What is your morning routine? Do you drag yourself out of bed, desperately grabbing a cup of coffee to get a personality? And then wonder where you are going to get enough energy to get through the rest of the day?

Did you know that an energy boosting morning routine will be just the thing to kick your life into gear and leave you feeling energised and ready for the day ahead?

Expending energy first thing in the morning in an effort to give yourself energy throughout the day might not make sense but luckily, we have science to explain the good vibes we feel after a  morning workout.

Benefits of Exercising in the Morning

Getting it Done

This is probably the advantage with the most direct impact on your life. By doing training first thing in the morning, you don’t have any excuses. At the end of a long day of work there is no need to find the motivation to go train. You have already done it and you have freed up your time after work. And you will feel motivated to start the next day the same. Before you know it, you will be in a habit of training in the morning and also have all the benefits that go with your training.

Mood Boosting

Training releases the feel good hormones such as endorphins. This boost of hormones will help reduce stress as well as improve your mood and mental state, leaving you in a good place for the rest of the day.

Weight Loss and Metabolism

Morning workouts can be an advantage over afternoon workouts when it comes to weight loss. You would have fasted during the night, meaning your hormones related to fat metabolism would be elevated. By training in the morning you would be utilising more fat than you would later in the day.

Reduced Focus on Food

Once you have done your morning workout you are more likely to make better food choices throughout the day. According to a study done by Brigham Young University, you would have less motivation to eat as much food. The study showed that neural response to food after a morning workout was less than if they had been inactive.

Increased Mental Focus

If you struggle to maintain focus on your daily tasks then the early morning training can help improve your mental focus. In a study done by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a simple treadmill walk every morning helped increase the individual's ability to remain focused. The study showed that morning exercise increased BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in the blood which is associated with memory and higher thinking.

Disease Prevention

While exercise will always help prevent diseases, training in the morning might have a couple of added benefits. One study by the European Society of Cardiology found a link between training in the morning and a reduction in cardiovascular diseases such as strokes. Another study has demonstrated that people with Type I diabetes would have a lower risk of suffering from lower blood sugar levels if they trained in the morning.

15 Minute Energy Boosting Workout

So what should your morning session consist of? It all depends on your training goals but in general it should consist of exercises that trains the full body, increases your heart rate, and takes up as little time as possible because work is a reality that doesn't go away. With those goals in mind, we have created 3 different circuits of AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible). Complete as many rounds of each circuit before the 4 minutes is up. Have a 1 minute rest before moving onto the next circuit. You can complete this session within 15 minutes and be left feeling great for the rest of the day.

Circuit One

Exercise Band Overhead Squat (5 Reps)

Stand with your feet just wider than shoulder width, holding a resistance band above your head. Activate the core to keep a neutral spine and then sit back into a squat. Push through the heels and glutes to return to the starting position.

Mountain Climber (10 Reps per Side)

Get into a plank position with your hands below your shoulders and your back straight. Raise the right knee to your chest. In a fast movement switch legs and keep repeating for 10 reps on each side. Make sure to maintain a flat back.

Resistance Band Forward Bound (5 Reps)

With a Resistance Band looped around a stable anchor, place the other side of the loop around your waist. Perform a forward bound by dropping into a squat position and exploding up and forwards. Shuffle backward to the starting position and repeat for 5 reps.

Incline Push Up (5 Reps)

Start with your hands on the step, just wider than your shoulders. Brace your abs and lower your chest towards the exercise step before pushing yourself back up to the starting position.

Circuit Two

Bulgarian Split Squat with Bicep Curl (5 Reps per Side)

Start by holding dumbbells at your side and your back leg raised on an exercise step with your toes firmly placed. Lower your back knee towards the floor, making sure that your knees don’t move past your toes. While you are lowering your knee perform a bicep curl. Push yourself back up by driving through the heel of the front foot and lower the dumbbells back to the starting point.

Renegade Row (5 Reps per Side)

Place the Dumbbells on the floor, shoulder width apart. Get into a plank position by holding the dumbbells with your hands so that your palms face each other. Make sure to keep your spine straight and your abs tight. Pull your right hand towards your chest and then slowly lower it back to the floor. Repeat on the opposite side.

Dumbbell Thruster (5 Reps)

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart holding the dumbbells by your shoulders. Squat down and explode up and at the same time drive the dumbbells above your head.

Reverse Crunch (5 Reps)

Lie on your back on the exercise mat with legs straight and your arms by your side. Tighten your abs and inhale as you lift both legs up to 90 degrees and slowly lower them back to the floor.

Circuit Three

Dumbbell Deadlift Row (5 Reps)

Stand with your feet under your hips and the dumbbells in front of you against your thighs. Pull your shoulder blades down your back and keep your abs tight. Lean forward from the hips. When your chest is parallel to the floor, pause to perform a bent over row by pulling both dumbbells to your chest and lowering them again. Push through your heels and glutes to return to the standing position.

Plank Jacks (10 Reps)

Position your elbows on the exercise mat so that they are below your shoulders. Pull your shoulder blades down your back and tighten your abs to form a straight line to your feet. Now jump with both feet out wide and then back again to the starting position. Make sure to maintain your strong core position throughout the exercise.

Dumbbell Russian Twist (5 Reps per Side)

Sit on the exercise mat with your feet at 90 degrees. Hold a single dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest. Brace your core and lift both feet off the floor. Holding this position, rotate the dumbbell to either side of your hips.

Running Step Ups (10 Reps per Side)

Quickly perform 10 step-ups, leading with one leg. Repeat, leading with the other leg.

A morning routine doesn’t have to take up too much time or require much equipment. While any training session is better than no training session, a morning training session has advantages we could all benefit from. All you need is a bit of space and some basic equipment such as dumbbells and exercise bands and you will be able to increase the fat burn, get the feel good vibes and be ready for the day ahead!

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Tags: Equipment > Dumbbells ; Equipment > Resistance Bands ; Equipment > Step ; Exercise Type > Conditioning ; Misc > Workout