Are you the kind of person that hits ‘snooze’ on your alarm a dozen times before you roll out of bed? If that’s the case, then chances are you aren’t a huge fan of heading to the gym for a 6AM workout. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ways to wake up your body before clocking in to work. Here we look at five great workouts for you to alternate between, that can be done from the comfort of your own home.
Start with a gentle warm up
It’s vital that before you jump into any exercises that you have a thorough warm up otherwise you risk injuring yourself. Start by stretching your arms above your head, touching your toes and rotating your hips in a circular motion, followed by your head. Now you’ve covered the basics, you need to get your heart pumping and your blood flowing so start running on the spot or doing some light jumping-jacks for three rounds of 30 seconds. If you’re particularly short of time, then you can increase the intensity of your warm up and reduce your rest time to make it count as a workout in its own right.
Work your core
Your core is comprised of the muscles around your trunk and pelvis and is considered the base of strength, balance and stability. By including core workouts in your routine, you can target a whole range of muscles that provide support for your abdomen and your back. Core workouts are often neglected but if you work in a sedentary office job then it’s vital that you target these muscle groups. They also help in that they provide you with a strong base for other types of workout such as cardio or lifting weights. Some basic core exercises include sit-ups, bridge exercises and our favourite – the plank. To plank, get yourself into a sit up position resting your weight on your forearms, with your elbows directly beneath your shoulders. Keep your body in a straight line, keeping your stomach tucked to engage your core muscles. Now, the hard part – hold it for as long as you can!
Make some gains
When it comes to building muscle, most programmes that you will find tend to cater for the evening gym goer. However, there is a key difference in training first thing in the morning in that you won’t have had a full days’ worth of food energy stored up in your stomach. With this in mind, you need to adjust your morning workout slightly if you’re hoping to build muscle mass in the morning. Make sure you’re hydrated and then have a go at some popular dumbbell exercises like shoulder presses, squats, farmer’s walks, bicep curls and lateral raises.
Make time for cardio
Cardio exercises are essential to good health, but did you know that doing your cardio workout in the morning can double your results? According to many, completing a cardio workout during a ‘fasted state’ (i.e. after waking up from a long sleep) will provide a metabolic kick that attacks those stubborn fat stores. So what types of exercises should you be attempting for your cardio workout? Well, while morning jogs are obviously a great place to start, there are many cardio exercises that you can attempt from the comfort of your own home. Mock skipping (without a rope), squat jumps, burpees, mountain climbers and jumping lunges are all mighty good at burning through fat.
Try a HIIT workout
One of the most popular types of workouts in fitness circles in recent years are HIIT (high intensity interval training). These workouts last anywhere from 10 minutes to just under an hour and revolve around short blasts of fast exercises. They can include a whole range of exercises including anaerobic, cardio and eight training and can burn a huge number of calories before your day begins. Many people learn the basics of HIIT through videos on YouTube channels like FitnessBlender and The Body Coach TV.
How do you get yourself fired up for the day? Let us know by tweeting us your favourite exercise routines at @TimeForYouGroup.
