Starting every day with a workout is one of the most effective strategies for staying healthy, energetic and active. Morning exercise combats sleep-induced lethargy, improves your mood and keeps you motivated and focused all day.
Here are 5 morning exercises to kickstart your day with a bang
1. Jumping Jacks
Start your day with jumping jacks, which can assist enhance your heart health and warm up your muscles, increasing blood flow. You can do this by standing with your feet close together and your arms at your sides. Then, do a quick jump with your legs spread wide and your arms raised overhead.
2. Lunges
Lunges target the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. They also demand balance, which stimulates your core. Begin in a standing stance, with your feet hip width apart. Now, move forward with your right leg and lower into a lunge. Lower your left knee and rotate your left foot inward slightly. Push through the whole foot of the right leg to return to the starting position.
3. Plank
One of the best workouts for increasing metabolism, decreasing abdominal fat, and improving flexibility is the plank. To perform this exercise, begin in the push-up posture. Maintain a straight body from head to toe while holding this position for 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Squats
Squats improve lower body strength by targeting your quads, hamstrings and glutes. Take a sitting position back into a chair by lowering your body with your feet hip-width apart and then stand back up.
5. High Knees
High knees assist in raising your heart rate and activate your core muscles while targeting the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and glutes. This can be accomplished by standing with your feet hip-width and beginning a jogging motion in place, raising your knees as high as possible with each step.