Upper Leg Stretch
Start your morning by stretching out your hamstring muscles. Lay down on the floor with your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Take hold of your right upper leg and pull it up toward your chest. Do this slowly until you feel the muscle starting to stretch. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Return your leg to its original position and do this five to seven times. Then repeat the exercise on your left leg.
Heel raises
Stand up straight and make sure you are not within reach of any walls. Put your arms at your sides and press up on your toes so that your heels are off the ground. Hold the position for two seconds and return your heels to the ground. Repeat the exercise 10 times. Take a one-minute break and then do the set again.
Walking
Start walking in your neighborhood or on a treadmill. Walking on a daily basis for as little as 15 minutes per day can improve strength, endurance, circulation and mental acuity. Walk at a reasonable pace, swing your arms and concentrate on finishing your walk with pace and not slowing down.
Core Exercise
You don't have to lift heavy weights in order to get stronger. To finish your morning routine, sit on an exercise ball and find your balance point. Take a 3-lb. dumbbell in each hand and hold them at your sides. Raise the one in your right hand to shoulder height and then return it to your side. Repeat with your left hand. Do 10 repetitions with each arm. Take a one-minute break and repeat the set again. This will help you regain lost strength in your arms and your core muscles in your upper body.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
