I have never been a morning person and always found it hard to get my body into gear and my energy levels primed. Some people are great at working out early but many people are like me and find it very difficult, especially those with chronic pain. While we have been asleep our bodies have been working hard to repair all the damage created from activities completed during the day but this also means our muscles, tendons, and ligaments have not moved for 7-9 hours to allow this process to occur. Most people’s morning routine is to stumble out of bed, get some breakfast, and head off to work where they might sit down for another 8 hours. This means that their body has been completely sedentary for the last 15-17 hours over a 24 hour period! This is where the muscles and the connective tissue can begin to develop stiffness, and ultimately weakness due to a lack of movement which will become a bigger problem over time. This is one reason why those already dealing with chronic pain find the mornings so much harder than any other time of the day. To combat this problem and reverse this trend one of the best things you can do is implement a simple morning workout that helps to rejuvenate the specific areas prone to stiffness. The best part is it doesn’t take all that long to do and requires little effort. In this article, I will share with you my favourite exercises to do this and why they work so well.
While the idea of using a morning workout to mobilize and stabilize muscles and connective tissue might sound like something developed by modern scientists this is a concept that has been used by the Japanese for over 100 years and is referred to as Radio Taiso.
Radio Taiso is an exercise routine that anyone can follow, broadcast every morning at 6:30 am on the Japanese public station NHK Radio 1. It is also referred to as Rajio Taiso and Radio Calisthenics and has become a morning routine for many people in Japan and around the world.
Radio calisthenics was first broadcast nationwide in 1929. Its purpose was to promote social happiness as a byproduct of maintaining and improving the health of its citizens. These exercises were to be easy and accessible for people of all ages and that could be performed anywhere. The current radio exercise No. 1 has been ongoing since 1951.
The last 2 years the mornings have been extremely tough for me personally to simply move, yet alone exercise. My entire body aches and at various times I could barely stand up due to the crippling pain caused by the inflammatory auto-immune disease I now have (Psoriatic Arthritis) that attacks various joints within my body. When my pain was at its worst my instincts told me to go back to bed and lie down, but I knew this was not going to help me improve and it definitely was not going to help me get ready for work. I needed to find a way to loosen up so I could get to work and do the things I needed to do with my clients at the gym.
While I have taught people for years to do a warm-up or use simple drills each day, I developed a much better appreciation of how hard it is for people with chronic back pain or hip pain feel to do this in the morning. However, I also came to see how beneficial it is to use certain exercises even though they are difficult and painful to do.
The exercises I will often use as a warm-up or mobilizing routine will be very similar to the ones I would use when something goes wrong and causes pain. This is what I often refer to as a “relief workout” and while it is not enough to make any lasting changes there are certain movements and positions that allow the body to decompress joints and alleviate pain and discomfort. This creates a window of opportunity to improve stability, strength and overall efficient movement. You can read more about this in the article – The critical change you need to make with your workouts when something goes wrong
Now you can begin to see what I suggest to use these type of exercises daily for this will be something about them that the body will thrive on.
Why Mobilizing Is Better Than Stretching
Before we jump into the exercises I like to use it is important to understand that you are not going to use a stretching routine to improve flexibility. Even though your muscles may feel tight they will not respond well to trying to pull them to their full range when they are cold. The muscles and especially the connective tissue are very stiff when you first wake as they have not been moved for a considerable time.
The lack of blood flowing through the body makes everything stiffen right up and your muscles will resist any attempt to pull them into a full range while they are cold as they will feel very weak and vulnerable to injury while they are like this. This is why your muscles will respond much better to being moved and warmed up than static stretching that tries to pull them into extreme positions. Stretching will be much more effective later in the day or after a workout.
Read the article to see more about this – When is the best time to stretch?
With regards to back pain many people will feel extremely sore and painful when first waking and this is more to do with the discs in the lower back.
When you are asleep or lying for a long period of time the discs in the back re-hydrate by filling up with a concentrated protein that is a water-like substance. This is how our discs receive their nutrition to remain in good health. When this happens they swell to a larger size which is fine for someone with good spinal mechanics and position.
However, it is bad news for someone whose spine is not in optimal alignment as these larger discs now pose problems and makes movement very stiff and awkward until the discs reduce back to their normal size. The best way to do this is to move! This explains why many people with a sore back are at their worst in the morning, but also explains why it is more important than ever to get moving and where the true benefits of mobility drills come into play.
Watch the quick video below to see more about this.
A lot of people think that mobility and flexibility are the same thing when in reality they are much different.
In simple terms flexibility is the capacity of a single joint or muscle to move through its full range of motion. Stretching is specific to a particular movement or joints and is often held for long periods of time or used as a PNF contract relax method.
Whereas mobility is freedom of movement. It is not limited to a single joint but a combination of joints and is more movement based as opposed to holding one particular muscle with increased length for a period of time. This is quite confusing to explain at times for this is not limited to just one area or one single joint, but how a combination of several joints work together to create a dynamic movement.
I will discuss these drills shortly but it is important to address two other popular forms of morning workouts first. These are walking and Yoga.
Using Walking As Your Morning Workout
If you cannot be bothered getting stuck into a morning routine then going for a quick 10-15 minute walk will be the next best thing. Walking is one of the most under-rated forms of exercise and is something we regularly take for granted.
I remember a few years ago reading a book called the "Gift of Injury" written by Brian Carroll and Dr Stuart McGill. This is a book written like a case study that talks about Brian Carroll who was an elite power-lifter who suffered a severe back injury that almost crippled him. It explains how he rebuilt his body through corrective exercise with the help and guidance of world renowned back pain researcher and scientist Dr Stuart McGill.
There is a part in the book where he refers to the use of an interval walking program during his early stages of rehab that made a big difference to his treatment. Dr McGill prescribed him to walk 15 minutes at a brisk pace with swinging arms 3 times per day. Here is Dr McGill's reasoning for this.
"Walking is the best tool we have in the essential early training of the muscles in the frontal plane. This simple movement engages and exercises the core muscles required to counterbalance a recovering back, and takes some of the load off the rear muscles. Pained individuals tend to carry an unnatural tension in their shoulders. Laxity is required in the shoulders to reduce spine load while walking which is why we encourage a jaunty arm swing to loosen those shoulder muscles as you stride." - Dr Stuart McGill
Brian Carroll also explains in the book himself how this strategy along with several basic exercises were pivotal to his recovery in the stage where his pain was at its worst. This really struck a chord with me at the time, and it was something I put in my memory bank as I was constantly working with people suffering similar symptoms and could see this being a valuable tool to use.
The only problems with using walking is that it neglects any work with the upper body, it is hard to do when the weather is not favourable, and in the winter when it is not as easy to do when it is extremely cold and dark.
Overall, it is a great choice and can be used in combination with the morning workout we will discuss shortly. You can read more about the benefits of walking in this article – Why walking is so great for your core and lower back
The other popular choice of exercises to use in the morning is Yoga.
Why I Do Not Suggest To Use Yoga as Your Morning Workout
While there are several great advantages to using Yoga I am not a fan of using this in the morning straight after waking. Sure, some people will be okay with this and that is fine. However, if you are someone with a stiff lower back this is not a good idea. Part of it has to do with the muscles not being quite strong at this time, but mainly to do with the excessive flexion of the spine that is used in many of the poses.
As discussed earlier the discs in the lower back are extremely vulnerable after sleeping and when combined with excessive flexion of the spine this can be a potential disaster and further exacerbate any back pain you already have.
The healthiest position for the spine to function and where it is in its least stressed position from compressive forces and allows for fluid, efficient movement. In Dr Stuart McGill’s book “Low Back Disorders” they tested several positions of the spine to determine if this was true and his conclusion was neutral was the safest position. The worst position was extreme flexion.
This neutral position is what you should be aiming to achieve with most daily movements to build a strong and healthy spine. This is even more important when we exercise or complete an activity that forces load onto our spine as the compressive forces on the discs and joints is amplified. Your posture and movement strategies determine the load and stress on your joints. The closer you are to a neutral posture, the less stress on your joints and the healthier your body will be.
In addition to compression is shearing forces, which is more accurately described as instability. This is when joints move excessively and begin to create friction and rub against cartilage and other soft tissue causing pain and inflammation. This leads to joint stiffness in an attempt to protect the joint from further damage. Once again finding a way to hold the joints in neutral is the solution for this. This was confirmed by researchers Cholewicki and Panjabi found that limitations in spinal stability led to muscular compensations, fatigue, and pain. They also found that spinal instabilities resulted in degenerative changes due to muscle-activation strategies that are easily disrupted due to the compensation.
While there are tremendous benefits with Yoga with regards to breathing and mental health the risks of using this type of exercise with certain people must be respected. When you consider that statistics show that back pain is the most common injury people see a doctor for this is something many people need to keep in mind.
In 2009 statistics showed that 1 in 6 Australians (16%) reported having serious back problems—that’s over 4 million people!
If you love to use your Yoga routine try to do it later in the morning or afternoon.
Now are finally ready to discuss the exercises to use in your morning workout routine.
The Joints/Muscles You Want to Target with Your Workout
The following exercises are not a random mix of movements to make you feel good, they are specifically chosen for their ability to target joints or muscles that are prone to stiffness, or prone to instability due to weakness.
If you have read any of my other articles about mobility before you will know how I often refer to the joint by joint approach created by Gray Cook and Mike Boyle for this makes it easier to choose the right type of exercise for a specific joint.
What you will see is that every second joint needs mobility, and the other joints need the exact opposite being stability and strength.
Here is how it works.
- Feet - Stability
- Ankle – Mobility*
- Knee - Stability
- Hip – Mobility*
- Lumbar Spine - Stability
- Thoracic Spine – Mobility*
- Scapula - Stability/Mobility
- Gleno-Humeral (shoulder) - Mobility/Stability
From this list the big 3 areas we need to target with regards to mobility are the ankle, hip, and thoracic spine which I have labelled to see more easily. The scapula and gleno-humeral joint is a bit tricky as it really needs both for it is such a unique joint. Trigger points in the neck and shoulders are often a result of issues at those joints.
As for stability the main focus will be with the lumbar spine, knee, and scapula. To address problems at the feet may require additional exercises at times but you can make some good progress by completing the standing exercises in bare-feet.
Okay let’s get started.
The following exercises work best if followed in the order I have placed them for it creates a nice flow from on effect from one exercise to the next.
1: Horse-stance
I have started with this one with the back pain sufferer specifically in mind. This is a highly under-rated exercise and is an excellent way to improve core stability of the lumbar spine, and even the shoulder to some extent.
Positioned in this prone (face down) allows the spine to lengthen and avoid being compressed, while at the same time maximising your stabilizing muscles of the core and shoulder. The hip extension part of the exercise allows you to improve your hip mobility in combination with activation of the important gluteal muscles. This exercise allows you to do work freely with little chance of aggravating the lower back muscles that often comes with other exercises using the legs.
The best part about this exercise with regards to a bulging disc injury is the prone position, for this position allows for gravity to drop the disc away from the sciatic nerve.
Complete 1-2 sets of 10 reps with a very slow tempo.
You can read more about the horse-stance in the article below.
2: Thoracic Rotation
We need thoracic rotation to do the simplest of tasks such as walking, turning to look over your shoulder when reversing the car out the driveway, or looking to cross the street. But because most of us sit too much or do not use our bodies to effectively move the rib cage enough we develop incredible stiffness to this area.
It is important to understand that the mobility of the thoracic spine is vital for the lumbar spine and the shoulder joint to achieve stability. Both of these joints are regularly exposed to injury when the thoracic region becomes stiff and rigid.
Thoracic mobility is always very tough for the neck pain person to work with for they often have compressed the spine so much that it has lost a great deal of its mobility with extension and rotation. Until this is addressed you will never be able to stabilize the head and neck to prevent the ongoing tension and stiffness in the muscles of the neck.
I love to use this exercise as a test as it tells me a lot about where the restriction is hiding exactly. This is also an example of where the test is also a great corrective exercise in its own right. The fact it is so easy to do is an added bonus.
Complete 1-2 sets of 5 reps with a slow tempo.
You can read more about thoracic mobility and see other versions in the article below
3: Hip Extension
While you are still on the floor you can complete another hip stability drill and this one works great for the person with knee pain or hip pain.
This exercise is like the thoracic mobility exercise shown earlier in that it is a great test to use and is also a great corrective exercise. It provides great information as to the stabilisation strategy the client uses with the glutes and pelvis and is a test I use with clients suffering with hip, back or knee problems. You will very easily see the lateral pelvic tilt if there is a weakness in the gluteal and obliques on the opposite side.
You should feel a strong contraction in the glute area in combination with your core bracing the just prior to your lifting the foot off the ground. This is where you often see the person shift to one side before they even lift the foot. This indicates poor stability. It is hard to confirm that it is only the glutes at fault here for it could be several reasons for this. But one thing is for certain is if that happens on this exercise it will be much worse on the more complex standing ones about to come.
It is common for the gluteal muscles to become lengthened (chronically stretched), reducing the tension in the range around hip extension. The bridge or hip extension targets your butt muscles very well in this position.
It is important to perform this exercise as a holding position because this mimics the stabilizing role of the gluteal muscles more closely. Building up the length of time you can position will improve strength-endurance of the gluteals in the inner range position. Be sure to keep breathing throughout. Check where you feel the contraction. If you feel it strongly in the hamstrings or lower back, the gluteals are not doing their share of the work. Focus on squeezing your butt harder to ensure most of the support is coming from them.
If you start to feel the exercise moving out of the gluteals into the hamstrings, and maybe even cramping the hamstrings, it’s time to rest, as this is a sign that your butt is fatigued.
Complete 1-2 sets of 6 reps with a 3-5 second hold.
You can read more about this and other simple floor drills to use for the hips and pelvis in this article – Best exercises for improving hip and pelvic stability
4: Hip Mobility Drills
There are a ton of options I could use here and it just depends on the person what I may prefer to use. Check out the article 10 ways to use hip mobility drills to see which one works best for you.
One of my favourite drills to use is the hip switch shown above.
This is a very unique dynamic version of the popular 90/90 stretch used to improve flexibility of the hip. This is arguably more about stability than mobility as the hip is constantly going into external and internal rotation all while trying to maintain a good postural alignment. This is a lot harder than it looks and I would not use this with people who are suffering with a hip impingement or severe hip alignment problem.
However, it can be a great addition for the person who has improved their mobility already and is in the maintenance stage.
5: Romanian Deadlift / Squat Combo
It should come as no surprise to see me suggest doing Romanian Deadlifts for they are featured in almost every article or video I publish. This is for a very good reason in that it teaches people how to use their hips more effectively and avoid flexing or extending the spine during movement.
You can read more about the Romanian Deadlift in more detail and why it relates to so many lower limb injuries in the article – Why RDL’s are the key to treating hip and back pain injuries
This particular exercise is slightly different however, for it combines the deadlift and squat together in one exercise.
There are three reasons why I like to use this exercise.
- Firstly, it trains the person to adopt a solid foot position that is necessary for improving strength in most lower-body exercises.
- Secondly, you can actively warm-up the muscles supporting the knee and the hip with one exercise.
- Lastly, and arguably most importantly, it teaches a person to understand the different skills and needs associated with squatting and bending.
While the two movements look very similar they are very different in terms of the muscles used and the stability required at the joints of the hip and knee. A greater hip angle creates a hip-hinge bending movement, whereas a greater knee angle creates a squatting movement. Both of these are needed in many activities in daily life so spending time to “groove” the patterns enables the body to become more efficient when it needs to use them.
6: Shoulder Stability / Mobility Drills
Once again there are a ton of exercises I may use here and they will vary depending on the person. Sometimes I may like to use specific stability drills if my shoulder is injured or sore such as the wall slides drill, or a trigger point release tool for the muscles of teres major and infraspinatus.
The shoulder is such an amazing joint in that it has an incredible amount of mobility and is able to perform some incredibly powerful and dynamic movements like serving in tennis or simply throwing a ball. But this awesome mobility comes at a cost, as the stability of the shoulder can be very easily compromised. And when this happens is when injury and pain takes over.
If we lose that stability, we get some extra mobility of the humeral head within the joint, and that begins to pinch some of the structures around it and you eventually end up with common postural problems like the winged scapula that progress to much worse problems such as injuries like a shoulder impingement or rotator cuff tears.
If I am not injured or sore and just want to mobilize the shoulders I might use a simple stick drill for improving mobility of the shoulders.
7: Toe Touch Drill
This last exercise I regularly use this with clients in their 80’s for preventing falls, and people suffering with serious hip or knee injuries, as it helps to restore optimal stability of the pelvis with the single leg stance used in walking.
It also is a great way to train foot stability which up until this point has not been challenged. I like to use this as an assessment tool with every client I meet on their first day, and especially with people suffering lower limb injuries or walking impairments. The reason for this is, it exposes mobility restrictions and weaknesses that are often hidden in other tests, helping me to design a corrective program that addresses these faults.
The fact it does not require much strength or coordination is another unique feature of this exercise that makes it a great addition to any morning workout routine.
This is very important to remember when working with elderly clients, neurologically impaired people, or people with significant injury and pain. Any exercise that requires a fair degree of strength to be completed correctly, may compromise the result of the test if movement and stability are what you are trying to assess. What the exercise loses in strength development, it gains in coordination and reflex stability. And it is often the lack of coordination and stability that is the underlying cause of many balance or lower limb problems in the first place.
For these reasons it is a great exercise for falls prevention with older adults as much as it provides some great foot and lower limb stability for injury prevention and rehabilitation.
You can read more about the toe touch drill and see several progressions to try in this article – Why the toe touch drill is my favourite stability exercise
Don’t Underestimate the Value of Using Morning Exercises to your Mental Health
Lastly, one very important part about exercise in the morning is the benefit to your mental health and well-being. We know that exercise can boost our mental health. It helps us become more socially active, it boosts our confidence and if you are working out a gym or outdoors around other people it provides an opportunity to meet people. These are all great things in helping us to establish and maintain social connections.
Starting your day off on the right foot is an excellent way to keep your mental health in check.
(insert video)
Lots of studies show that the more someone exercises, the less likely they are to have depression. Yes, people may not experience depression because they exercise. But it’s also quite possible that people don’t exercise because they are depressed.
An article by Brad Stulberg examined the results of exercise with depression to see if there was a correlation with exercise preventing depression in people who were active but with no symptoms of depression. In all there were 49 such studies that followed 267,000 people and included different types of exercise.
They found that exercise reduced the chances someone would experience depression by between 17 and 41 percent! This is a very large number when you consider how many people it observed across several countries, ages, and sexes.
They concluded,
“Put simply: exercise helps prevent depression. Just because you exercise doesn’t mean you won’t ever become depressed, but it certainly reduces the chances that you will.”
I remember reading the best-selling book Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod many years ago about this very concept and how important it was to use exercise in the morning to help you live your best life and unlock your true potential in life. While exercise is not the only part of his morning routine it does make up a big part of the success of his program. If you are not sure about getting up earlier to fit in your workout and whether it is worth the effort check out this book and I am positive you will change your mind.
Do You Want More Help?
For more specific programs for general fitness, various injuries, sports and even older adults methods I encourage you to get our Little Black Book Of Training Secrets book below. This has over 100 detailed programs with exercises, sets, reps, rest and tempo all done for you and broken into specific chapters to make it easy to reference what you need. The ultimate tool and resource for you to get the most out of your training.
Click here or the image below to get your copy.
Summary
These exercises are not the only ones you can use as there are many others I could have included instead but this gives you some great ideas of how to structure a quick and simple morning routine that will help you to get moving for the day ahead.
Trust me when I say your body will love you for using these exercises and you will not see these as a chore but something to look forward to for they make you feel good. As discussed earlier the Japanese have been using this for over 100 years and see this as a daily ritual that is essential to their health. I think if many of us followed this simple philosophy many of the chronic injuries would be prevented and many older adults would be able to preserve their ability to function better later in life.
For more ideas and information on specific topics I may not have covered in detail be sure to check out our INDEX PAGE on the website that has over 300 of our best articles. These are all sorted into categories for quick reference so you can find what you are after more easily. You can also subscribe to our FREE fortnightly newsletter to stay up to date with all of our latest tips and training methods by clicking here.
If you live in Melbourne and feel you need specific help with your exercise program please feel free to reach out to me for help and we can set you up with your individualised program.
About The Author
Nick Jack is owner of No Regrets Personal Training and has over 18 years’ experience as a qualified Personal Trainer, Level 2 Rehabilitation trainer, CHEK practitioner, and Level 2 Sports conditioning Coach. Based in Melbourne Australia he specializes in providing solutions to injury and health problems for people of all ages using the latest methods of assessing movement and corrective exercise.
References:
- Built From Broken - By Scott Hogan
- Functional Anatomy of the Pelvis and the Sacroiliac Joint - By John Gibbons
- Muscle testing & function - By Kendall, McCreary, Provance, Rogers, Romani
- The Vital Glutes - By John Gibbons
- 8 Steps To Pain Free Back - By Esther Gokhale
- Shoulder & Scapula Injuries in Athletes - By Chris Mallac
- Movement - By Gray Cook
- Corrective Exercise Solutions - by Evan Osar
- Back Pain Mechanic - by Dr Stuart McGill
- Diagnosis & Treatment Of Movement Impairment Syndromes - By Shirley Sahrman
- Low Back Disorders - by Dr Stuart McGill
- Ultimate Back Fitness & Performance - by Dr Stuart McGill
- Core Stability - by Peak Performance
- Athletic Body in Balance - by Gray Cook
- Anatomy Trains - by Thomas Meyers
- Motor Learning and Performance - By Richard A Schmidt and Timothy D Lee
- Assessment & Treatment Of Muscle Imbalance - By Vladimir Janda
- How To Eat, Move & Be Healthy by Paul Chek
- Scientific Core Conditioning Correspondence Course - By Paul Chek
- Advanced Program Design - By Paul Chek