You know that old person feeling? Yeah you do. You wake up in the morning, and everything hurts. You don’t want to turn your head, stand up, or even open your eyes sometimes.
Ever think some variation of this thought? “I hope I die in my sleep so that there’s one less morning of going through this shit.”
…Just me?
As you could have guessed, there are some ways you can mitigate the pain and discomfort of the morning. Not only that, but there are some very real physical reasons you feel tight and sore in the morning…none of them involve you dying.
In this article we are going to walk through those reasons for feeling stiff in the morning and offer a daily fix for you to make a part of your morning routine. Also, a free ebook to kick start your morning AND guidance on how to be one of the first to get your hands on the new Mighty Fit Plan below!
Standing in formation is the opposite of what your body needs in the morning.
(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Kregg York)
Why does my body hate me?
Ever hear the saying “Motion is lotion“?
That’s because it is.
When we move, a lot is going on deep inside us, and when we are still or sleeping for hours at a time, a lot is not going on. It’s normal.
You can think of movement like wringing out a towel to get the water out. When you move, fluid is excreted from the tissue surrounding your joints to literally lubricate them.
In the morning, you don’t have any of that lubrication going on. So you feel like crap until you start getting the juices flowing.
We’re talking about physical stress here, but what we’re talking about can help manage your entire allostatic load, just like resistance training.
Next is the part where I talk about morning routines/movement.
Mornings are tough. They’re even tougher if you fight your need to move.
(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Joe Harwood)
Culturally the West hates itself
I was stationed in Japan for three years. In that time I visited/worked in about a dozen countries. Do you know what a lot of Asian people do that I rarely see at 0600 in the good ole’ USofA?
They move.
On my drive to the formerly named MCAS Iwakuni, I would drive by a Japanese barber doing his morning calisthenics on his porch every morning. Then when I got on base, I witnessed dozens of Japanese construction workers (working on the expansion of the base) in perfect unit alignment doing a warm-up routine before they started any construction activities for the day.
Fast forward to walking into the office and interacting with my fellow Marines, some of which were still groggy from rolling out of their rack 10 minutes prior (if there wasn’t unit PT), others who sported coffee mugs that read aggressive sayings like “Don’t f*@k with me until I’ve had my coffee.”
Coffee is a great pre-workout, by the way.
Obviously, that wasn’t everyone, but the military is an elite cross-section of society. If that’s going on in the Marine Corps, just imagine what the Air Force is like, or better yet a small-town accounting firm in Indiana (I see you Phil).
Point being that culturally The United States sucks at waking up in the morning and does little to help with that morning soreness.
It’s our duty to get a little better each day. That’s what you signed up for…
(U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)
Side benefit of waking up early is getting to enjoy sunrises like these.
(Photo by Capt. Amit Patel)
Step 1: Drink
Synovial fluid is that stuff that lubricates your joints. It’s mostly water that transports a bunch of other valuable molecules to your joints and ensures you move smoothly.
Drink some water. Drink it before your coffee. Drink it religiously.
When you wake up, thank your Creator for the gift of another day and give thanks for access to clean drinking water.
Don’t be that backwards thinking jacka…errr person that says things like: “I don’t drink water. Fish have sex in there!”
That’s something a child who learned about sex too young would say.
You lose body water throughout the night due to breathing, sweating, and peeing (or prepping to piss in the morning). You need to restore it if you want step two to be even more effective.
You don’t need to jump out of a plane. You just need to dedicate 5-10 minutes of your time.
(Army photo/John Pennell)
Step 2: Move
The great American Poet Christopher Brian “Ludacris” Bridges was talking about you first thing in the morning when he said:
“Move b*@$h, get out the way”
Although I don’t necessarily agree with the negative self-talk, Luda has a point. If you want to feel good, be successful, and healthy, you need to move in the morning. Help yourself get out of your own way.
Now that you’ve restored your synovial fluid with your water, your body will have an even easier time greasing up your joints and spine to make you feel like your limber self.
Besides, just making it more comfortable to live movement helps transport all the cellular workers of your body to decrease inflammation (reduce soreness) and increase recovery (that means you’ll be able to train harder and longer sooner.)
Running to get the new Mighty Fit Plan like…
(U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Jennifer Shick)
Congratulations
You’re now better than the 80% of Americans that don’t get the recommended weekly dose of activity.
You can always do more, don’t let your exercise for the day stop here. Remember that momentum is a powerful thing. If you start the day with three big wins every morning by:
- making your bed (like ADM McCraven told you to),
- rehydrating,
- and getting 5-10 minutes of movement in, then the rest of the day is just gravy.
Check out my morning routine ebook here for specific recommendations on morning movement.
Don’t forget to join the Mighty Fit Facebook group!
A new Mighty Fit Plan is coming out at the start of the new year, email me at michael@composurefitness.com to be one of the first to get your hands on it!
My email is michael@composurefitness.com
