Morning Cardio

There's nothing wrong with getting the blood pumping or getting a little sweat going in the morning. Many people dread just getting up, showering, eat a little and run out the door to get to work. They may have an ok day and come home just ready to drop dead on the couch and watch a little something, eat with the kids/spouse/yourself and head off to bed to repeat it all over again.

Getting some exercise in before heading to work can change your mood drastically and give you a little endorphin high to feel awesome and ready to jumpstart the day. For me, it depends on the mood i'm in but if I get an urge, I might do some skipping, circuit training, step ups, hindu squats, animal movements or swinging the Indian Clubs. Often I'll do Isometrics but changing it up isn't a bad thing either.

Motivation can be a real bitch to get a hold of and the will to actually do something can be difficult for most people. You don't need to do an hour straight of exercise to make it count for something, just a few minutes can do the trick. Do some movements before getting out of bed, put on your favorite music to set the tone and do exercises that are on your level. You don't have to do a crazy crossfit workout or some infomercial program. Do a few push-ups, a stretching routine or some crawls for a minute to wake the body up. Just Bear Crawling for one minute in the morning will not only help you get fit but it'll jumpstart the brain and kick in your metabolism. 

This morning, I felt like doing Step Ups with a deck of cards and ended with 500 Reps. It felt amazing and the level of de-stressing was incredible. Great sweat running down, breathing and going at a solid clip and moving with very little to no rest. It felt therapeutic, it had been a while and didn't want to overdue it but hey it still woke my ass up. 

A deck of cards workout is a great way to wake the body up, develop some crazy cardiovascular conditioning and you don't have to do the whole deck if you haven't hit that level yet. Start out with a few cards and work up to a full deck. You can do Push-ups & Squats, one exercise, 3-4 exercises, work with kettlebells or whatever works for you. It doesn't take a ton of time and is a hell of a calorie burner and you may even keep burning calories some time after the workout. Be sure to drink water and get a little food in your system. A workout like that can build up a crazy appetite. 

One of my favorite Deck Workouts was what I call the Backlund Deck Of Madness in honor of the legendary pro wrestler Bob Backlund. It's two exercises of Step Ups & the Ab Wheel; you flip a card (red for the wheel, black for step ups) and you do the reps for that particular card. I would suggest you spend some time strengthening yourself on the wheel before doing this workout, it's intense, hard and brutal. This will test anyone in the realm of world class conditioning and physical fitness. I talked to Bob one time and told him about this workout, he thought it sounded pretty good. The fastest time I finished this workout was just under 45 minutes, if anyone can do it faster (with safe technique and pace), you've got some insane cardio bro. 

If you're not into doing intense exercise in the morning, do some qi gong or joint loosening exercises, this also wakes up the body and supercharges your organs. If you're someone who's had previous injuries or is unable to do much, do what you can. Life doesn't have to be so dreary and full of the same negative patterns, learn to change your mindset and use some positive energy. Do what is possible and do it on your level and progress. If you create a routine and stay consistent both mentally and physically, your life with have better quality. If you have kids, have them join you and train together as a family. Build bonds and push each other with great energy.