We’ve talked a lot about the importance of establishing healthy habits, and even have a free 7-day email kickstart for healthy habit change… One of the big habits we’ve established over the years is our morning core, strength and yoga routines.
Habit change is hard. But the morning core and yoga routine is great because it ensures that you’ve done some strength + mobility every day. It also adds up: 15 minutes every day = almost 2 hrs per week = 100 hrs per year of mobility and strength. Holy $hit.
My best advice? If you’re new to it, start small. Like, 30 seconds of planks and 2 minutes of super basic sun salutations. Gradually work your way up. But once you work up to around 15 minutes, I would stop there. Don’t make it so long that the second life gets in the way, it becomes unmanageable. Sure, some days you can go long and call it your full on strength workout for the day, and on days I’m doing a 6AM yoga class, I skip the routine in favor of that. But the core, basic routine that you do EVERY DAMN DAY should be short enough that it’s do-able even on a hectic workday. I think a lot of people make the mistake of going long thinking that’s going to be better, but creating something totally unmanageable. If you find yourself a) bailing on it because you’re busy or b) tired/skipping your regular workout because this kicks your ass, it’s time to dial back. This isn’t your main workout for the day, it’s just a wakeup.
OK, here are all the links and videos you could possibly need to get your own routine started:
My actual morning core and yoga routine:
- 5 min of plank variations
- Bridges
- Clamshells
- Vsits
- A quick yoga flow with pigeon, pushups and lunges. It’s simple, efficient and hits all the spots I need to focus on mobility-wise!
(Hear more about Peter and my routines on this episode of The Consummate Athlete Podcast)
Yoga for Cyclists
A 30 minute yoga flow designed for cyclists
A short AM Yoga Flow:
Another short AM yoga flow:
Anywhere Strength + Core:
(doing 6-10 reps of each exercise 3-4 times through)
For Bike Skills:
Cycling coach Peter Glassford has a huge number of simple bike skills tutorials on his YouTube channel that you can do in a backyard or nearby park—no equipment or trails required!
