Morning Boost
You are going to start a new habit of waking up 20
minutes earlier than usual. You are going to make
room in your day for a little early morning exercise.
This is not a full workout. It is just a jumpstart to get
your day going. Most people hate to lose even a few
minutes of sleep, but I promise you that this one is
going to create more energy than it takes away.
When you step out of bed every morning, step
directly into some comfortable clothes that are good
for a little activity. The best metabolism boost is
simply to go for a walk. If the weather allows, step
out your front door and start walking. Just walk
around the equivalent of a single city block - about
15 minutes.
During your walk, look at the sky, breath the
morning air, listen to the birds. Make a connection
with the world around you. Soak in the richness of a
world that has existed for billions of years. Reach out
for some of the peace of this ancient world. Notice
how relaxed and in-tune it is. Include some of that
peace in your own soul.
In addition to being a spiritual commune with
nature, this mild session will jumpstart your
metabolism. The machinery that converts stored
fat and calories into energy and muscle will start
working for you immediately.
When you return from your walk around the
neighborhood, you are going to finish up with a
few calisthenics. These exercises do not require any
equipment and can be done in 4 minutes.
Tabata Time
Dr. Izumi Tabata published a research study in
which he showed that, even for conditioned athletes,
alternating short periods of intense exercise with
short recovery breaks provided more improvements
in cardiovascular health than longer periods of
exertion at medium levels. This led to the creation
of the Tabata workout craze. The simplest of these is
done in just 4 minutes.
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