be a bit lazier.

Here We Go…

Did the alarm go off?  Don’t wack it into submission and then roll over back into bed.  Don’t shut it off and then lie there for a minute or two contemplating the ceiling.  Don’t turn it off and then slowly get up to make your first cup of coffee.  All of these options feel good but they’re going to set the wrong tone for the rest of the day.  Instead, as soon as the alarm goes off, explode out of bed and start your morning.

Yes, this is difficult, and if you have a wife, husband or other partner sleeping with you, you may want to take them into consideration, but when I say “explode”, I mean it.  Get out of that bed RIGHT NOW with as much energy as you can and immediately put that energy to use.

Workout

Don’t even bother standing up.  Instead, as you get out of bed, get on that floor and start with 20 push ups.  If you can’t do a full push up, do the assisted ones where your knees are touching the ground.  Done with the pushups?  Great!  Roll over and do 20 crunches.  By the way, all of these exercises are meant to be done at high speed.  That means no more than 1.5 seconds for each rep.  Yes, that’s fast, but you should still be able to use good form.

Done with your 20 crunches?  Good, stand up and do 20 squats with no weights.  As soon as you’re done with those, do bicep curls, preferably with a light weight but no weight is fine too.  After the curls, get right back on that ground and do 20 more pushups.  That’s it, you’re done with the workout portion of this morning.  At 1.5 seconds per rep and with no breaks between exercises, this should take you about 3 minutes total but you may find yourself breathing hard at the end.

But You’re Not Done Yet

That’s right, this morning routine isn’t just about the workout.  Find something you need to do, it could be something simple like washing the dishes or it could be something more complex like writing a post on your blog.  Whatever it is, it should be reasonably doable within 15 minutes.  Now sit down and do it.  No interruptions, no checking email, no making coffee.  Sit down and accomplish one task.  As soon as you’re done with that task, repeat the 3 minute workout above.

Why am I telling you to do this?  What the heck does washing dishes or writing a blog entry have to do with fitness?  Well, the way you start your morning sets the tone for the rest of your day.  If you follow my instructions above, you’ll spend about 20 to 25 minutes total starting your day right.  At the end of those 25 minutes, you’ll feel amazingly full of energy and you’ll feel productive.  Your body will feel good from the quick exertion and your mind will also feel good from having accomplished something.  If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself with much more energy and at a higher productivity level for the rest of the day.

###

One thing to remember is that fitness and health isn’t just about what you do, it’s also about what you don’t do.  For most people, stress about work and all the things they need to accomplish can be a major force against good health.  Stress elevates blood pressure, it causes binge eating, it causes indigestion, it can even cause irregular heart beats and other health issues.  By starting your morning right, your body feels better and so does your mind.  That increases physical health and decreases stress, which is something all of us could use.