Morning exercises: complex for awakening
Moderate physical activity in the morning will help you wake up faster and cheer up. Morning exercises should include breathing exercises, joint exercises, stretching, and basic strength exercises. We tell you how morning exercises are useful and offer a set of exercises for awakening and well-being.
Why exercise in the morning
Short (10 minutes is enough) gymnastics improves blood circulation, so the brain receives more oxygen. We become focused, and concentration improves – especially important for those who start working in the early morning.
Of course, even moderate exercise is good for the figure.
Fact!
Suppose you start training immediately after waking up, that is, on an empty stomach. In that case, you thereby contribute to increased insulin sensitivity; this hormone plays a significant role in maintaining a normal weight.
Finally, morning exercise has been shown by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania to make us feel happier. People who did morning exercises for a month felt active, were in high spirits, and performed better on memory tests than those who led a sedentary lifestyle.
Rules for good morning exercises
Practice right after waking up. Some exercises can be done in bed, such as stretching and breathing. It is believed that new habits are better formed in the first minutes after waking up since you are not distracted by anything else.
So, you can start exercising with a warm-up – diaphragmatic breathing. This simple exercise you can do right in bed will help you wake up completely. Take a deep breath so that the air fills first the stomach and then the chest. Then exhale so that the stomach is drawn in. Repeat three times, then stretch your whole body well. Then do a soft stretch – it will pleasantly stretch the body, frozen after sleep.
The main part of the charge is basic strength exercises. You won’t need any equipment as you can work with your body weight in the morning. Basic exercises warm muscles, increase blood circulation and prepare the body and brain for an active day.
Exercise can also include joint gymnastics, which is especially relevant for people who lead a sedentary lifestyle and experience pain or a feeling of stiffness in the neck, back, and knees due to lack of physical activity.
Fact!
Joint gymnastics warm up the joints to improve their mobility and improve ligaments and tendons’ elasticity.
Add a few explosive exercises to the complex – they disperse the blood and improve metabolism. It can be lunges, jumping out, or push-ups with cotton. Finally, exercise should be non-fatiguing, short, and enjoyable. The goal is not to build muscle mass but to cheer yourself up.
So, here is a set of exercises for morning exercises.
Joint gymnastics
Tilts and head rotation
We make neck tilts in different directions. The movements are soft and smooth; we feel how the cervical spine is warming up.
Then we perform a head rotation. We lower the chin and rotate the neck along an arcuate path from side to side.
Shoulder rotations
To warm up the shoulder joints, we rotate the shoulders in a circle – first forward, then back. The hands must remain motionless.
Wrist rotation
Exercise is especially relevant for people who spend a lot of time at the computer. We bend our arms at the elbows and press them to the body; we clench our palms into fists. We perform the rotation of the wrists while the fists remain clenched.
Circular rotation of the pelvis
Exercise improves blood circulation in the pelvic organs and lowers back mobility. We stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart, hands on the belt. We rotate the pelvis with the maximum amplitude, but the movements are not sharp but smooth.
Stretching
Remember that morning stretching should be soft – we don’t set any records. We feel only a pleasant stretching of stiff muscles after sleep.
Lateral slopes
Feet shoulder width apart, hands on the waist. We make a lateral tilt, stretching the lateral muscles while raising the opposite arm. This exercise eliminates the feeling of stiffness and improves the spine’s mobility in the lumbar and middle sections.
“Mill”
“Mill” improves flexibility and develops mobility of the spine. We stand up straight, arms outstretched to the sides. We lean forward, feeling a pleasant stretching of the muscles while trying to reach the foot of the opposite leg with our hand.
Quadriceps stretch
Exercise eliminates stiffness in the muscles, stretches the quadriceps, and improves the elasticity of the ligaments.
We stand up straight and straighten our backs. We bend the leg at the knee, grab the shins and press the heel to the buttock. We keep the hips closed and do not tilt the body. We repeat the exercise with the other leg.
Basic strength exercises
Glute Bridge
The exercise is performed in the supine position. Bend your knees, feet, and lower back firmly to the floor. We strain the buttocks and press and raise the pelvis. At the same time, we continue to press the lower back to the floor.
Steps back with swings of hands
A basic exercise that engages the muscles of the core and legs. We stand up straight, legs slightly bent at the knees. Alternately we take steps back with the swings of the hands.
Lunges in place
Another basic exercise for working out the muscles of the legs and core is developing balance and coordination of movement.
We stand up straight and keep our hands on the belt. We take a wide step forward, bend our knees and lower ourselves into a lunge. We straighten our legs, remaining in the same position, and then repeat the lunge. We do the exercise for the second leg.
plank
A versatile and one of the simplest and most affordable exercises for the muscles of the press, legs, and buttocks is the plank. We emphasize lying down; the elbows are bent at a right angle and are in line with the shoulders. We stretch the body in a straight line and keep the body’s weight on the elbows, forearms, and feet. We hold the bar for as long as we can.
