5 Morning Exercises to Wake You Up - Morning Workout,

By Eric TaiMost of us wake up early in the morning listless and lethargic. Few of us have the luxury to have a fulfilling sleep and wake up without the noise of an alarm clock. Even with a cold morning bath or a cup of aromatic coffee, the tiredness doesn't seem to go away.To really get your body started and going, what you really need is a good workout to get your blood moving. But none of us really wants to break out into a big sweat before heading out for work. Luckily, a refreshing workout to wake you up doesn't need to be a sweaty event. All it takes is for your muscles to warm up and get well-stretched. Here are five exercises that won't cause you to break out in sweat, but will definitely clear up your mind.

1 Shoulder Stretch

Much like how you would normally stretch your arms overhead in a big yawn, this exercise is exactly just that. It shouldn't surprise you that your body naturally performs this exercise to shake off some of that weariness; the stretch pulls on your shoulder muscles, which are normally very tight after a night of sleep. Also move your fingers and clench your fists, blood from the hands through the finger tips get squeezed and flows to the other parts of the body; thus your arms and fingers wake up.

2 Calf Stretch

Before you even step out of your bed, simply move your feet such that your calf muscles get squeezed and this moves the slow flowing blood at both ends of the feet back to the heart. Squeeze at the calves a few times and feel your legs warming up. By now your legs should be feeling good enough to step out of bed.

3 Hip Stretch

Now sit up on your bed and turn your upper body from right to left and left to right without moving your entire body. Each time you reach the most extreme right or left, hold your stretch there for a few seconds. Now your mid torso is beginning to warm up as well.

4 Back Stretch

In the sitting position, place two hands on your waist and move your elbows backwards. Hold your stretch for a few seconds and do it a few times. This stretch the back muscles, especially you're the portion on your shoulder blades. Your body is almost fully warmed up by now and you aren't that sleepy anymore.

5 Tip-toe

Now stand up from your bed and tip-toe on your feet. Try to balance on tip-toe for a while before standing onto your feet. You can do this a few times as well. Tip-toeing requires your body to balance and balancing is a complex combination of muscles, body senses and brain coordination. This simple act calls for your brain to start functioning and cues your body to wake up fully.
Like a car left out in a cold winter night, you body needs to warm up and get primed to start working. The stretches move the blood in your body around all the areas and warm them up. Tip toeing at the end is like ignition of your car engine. It's not getting the car to run in 4th gear right away, but your car engine is now moving. Balancing calls for muscles, brain and body senses to all work together and your brain is thinking. Before you know it, you're fully awake, without even having washed your face yet.