Alarm buzz’n at 430am means I’ve only got 2hrs before the madness that is a being a fire fighter/ paramedic in a big city begins. It sucks having to force yourself outta bed so early, but this is the life I chose to lead and I’m happy to live it. It still blows though. I would much rather go by the internal 24 clock nature gave us with the circadian rhythm cycle. ( In a nut shell, our circadian rhythm helps regulate our bodies response to light and dark. Sun rise = get your ass up. Sunset = lights out. )
The golden badges at the station kind of have an issue with their guys showing up 3 hrs late…kind of.
Since my internal clock is a little screwed up when it comes to sleeping/waking, I need that extra jolt of the natural “espresso” that comes with an early morning training and/or joint mobility (JM) session. I had just finished a hard session with the kettlebells the previous day when I came up with the following JM session. It involves doing 3 basic body weighted movements;
(1) Squats
(2) Hindu Push Up to Pumps
(3) Get Up ” High Bridges”.
That’s it! Reps, sets, numbers is completely up to you. You can combine them all into one movement or break it up for reps. Be creative, but stay mobile and strong….especailly after a hard session the day before.
Regardless of what you come up with, you’re going to finish feeling like you can take on a grizzly or a very temperamental bunny. IMHO, they provide a great deal of movement and mobility in pretty much every joint in your body. (no or limited rest will get the blood flowing as well)
Here’s a workout I did the other morning that had me feeling like a warrior all day. I needed to sleep in a bit so I had about 10-12min to get in a session. The only rest I took was the transitions b/t movements. Got the blood moving like a freak’n cheetah!
Descending Morning Mobility Ladder
1( 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 ) of Squat->Hindu Push Up to Pumps->High Bridges
- 10 squats, 10 hindupu2pumps, 10 high bridges
- 9 squats, 9 hindupu2pumps, 9 high bridges
- 8, squats, 8 hindupu2pumps, 8 high bridges
- ……..you get the point.
Give it a shot and let me know what you come up with.
Primal Fire Gym 