Eyes half-closed, your body begs for five minutes of extra sleep. The bed is too warm to leave, and the idea of leaving the house for cold, frigid weather seems like an idea from hell. Fitness, however, can help you through your early morning struggle by kick-starting your day. When asleep, your body functions differently than when you're awake. Your heart-rate is lower than usual and your muscles are ill prepared for extreme workout. The first tip will delight you: You should stay in bed for that extra five minutes. As you wake, open your eyes and start thinking about your day. Plan your morning, think of the kind of coffee you would like to drink, or the meeting you would like to catch. Allow your brain a five-minute break that allows it to emerge from hibernation and enter an active mode. Do not jump out of bed; limit your muscles to small ranges of movement and stretch to release stream toxic elements that built-up overnight. As you leave your bed, warm your body with a number of exercises that you should perform as fast as possible with good form. Perform two rounds, resting one minute between rounds and 30 seconds between exercises. Warm-up one: Three-step lateral run and pause From a strong, tall posture, perform a high knee run sideways while taking three lateral steps, running on the balls of your feet, driving the elbows back, and maintaining upright posture. Do not cross your feet as you run. On the third step, pause and maintain balance for at least one to two seconds before running in the opposite direction. You should repeat that for five reps. Warm-up two: Lateral speed lunge While squatting, take a quick lateral step to the right, move your right hand outside your right leg and touch it to the floor. Thrust your body upwards and shuffle one step over to the left, touching the floor with your left hand. Your body should extend upwards as you move from side to side. Repeat this exercise for eight reps. Warm-up three: Spiderman climb Start in extended push-up position. While bracing your abs, pick one foot off the floor. Slowly bring your knee outside of your shoulder and touch your foot to the ground. Slowly return your leg to the start position and repeat with the opposite leg. You should repeat this exercise for ten reps. These warm up exercises should not take more than five to ten minutes. Take a 15 to 30 seconds rest before starting the following one-minute cardio drill. The drill shouldn't last more than a minute and you should perform each of the following exercises for 15 seconds each. Cardio one: Jumping jacks Place your feet hip-width apart and hands at your sides. Simultaneously raise your arms above your head and jump so you can spread your feet shoulder-width apart. Then jump again to lower your arms and bring your feet together. Repeat. Cardio two: High knees Run in place with knees driving towards your chest. Cardio three: Side-to-side hops Starting with feet together, push off with your right foot to hop laterally to the left three feet. Land on your left foot and follow with your right. Hop back, this time pushing off with your left foot. Repeat. Here, you have two options: You might want to repeat the cardio drill two or three times and then relax, or you can add more effort into your morning workout by performing the following strength circuit. Complete as many repetitions as you can. Each exercise requires 20 seconds. Rest 20 seconds, then move to the next exercise. Strength one: Jumps Dip down at the hips and knees. Then explode upwards. Strength two: Push-ups with row Get into push-up position with your arms straight and your hands resting on light dumbbells. Squeeze your abs as you perform a push-up. At the top, pull one dumbbell off the floor and toward your body until your elbow is above your back. Slowly return the weight to the floor and repeat with the other arm. Strength three: Two-way lunges From a standing position, take a large step forward with one leg, then immediately lunge backward. Switch legs after ten seconds. Strength four: Glute bridges Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Squeeze your glutes and raise your hips so that your lower back hovers off the floor. Hold for 20 seconds.
