What You'll Learn...
- The power of a focused morning routine.
- How to integrate a simple yet effective mobility routine into your daily life.
- Two ready-to-go mobility spin-up routines.
- How to build your own mobility routine.
- The benefits of mobility routines on your physical and mental health.
The optimism of mornings
There’s something inherently optimistic about mornings, isn’t there? The fresh start, the new day, the feeling of control you have before everyone else wakes up.
I think this is why people search for a morning routine. They feel the potential every morning brings, and they want to capitalize on it.
As an author and expert in movement and physical conditioning, one of the most common questions I’m asked is, “What should I do in the mornings?” or “What do you do in the mornings?” For either question, the answer is the same.
My daily routine starts by waking up at 6 a.m. Then, I drink a glass of water mixed with sea salt and lemon juice to hydrate, replenish electrolytes, and provide vitamin C.
This is followed by a brief exercise session that includes mobility and breathing techniques, then a calm walk for a cooldown. This mobility routine helps me feel ready to take on anything.
As an entrepreneur, author, podcaster, and more, I’m busy. Sometimes, I don’t feel like I have enough hours in the day. But I discovered early on that dedicating just ten minutes to a mobility routine significantly improves how productive I am the rest of my day!
By starting your morning with movement, you’re not only improving your physical mobility, you’re also signaling to your brain that it’s time to get your day started.
How 10 minutes in the morning can get your body ready for anything
Mobility work first thing in the morning is nothing new. In fact, historical texts trace the origins of what is now known as the “Surya Namaskar” or “sun salutation” in modern yoga practices to movements recorded as early as the 13th century.
For ages, people have found the importance of getting your body ready to move right when you wake up. It’s no surprise because you feel great afterward.
By starting your morning with movement, you’re not only improving your physical mobility, you’re also signaling to your brain that it’s time to get your day started.
The power of mobility work over time
A routine doesn’t just help your day get better, it also helps you improve over time!
Mobility work every morning helps me keep my body ready for whatever it needs to do.
In my work with professional athletes, I talk to people who are looking to find the next level but feel like they can’t get there. After working with them, it’s really common to see that they’re missing the basic fundamentals of movement.
I think most people assume that athletes have all those basics dialed in and are now just trying to figure out how to optimize, but it turns out a lot of elite athletes are still struggling with the basic movement work we go over with beginners!
After working with them over time (and time is the important factor here), they start to unlock their bodies, which allows them to perform at that next level.
Long story short, if you miss the fundamentals of movement, your body won’t be able to use its full potential.
That’s what a morning movement routine can do for you. It makes the day better, but it also helps you continuously build your body’s potential.
The 10 Minute Morning Mobility Recipe
Step 1: Hydrate
Your body tends to dehydrate while you sleep as part of your metabolic functions, so right when you wake up, drink something that’s hydrating. For me, I drink a glass of water mixed with sea salt and lemon juice. This combination hydrates your body, replenishes electrolytes, and provides a vitamin C boost. The simple act of hydration signals your body you’re up and ready to go.
Step 2: Engage in a mobility and breathing routine
Find a quiet place with room to move.
Just a note for beginners, once you get into the habit of morning mobility work, you might find a routine that works better for you. But when you’re just starting out, let me guide you.
For the first seven days, I want you to pick one of these routines to use:
If you’re stressed or sleep-deprived, the breathing practice spin-up is a great way to get your brain and heart moving.
If you’re going to be moving a lot, the lower body spin-up is a great way to get your body ready for whatever’s coming your way.
Once you’ve gone through these for seven days, you can start building your own. Here are some basic steps to create your own mobility session, which you can adjust for your own needs:
- Begin with a warm-up to enhance circulation to your muscles.
- Execute joint rotations for each major joint.
- Add dynamic stretches to boost your range of motion functionally.
- Engage in mobility drills or exercises focusing on areas needing attention or improvement, like hip flexors or shoulder blades.
- Conclude with cool-down exercises to ease your muscles.
Just remember: When creating a morning mobility routine, you have to be in tune with your body’s feedback and adjust your routine accordingly.
Step 3: Conclude with a calm walk
Take a cooldown walk, ideally outdoors if possible. This walk always helps me transition into the workday. By the end of it, I’ve got a clear head and I’m ready to go.
Invest every day in your mobility
A good morning routine does two things: it gets you prepared for the day, and it makes you better day over day. Wouldn’t you feel more prepared and optimistic if you felt like that every morning? I’ve learned that there is a profound link between our physical mobility and our mental wellbeing.
Having a body that can move more freely is possible for you, and it will improve every aspect of your life.
