How to Exercise in the Morning

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.^[9]
• Jump rope for five minutes.^[10]

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 heels to rise back into a standing position.^[11]

• 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.

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.

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.^[12]

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.

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 1 full minute of jumping jacks. Add another once the first minute is easily accomplished with minimal tiring. Continue to add 1-minute increments until you reach your desired total.

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.^[13]

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.^[14]

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.^[15]

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.^[16]

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.

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.^[17] .

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.

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.^[18]

• 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.

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.^[19]

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.^[20]

Watch tutorial videos. Buy, rent, or subscribe to workout videos or apps.^[21] 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.

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.^[22]

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.