Tip The Ultimate Morning Routine for Lifters Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip The Ultimate Morning Routine for Lifters Want to move better and feel better all damn day for the rest of your life Do this short simple routine every morning by Tom Morrison June 27, 2020August 8, 2022 Tags It Hurts Fix It, Training Moving first thing in the morning was a necessity when I was recovering from a back injury. Over time it became part of my routine. Nowadays I think, "Why on earth wasn't I doing this back when I started training?" No one seems to place much importance on morning movement, but the benefits are insane: You feel and move better for the rest of the day. You get to know your body, discovering tightness and soreness before you get to the gym. You can actively and regularly work on your limitations. You recover faster from workouts. You keep on top of your posture. Your muscles work better. That's handy. Your gym warm-ups don't need to be as long. You counteract the effects of training heavy all the time. Your joints stop hating you. Does a morning routine need to involve putting on spandex and getting on a yoga mat for an hour of crazy backbends and splits? No. I'm talking about the most unimpressive, uncool stuff. Stuff you could pretty much do with your eyes still closed while half asleep... yet still incredibly effective. Movement options are endless, but the principles for making a good daily morning routine are: Relax and move your neck Open your upper back Rotate your shoulders Stretch your sides Go through deep hip flexion and extension Rotate your hips Work on your balance We go through a few examples in the video, but you can swap in any of your own exercises that you feel benefit you. Being consistent is more important than using a fancy variety of drills. Do it every day. You'll start to get a feeling for what your body needs and start to notice if something feels different from your left to right side. Then you can start adding extra reps or extra time to the side that's falling behind, avoiding imbalances and injuries before they even happen! How long you spend doing this each morning is up to you. Five minutes, ten minutes, whatever. Just don't make it a big ordeal that you can't be bothered doing. It has to be achievable and easy. Turn it into a habit over a few weeks. Moving better will just be a normal part of your day. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training The Eight Keys - Part 3 Dave gives some great tips about how to overcome weaknesses or sticking points in the squat, deadlift, and bench press that should aid the bodybuilder or athlete in general. Training Dave Tate June 20 Training Tip Do This 2 Minute Drill Before Every Workout Awaken the nervous system before training to recruit more muscle fibers. Here's how. Tips, Training Chad Waterbury December 17 Training Tip Train at a Higher Level With Tactical Breathing Known as box breathing in military circles, this technique can also be used by lifters to improve performance. Check it out. Athletic Performance, Cortisol Control, Metcon, Tips, Training Dr John Rusin June 14 Training Training Advice for Generation Ent You're punks. All of ya'. All of ya' under 25 or so, that is. Mike Mahler calls you "Generation Ent," for Entertainment, meaning you need to be constantly entertained. Well stand by to be entertained, in a manner of speaking. Training Mike Mahler July 21