The best energizing exercises to start your day with are perfect because they aren’t too heavy. Instead, the goal is to get your blood pumping and get energized. That means none of these exercises will be longer than 5 to 10 minutes; you may even be able to do them brushing your teeth.
Spend a few minutes in the morning to use some energizing exercises to start your day with every morning. We should all be doing morning exercises, even if we’re just stretching.
In fact, experts agree that a small workout in the morning is perfect for stress reduction and tension loss. You will have more energy to deal with your day and less tension throughout, which leads to a better day.
Health expert Magdalena Cadet, a board-certified rheumatologist at NYU Langone, says, “exercise helps the body produce feel-good chemicals (endorphins) which can stimulate parts of the brain, help distract a person from anxiety as well as build confidence.”
We can get those benefits from a short ten-minute workout in the mornings. You don’t have to get all sweaty if you don’t want. Instead, just use some quick energizing exercises to start your day with and be on your way.
You will feel healthier, more confident, less stressed, and loose, making for the perfect day; every day. You may even become a morning person thanks to the boost of energy you get regularly.
Cat Camel Stretch
Stretching is probably one of the most beneficial morning exercises you can do daily. Stretching will loosen up any tension and could even help prevent arthritis.
- Start the cat camel stretch by getting down on all fours.
- Round your back so that it looks like a single hump of a camel, pushing your head under your body as far as you can go; hold for a few seconds.
- Lower your back and lift and tilt your head so that your back is arched downward; this is the cat position. Hold this position for a few seconds and then keep going back and forth for about 2 minutes.
Bird Dog
This is one of the energizing exercises to start your day with that encompasses the entire body. The good news is that you can go straight from cat camel to bird dog. You are keeping a theme for the first two.
- Remain on all fours while keeping your butt and stomach tensed up and your head in line with your spine.
- Hold this position while lifting your left arm straight up and out to align with your head, and lift your right leg, so it’s straight out behind you in line with your spine.
- Return to the starting position before switching arms and legs.
- You’ll want to hold each position for three seconds and do ten reps.
Side Plank
Normally, you will want to switch from exercises on the ground to standing exercises. But our goal is not to get sweaty. Instead, we just want to get some energy with some energizing exercises to start your day with.
- Turn on your right side with your legs straight down and stacked on top of each other.
- Place your right arm down on the floor like a bike's kickstand. Lift yourself up and hold your upper body up off the ground using your right elbow as a kickstand.
- Lift and extend your left arm up in the air and hold this position while flexing your abs and keeping your body as straight as possible. Hold for a few seconds and then switch sides completely. Do 3 sets total for the best results.
Calf Raise
This is the last exercise of the morning and is easier than most of the rest. In fact, this should be considered more like a cooldown from your morning workout. In fact, this is one that you could even do while you brush your teeth.
- Stand straight with your feet together. Your arms can be in any position you’d like.
- Raise your heels off the ground together while flexing your abs. Your heels should be higher than the balls of your feet.
- Hold this position for a second before returning and repeating over and over for 2 minutes.
Reverse Lunge
We are fully standing now in this morning workout! We can move on to something that will loosen your hips and your ankles. Think of this exercise as revving the engine before you get going for the day.
- Stand with your feet together and your hands on your hips with your elbows folded.
- Simply take a step backward with one leg while kneeling slightly until your front leg is bent at a 90-degree angle and your back knee is just slightly off the ground.
- Return to the standing position and then take a step back with the opposite leg repeating the stance. You can do 5 reps on each leg.
Knee Up Run in Place
There are a few energizing exercises to start your day with that will get your blood pumping like a run. However, we aren’t aiming for sweaty weight loss or sore muscle growth. We just want to energize in the morning. That is why we will just do a short run in place, with a bit of a twist.
- Stand in one spot and lift your knees as if you’re running. However, do not move from that spot, just up and down.
- Aim to lift your knees high enough to put your leg at a 90-degree angle. Keep alternating legs all while remaining in one place. Do this for 10 seconds.
Squats
There most likely isn’t a fitness trainer out there who would remove squats from their daily routine. Squats are fantastic for getting you energized and thus, belong on a list of energizing exercises to start your day with.
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, and your feet are pointing as straight forward as possible.
- Keep your back straight, and then slowly bend at the knees until your knees get just to the base of your toes in your line of sight. Do not let your knees go past your toes or lean inward or outward.
- Engage your core and hold the position for a few seconds before straightening back upright. Aim for doing about 15 squats.
