This quick 15-minute morning workout ticks a few boxes: it starts off gentle, then kicks into gear with some moves that’ll get your heart revving just enough to kick-start your day.
And yes, working out in the morning is a great idea. “If you work out before your day distracts you, your chances of exercising regularly go way up,” says sports scientist Dr Cedric Bryant. And a.m. sweating can make you sharper all day: “Exercise enhances the secretion of neurotransmitters,” says Bryant. Neurotransmitters are the body’s mail service, sending communication throughout the body. So by enhancing this process earlier in the day makes for better, sharper focus. Wake your body up with this 15-minute morning workout routine, created by exercise physiologist Suzanne Meth.
The 15-Minute Morning Workout
Warm-up and cool down by jogging on the spot for two minutes. Then perform these moves, doing each for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side of your body before moving on to the next move.
Watch one of our staffers perform this 15-minute morning workout:
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1/ Cat-cow
Wakes up your core
A. Get on all fours with your hands in line with your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips.
B. Inhale, lifting your head and tailbone so your spine arches slightly towards the floor.
C. Exhale as you tuck your tailbone under, curl your back upward, and let your head hang towards the floor. That’s one rep. Do 10, moving smoothly between positions.
2/ Split squat
Wakes up your hips, glutes and thighs
A. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides or hands on your hips.
B. Step back with your left foot and sink into a lunge until your front knee is bent 90 degrees.
C. Push back up, keeping both knees slightly bent.
D. Continue the up-and-down movement with the left leg for 30 seconds; change legs and repeat.
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3/ Burpee pop-ups
Wakes up your triceps, chest, glutes, hamstrings and quads
A. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
B. Squat down and place your hands on the floor directly in front of your feet.
C. Jump your feet back and land in a push-up position.
D. Do one push-up, then jump your feet back towards your hands and return to standing. Do as many reps as you can in 30 seconds. Rest for one minute, then repeat.
4/ Leaning side plank
Wakes up your obliques
A. Stand with your left side a few centimetres from your bed.
B. Bend your left elbow 90 degrees, lean towards the bed and place your forearm on the edge of the mattress, stretching your legs into a side plank position (your bed’s unstable surface will make this move super-difficult).
C. Rest your right arm on your side. Hold the position, with legs stacked, for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Shake up your routine with these workouts: