5 exercises to do while your coffee brews

Mornings are rough. You wake up with the toddler’s sweaty feet cradling your face after a night of broken sleep and nothing feels right until you get the coffee into the face hole, stat. It’s tempting to stare blankly into space (and maybe catch a few extra z’s) after you flip the switch and wait for the coffee maker to work its magic but instead, why not challenge yourself to try these five simple exercises to start your morning with a little zip?

1. Jog in place. Or to the dishwasher to get a clean mug instead of doing your typical zombie shuffle. Make sure you’re lifting your knees up high and moving at a fast enough rate to get your heart pumping. Jog for 30 seconds.

2. Jumping jacks. Keep that heart rate up by busting out 20 jumping jacks. Stay light on your toes and keep your pace up to keep your momentum going.

3. Drop it like it’s hot. Plant your feet a little more than hip-width apart and squat, making sure you squeeze your glutes as you stand up. Be gentle with yourself and start with 10 squats, adding more as you do more rounds.

4. Reach for the sky. Stand on your toes and reach your arms up over your head as high as you can. Keep your legs, bum, and ab muscles engaged and hold the stretch for 15 seconds.

5. Front bend. Drop back down to be flat on your feet and slowly bend at the waist. Gently hang your arms down and let them hang heavy in your shoulder sockets. Breathe deeply and hang out in your forward fold for 15 seconds (added bonus: you get to enjoy the smell of your freshly brewed coffee!).

If your coffee hasn’t finished brewing by the time you finish your five exercises, start from the top and do another round (you get extra smug points the more rounds you do.) You don’t need to do a hard-core workout before you’ve caffeinated, but starting your morning with a bit of exercise will get the blood pumping and will hopefully give you a little extra get-up-and-go.