Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #66 Exercise Each Morning, Forever

pqtd 66  Exercise each morning, every morning

That sounds rather severe, but it really isn’t- think of it as a really slow, easy way to “clear the cobwebs” and slowly rev up the old bodily and mental machinery.  I don’t mean to say you should bounce up out of bed and charge away to sprint, do pull ups and pushups, and then jog for an hour, followed by stretching- not at all!

I want you to slowly awaken after a full 8 hours plus of restful sleep, in a totally blacked out room.  Take a series of deep, costal type breaths lying on your back in bed: inhale slowly, as deeply as you can, first expanding your diaphragm down by your belly, and then slowly filling up the upper portion of your lungs completely- then slowly exhale.  Do this 5-10 times, and you will be completely awake!  Go to the bathroom, and then you can go like me downstairs into the kitchen, where I start the water boiling for my coffee and tea, and do some quick warmup motions on each set of joints- elbow, neck, knees, back, shoulders- just easily rotating the joints to get the synovial fluid going, readying them for the day.  Just like a CAT.

Next, I take my first cup of coffee, laced with a teaspoon or so of coconut oil, and go to the gym... my living room!  Barefoot and with minimal clothing.  You can do similarly, but a room with a tv or computer is really nice- there you can do your morning workout with a Netflix show on!

Spread a yoga mat on the floor, and start your exercises- for my money, virtual resistance exercises are perfect to start- they completely revitalize the body as they refresh and strengthen it.  Go methodically throughout your entire musculature.  Then, go down to the mat and stretch! Finish with a back bridge if you can, and then go to your rebounder, and bounce on that for another 10 minutes.

The L-Sit

Only watch your Netflix favorite while you are exercising- this will make you eager for the next morning when you can pick up where you left off.  Trust me, once you’ve done this for awhile, you will find the perfect exercises for you, and you will relish this early morning routine.  As you progress, you can add in more exercises- for instance, twice per week I also do several hundred pushups in sets of 30-40 with different hand spacings, alternating with hindu pushups, hindu squats, and straight-legged situps.  But just twice per week maximum!

The daily routine, with the virtual resistance, self resisted exercise like curls with one limb resisting the other, the stretching and the rebounding can, and should, ideally be done daily- it is that gentle, and pleasant.  But don’t mistake- it is also very, very effective in strengthening every inch of your body, from your neck to your toes.

Done in this manner, daily exercise is restorative, nothing to dread but something to look forward to. And you will be setting yourself up from the start for what will inevitably be a happy and productive day!

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