The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is have a glass of water. And then I pee. I almost always need to pee straight after…why am I telling you this? Sometimes it’s important to have a routine, especially in regards to Health and Fitness, mostly in order to fit it in! A couple of days a week after I’ve had my water I will, half asleep, put on some gym clothes and either head to the gym for a full workout or simply do some exercises to increase my heart rate and set me up for the day.
In London last week it was averaging 30 degrees (lucky for us) during the days and early evenings. The hot weather meant exercising in the early morning gave me the option to not fuss over the gym when I was sweating from merely breathing! You can build up quite a sweat in 15 minutes, and today I am going to tell you how I do this in five simple steps.
1. First on the list is Bulgarian split squats. This can be done with or without weights, I can assure you that your muscles can be worked either way. The key thing with this exercise is to not let your knee drift over your toes. Be sure to engage your core in this move, keeping your torso upright and your knee almost to the floor. Many people still to this day are unaware that one of the quickest ways to burn fat is to build muscle, hence the treadmills being taken over by ladies but the weighted areas mostly still consist of men. But adding the Bulgarian split squats to your gym routine, or this small morning routine will help you build muscle all over your body.
2. The next exercise in my 15 minute morning routine is the well-known press-up. Whether you want to do half press-ups or standard press-ups, it doesn’t matter! The most important thing here is to keep your form for 45 seconds. Keeping your core engaged at all times and ensuring your hips don’t start creeping up to the ceiling, just push away from the floor until the timer beeps!
3. Next up: burpees. If you’re anything like me, you hate to see that word. However, if you’re committed to the exercise and you practise it regularly, you’ll probably love the results that they bring. The move is one of the toughest bodyweight exercises there is today and that’s because they engage the whole body intensely. Burpees burn fat and build muscle all in one movement which tests your body for its strength and aerobic capabilities.
4. Squats: Now I’m not saying that squatting will sculpt your glutes into a similar shape to Kim K’s, but I am saying that it WILL strengthen the leg muscles at all points which will prevent weaknesses and increase strength during other mobile activities. Furthermore, the squat will burn body fat as you are moving a large part of your body. It is very important to get your squatting form right though, so please do not let your knees go over your toes (if your knees hurt during a squat then you are doing it wrong). Really stick your bum out – almost like you’re going to the toilet at a festival and you really really do not want to touch the seat but you must get as close as possible. Oh, and keep your chest up and back straight.
5. And last but not least, one of the most talked-about exercises of all time… the plank. Whenever I walk into the gym I will undoubtedly see somebody planking. With the plank, it’s really important that you try and keep your alignment straight. The aim is not to have your bum up in the air like the famous downward facing dog yoga pose or to have your hips nearly touching the floor. Really engage your core and stay in a straight horizontal line. If you feel your body moving into one of the aforementioned unwanted positions then come back down and rest for 5 or 10 seconds and start again. It is better to do two shorter planks in good form, than one long-strained and incorrect plank.
So to sum up your 15 minute morning workout…
1. Bulgarian split squats (3 sets of 15 reps)
2. Press-ups (3 sets of AMAP in 45 seconds)
3. Burpees (3 sets of 8 reps)
4. Squats (3 sets of 15 reps)
5. Plank (3 sets of 30 seconds holding)
By Zoe Green
If you have any questions in regards to this article then email Zoe at dearzoegreen@gmail.com with the subject “dearzoegreen” and she will respond to you as fast as possible.
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