[Video] 9-Minute Morning Wake Up Workout

Start off your morning the right way with this gentle workout which gets you moving and helps you wake up and get ready for the day!

Some research has found that working out in the morning can boost your energy, improve your mood, and increase productivity throughout your entire day.

This workout uses Pilates principles to improve flexibility, get your blood moving, and warm up your muscles in preparation for your day. (You can also use this short workout as a cool down session after a more strenuous workout.)

If you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, start with this flowing and energizing workout, and see what a difference it makes in your day!

Does Exercising In The Morning Make You More Productive?

It is no big secret that exercise, proper nutrition, getting plenty of rest and drinking lots of water throughout the day is a proven recipe for health. Regarding exercise, is there a particular time of day when working out or staying physically active will deliver greater rewards? The answer to that question seems to be "yes", and the time you should be exercising is in the morning (which is why we usually post our weekly workouts on Thursday morning).

When you are productive in any area of your life, you enjoy less stress and anxiety, more happiness and a sense of fulfillment, and more success. To boost your productivity, get active more often. Jogging, taking a walk, lifting weights, cycling, and performing yoga or Pilates will give you more energy than if you are sedentary, which will naturally lead to better productivity. When you schedule that exercise in the morning, you supercharge that productivity.

Here's how it works.

(Image courtesy of nenetus at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

Exercise in the morning means fewer scheduling conflicts. You never miss a workout when you wake up early, and you don't have to push other responsibilities aside to make sure you get a workout in. This means after your morning workout, your entire day can be focused on productively knocking out your to-do list and daily responsibilities.

Waking up is hard for a lot of people. You're one of them if you're sluggishly getting through the morning and heading to work without much energy. Exercise fires up your endorphins and cranks up your energy levels. Enjoying even just 20 minutes of physical activity in the morning can lead to energy reserves to fuel a productive day.

Early-morning fitness means a spike in your metabolism. So when you have a mid-morning snack and lunch while you are working throughout the day, you effectively burn more calories. This means you're less likely to suffer a mid-afternoon energy crash. Moderately intense to intense physical activity also wakes up your brain. So you start the day with a clear head, improving your chances of keeping ahead of your workload and responsibilities all day long.

As far as motivation goes, getting your workout in early gives you a boost of self-esteem. You have barely begun your day, and you have already accomplished something important. Success can build upon itself. The feel-good hormones that exercise releases make you feel good about yourself for exercising in the morning, a time when it may be tough to think about physical activity. This successful early-morning achievement develops the proper mindset to attack subsequent goals and commitments with a lot of productive energy and positive feelings.

Be sure to check back here each Thursday morning for a free workout to get your motivated and start your day off on the right foot!

[Video] Cool Down & Stretch Routine

As we discussed on Tuesday, flexibility and stretching are an important part of your fitness routine - or at least, they should be!

Stretching after a workout can help prevent soreness, cool down your muscles, and finish off your workout on the right foot.

This stretch routine can also be done anytime you are feeling tight and need to improve your flexibility. If you're feeling extra tired and can't handle a strenuous workout, why not do this one instead? It will help to relax you, relieve stress, and improve flexibility and posture.

These are active stretches, so you will be moving fluidly from one movement into another at a slow pace to help your muscles relax and lengthen. You will do 8 repetitions of 9 different flexibility exercises. 

No equipment is required, though you may want a yoga mat for some of the exercises.

4 Exercises to Increase Your Flexibility

Many people practice both cardio and strength training routines as part of their fitness plan, but fail to include exercises that would increase their flexibility. Not only does being more flexible benefit you in the gym by lessening your risk of an injury and increasing joint range of motion, it also helps you in your daily life, such as allowing you to easily bend over and tie your shoes.

Stretching is one of the best ways to get back or increase flexibility. There are two types of stretching – static and dynamic. Your fitness routine will generally dictate when each type is performed. Generally speaking, static exercises are done after a workout as a cool down, where dynamic exercises are done after a warm-up but before a workout to get you loosened up. With either type of stretching, you don’t want to stretch cold muscles, as this can lead to an injury.

Static Stretches

In this type of stretching, a muscle is slowly stretched and then held in the stretched position for several seconds before relaxing. If done properly, there is a low risk of injury, making it one of the safest forms of stretching.

(Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

A popular upper body muscle group to stretch is the shoulder. To perform the shoulder stretch seated or standing:

• Hold your right arm parallel with the ground and across the front of your chest.
• With your left arm grab your right arm just above the elbow and pull the stretched arm.
• Pull gently until you just start to feel the stretch.
• Hold for 30 seconds and then release.
• Repeat with the other arm.

A great lower body static stretch is the butterfly groin stretch. To start, sit on the floor with your back straight: 

• With the soles of your feet together, grasp your ankles and pull both of your feet towards your body; allow your knees to come up and out to the side.
• While still grasping your ankles, gently push your knees down towards the floor.
• You will feel the stretch along the inside of your thighs and groin.
• Hold for 30 seconds.

Dynamic Stretches

Dynamic stretching is stretching while in motion. The muscles that will be used in the upcoming workout are stretched, but are not held in the stretched position as they would be with static stretching.

One great stretching exercise for the lower body is forward lunges. To start:

• Keep your upper body straight, shoulders back and look straight forward.
• Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Ensure your front knee is centered over your ankle; your other knee should not touch the floor. 
• Push back with your front leg to the starting position. 
• Do 5 to 10 repetitions and then switch legs.

(Image courtesy of marin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

To increase the flexibility in your back, do some side bends:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and arms straight in the air.
• Without moving your lower body, slowly alternate bending laterally to your left, back up and to the right as far as possible. 
• Do 5 to 20 repetitions in each direction.

Stretching is an important part of your fitness routine. Not only does it complete your fitness plan, but increased flexibility makes many everyday life tasks easier.

Check back Thursday for a great stretching routine to try!

[Video] Outdoor Workout - No Equipment Required

Walking, jogging, or running are all great ways to work out outdoors, but there are plenty of other exercises you can do outside as well. If you have access to a playground or park, you can often use equipment there (benches, monkey bars, etc.) as workout equipment - use it as your own outdoor gym!

But if not, there are lots of other things you can do without any equipment at all. Yoga and Tai Chi are great relaxing workouts to do in the great outdoors.

Or you can do a number of free form exercises like those in the video below, including lunges, pushups, and more.

This workout does include a short warmup and cool down, and requires no equipment at all, so you really can do it anywhere - even on the beach during summer vacation - so you have no excuse not to work out!

Why You Should Consider Exercising Outdoors

Exercising outdoors brings with it a whole host of advantages, along with some disadvantages. Depending on where you live, exercising outdoors may not be an option during some parts of the year. In the Northern Plains and Northeast of the United States, you have bitter cold and snow in the winter that prevents you from exercising outdoors. In the desert Southwest, the extreme heat in the summer has the same effect.

However if you walk or run, you’ll get a better workout if you exercise outside because:

• Your ankles flex differently due to the varied surface, so you use more and different muscles.
• You use different muscles going downhill, something you can’t do on a treadmill.
• You’ll burn more calories due to air resistance. Expect a 2% to 10% increase in the amount of effort expended. 
• Your frame of mind will be better.

Image courtesy of nenetus at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

While the first three are physical advantages, the last one is psychological. Virtually every study performed has shown that those who exercise outside scored higher on tests that measured vitality, enthusiasm, pleasure and self-esteem and lower on tension, depression and fatigue after walking outside when compared to groups walking indoors. Plus on a sunny day, you get your Vitamin D!

Known as the sunshine vitamin, health benefits derived from getting Vitamin D naturally include:

• Preventing cancer – recent research suggests Vitamin D slows the growth and progression of cancer cells.
• Reducing hormonal problems – Vitamin D influences how certain hormones, such as insulin, rennin, serotonin and estrogen react thus improving blood pressure, diabetes, depression and sleep, while reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.  
• Combating obesity – Vitamin D deficiency can interfere with the hormone leptin, which is what tells the brain you are full and should stop eating. People deficient in Vitamin D are twice as likely to be overweight.
• Reducing inflammation – Vitamin D strengthens your autoimmune system, thus reducing the risk of the body attacking itself as it does with diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

And you can save money by exercising outdoors! You don’t need a gym membership which initially saves you money, but that is only the beginning – you save even more money by not burning fuel in your car to get to and from the gym.

You can exercise anywhere. There are very few places where you can’t walk or run, making it the almost perfect exercise when traveling for business or pleasure. Just be sure to pack a pair of walking, running or cross trainer shoes and your workout clothes.

With the availability of sidewalk, trails and paths, plus the obvious health benefits and savings, you have no excuse to not exercise outside. Just lace up your shoes and get going!

[Video] Plateau-Busting Strength Training Workout

This tough, intense workout is designed for those who have hit a fitness plateau, and need some help busting through it to their next level of fitness. This is a challenging workout, so be sure you are in good enough shape to attempt it!

You will need to add a warmup and cool down on your own, and you will need some equipment for this workout, although it doesn't have to be expensive. You will need some hand weights or kettle bells of different weight levels, an equalizer, bars or a couple of sturdy chairs, and a step.

The format of this workout is a little bit different, as you will always be one exercise behind the instructor. Each exercise is done for 40 seconds, with 10 seconds in between, for just 12 minutes total - but you sure will feel like you worked out for an hour!

Now, let's bust that plateau!