Quick Fix Morning Circuit
Working out first thing in the morning is extremely effective at improving your physique and fitness as well as energy levels and the feeling of overall well-being. When time is short do this workout to feel the benefits for the rest of the day.
Add this super short and very effective circuit to your mornings, 4-5 times a week to speed up your fitness kickstart. Maintain good form through out. It will take 3 – 9 minutes depending on your level of fitness.
Benefit:
1. Rev up your metabolism for the rest of the day
2. Add additional training stimulus to the whole body without overloading the system.
3. Tone up faster.
4. Burn more calories for the rest of the day by stimulating the major muscles first thing in the morning.
5. Keep muscles active if you know you have to skip a session on that day.
6. Stay in a the zone if you do not like spending a day without training.
7. Keep stress at bay.
What to do:
Do each of the following 3 exercises in a row for one minute each. No rest in between. Once you have done the 3 minutes take a 20-30 second rest and begin again. Do 1-3 circuits in total – the more the better, but build up to 3.
1. Squats
2. Push ups
3. Plank
How to do it:
1. Squats: Great for buttocks, legs, quadriceps and core. Do as many within one minute but go easy the first 20 seconds.
To Prepare
- Stand with your feet hip width apart.Back straight
- Arms held out in front of the body at shoulder height.
- Toes curled up to keep the weight on the heels.
Movement
- Inhale to bend the knees and drop down as low as you can without bending your back or lifting the heels
- Exhale to push through the heels, lift back up, push hips forward to tighten the buttocks.
2. Push ups: Great upper body exercise to keep chest, triceps, shoulders and core toned.
To Prepare
- Come down on all fours.
- Arms straight, palms directly below the shoulders, fingertips outstretched fully.
- If doing a kneeling pushup (easier): create a straight line from the shoulders to the knees by pushing the hips forward.
- If doing a full pushup (harder) come up onto the toes, keep a straight line from the shoulders to the heels
Movement
- Inhale to tighten core and lower the chest down to the floor between the palms. Elbows to 90 degrees.
- Exhale to push up explosively back to the start until the arms are straight
3. The Plank: Great for Abs (rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus, erector spinae), buttocks.
To Prepare
- Lie face down on the floor. Rest on your forearms with elbows below the shoulders, forearms reaching forward, palms facing up
Movement
- If doing this on the knees (easier): Inhale to prepare. Exhale tighten the core and lift up onto the forearms. Keep a straight line between shoulders and knees.
- If doing this on the toes (harder): Inhale to prepare. Exhale to lift the knees off of the floor and keep a straight line between the shoulders and heels.
- Do not let the lower back collapse at any time.
Breathing on the plank:
- Inhale through the nose into the sides, the back of your ribcage and the top of the chest. Each inhale should be controlled and deep.
- Exhale through pursed lips and tighten the belly button deep into the stomach to feel the contraction of deepest core. Tighten further every time you exhale.
Target this month is to get you on track with fitness for the rest of the year. Aim to follow up on most if not all nutrition tips covered in 31 day fitness kick start. In addition you must be way into your training regime or if not, are ready to start from tomorrow. Read the post about the cardio sessions to maximise your calorie expenditure in the fastest time possible. The above circuit done every morning (4-5 times a week) will speed up your progress considerably and supercharge your 31 day transformation.
Best wishes,
Dmitri
Read on:
Introduction to the 31 Day Fitness Kickstart
Day 1 – Water
Day 2 – Protein at breakfast
Day 3 – Meal frequency
Day 4 – Sugar
Day 5 – Lifestyle
Day 6 – Carbohydrates
Day 7 – Sleep
Day 8 – Start easy with Cardio – frequency not the quantity.
Day 9 – Get clever with your fats!
Day 10 – Find or become a role model
Day 11 – Coffee
Day 12 – Exercise improves your appetite response.
Day 13 – Consistency over intensity
Day 14 – Add cinnamon to your diet
Day 16 – Active rest
Day 17 – Holistic fitness.
Day 18 – Minimise muscle loss.
Day 19 – Don’t forget steady paced cardio
Day 20 – Eat plenty of fibre
Day 21 – Take up a physically demanding hobby.
Day 22 – Hire a qualified and an experienced Personal Trainer
Day 23 – Eat Cake
Day 24 – Don’t forget that the feeling of hunger is the best cue for when to eat
Day 25 – Tune in to your training
Day 26 – Sort out the calorie density of your meals.
Day 27 – Eat more grapefruit
Day 28 – Eat within an hour after your workout!
Day 29 – Stay in the low range of Glycaemic Index and Glycaemic Load
Day 30 – Cycle crunches.
Day 31 – Learn to listen to your body