10 Easy Exercises To Do When You Wake Up
When you wake up, exercises are the last thing on your mind – but doing a morning workout is a great way to release the tension from your body and get energised for the day ahead! Here are ten easy exercises to do when you wake up.
1. Sit-Ups/Crunches
Before you even get out of bed, one of the easy exercises you can do is sit-ups. From your position laying on your bed, move your pillow out the way so you are flat on the mattress and do five minutes of sit-ups. Or if your mattress is not really suitable for this (memory foam is definitely not recommended!), you can scoot onto the floor beside your bed. Another variation is to lie on the floor with the bottom half of your legs resting on the bed and do intense crunches that will tone your stomach muscles.
2. Sideways Lunge With A High Kick
You have probably seen someone do lunges before. It is where you move one leg forward and bend the knee, extending the other leg straight behind yourself. This is similar, except you move sideways. Stand with your legs together, then move one leg to the side and bend the knee so that the other leg is stretched out straight. What makes this move so effective is the next part of the exercise. Instead of simply moving back to the starting position, lift the bent leg and raise it into a high knee kick. After, do not place it back in the starting position. Keep lifting the leg from its bent-knee position. This will do wonders for your thigh muscles and glutes. Swap legs when necessary.
3. Planking
Not the ridiculous craze from a few years ago where people just randomly lay down on top of buildings and on staircases, but the actual exercise move. Lie down on the floor beside your bed, lean on your elbows, and push yourself up. This can be very difficult for beginners, and you might not be able to hold yourself up for very long—but persevere for a few days and you will find yourself building up stamina! This move is great for your stomach but also hones the muscles in your legs, arms, and back.
4. Body Hold
This is sort of a plank in reverse. Instead of lying on your front supporting yourself with your arms, you will lie on your back and put all your weight on your shoulder blades, lower back and bottom. Lift your head first and then your arms, holding them just above the floor at your sides. Next, lift your legs and hold them away from the ground. The closer they are to the floor, the more pressure you will put on them and the better the workout. Hold this position for as long as you can. It will stretch and tone the muscles in your legs, arms, back, and neck.
5. High Knees
Stand up as if you are doing to start jogging, but stay still. Raise your knees up in front of you as high as you can – one at a time of course. Start slow, keeping your hands resting on your hips. You will feel the muscles in your calves, thighs, and glutes stretching. This is a great way to release the tension that builds up in your body from lying still all night. As your stamina builds, you can try raising your knees faster and pumping your arms in time.
6. Inchworm Push-Up
This is a much easier version of the standard push-up, but it will give you just as good of a workout. Instead of lying on the floor and pushing up with your hands as you would normally do for a push-up, begin in the standing position. Bend over and place your hands on the floor in front of you without bending your legs. Walk forward on your hands whilst keeping your feet in place. Once your body is flat, do a simple push up. Then reverse your steps by pushing your body back up and walking backward on your hands, before raising your body back into the standing position you started in.
7. Toe Touches
There a few ways to do this. You can start by doing toe touches from the comfort of your bed. Lie flat on your back and raise your legs into the air. Lift your upper body as if you are going to do a sit up, but instead stretch your arms out and touch your toes. For the best results, use your right arm to touch your left foot, and vice-versa. This will stretch those troublesome back muscles and crack your stiff joints! Alternatively, you can sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Lean forward using your torso muscles and touch your feet. This helps to stretch your back, legs, and arms.
8. Skipping
A great way to workout early in the morning is to grab and pair of skipping ropes and skip for 10-15 minutes. Skipping uses muscles all over your body including your legs, arms, stomach, and glutes. It is the preferred training method for boxers—so it must work! It requires a lot of effort, so it will definitely wake you up. Just make sure you have plenty of space in your house. You don’t want to bring down the ceiling light with an ill-timed skip. As exercises go, this is one of the most energising.
9. Knee Twist and Tuck
This is another of the exercises you can do whilst lying on your bed or on the floor, which is perfect for when you have just woken up and you cannot be bothered moving yet. Lie flat on your back staring up at the ceiling with your arms outstretched in line with your shoulders. Bring your knees up in front of your chest. From there, slowly lower your legs to the right without touching the ground or lifting your shoulders. This is difficult, so only lower them as far as you can. Bring your legs back up to your chest and then repeat on your left side. This is an incredible workout for your abs, thighs, and glutes.
10. Wall Squats
This is a powerful but minimal effort exercise that you can easily do in your bedroom each morning. Find a bare wall in your room and stand with your back flat against it. Slide down the wall and bend your knees until they are at a 90-degree angle. Hold this position for 1 minute, then slide back into a standing position. This will strengthen your thigh and calf muscles.
