My wife is one those people who wake up and have a cup of coffee before even brushing their teeth. Only lately I convinced her to have something to eat in the morning.

I don’t know about you, but I need to feel completely awake and energetic before I go about my day, and although I like coffee, for me it’s far from enough…

The first thing I do after I get up is brush my teeth, of course, but then I don’t just wash my face, but actually get my whole head, neck and shoulders wet. If you don’t want to take a morning shower, I recommend this little ritual.

The next thing I do is have at least half a liter (2 cups) of water. When I first started doing this it wasn’t so easy, but with time I’ve developed a few tricks that make it no less than fun. (For example, I mix the cold water from the fridge with water from the tap, so they’re not too cold.)

Up until a couple of years ago I was a taxi driver. When it comes to health and fitness it meant two things. One, that I would have to get some exercise in order to stay in shape and avoid gaining weight. And two, that I would have to do something to raise my energy level quickly right after I wake up, before I go driving.

I used to wake up at around 6:00 AM, put on my sneakers, take a small bottle of water and go out for a walk. I would walk around the neighborhood, just 5-10 minutes. Sometimes I would spin my arms while walking, sometimes I’d run for a minute or two, whatever I felt like doing. Then I’d do a few minutes of warm up and stretching exercises. Next, I’d have breakfast, usually a bowl of cereal with milk, then a cup of coffee and off to work.

These days my job involves intense physical effort, at least 4 days a week, and I’m usually off to work at around 5:30 AM, so I don’t need a lot of exercise in the morning. (In fact, I don’t really need to workout at all. My job keeps me in shape and believe it or not, I love it!)

Still, I usually do some really simple in-door warm up and stretching – like spinning my arms, bringing my ears to the shoulders and shoulders to ears, and best of all – bending down trying to touch the floor with my hands, while keeping the knees locked (It may have a name for it… ). When you do it you can feel your whole body stretching. It’s great.

By the way, whatever stretching exercise you do, remember that when the muscles are “cold” (like right after you wake up) it’s important to hold the stretching position for at at least 30 seconds to make it effective. When they are warm, like after some exercise, it’s about 10 seconds.

After the stretching I usually eat some breakfast. I’ve found a great granola mix (with almonds and nuts and no sugar) that I like to have with a bit of soy milk and honey. (I DO drink regular milk, but I’ve lately reduced the dairy in my diet to a minimum. I’ll tell you more about that some day.)

On my days off I need a bit more movement to get me going, otherwise I’d spend the whole day sleepy, like many people do. I usually go through the same routine, but just add an exercise that I’ve lately learned to appreciate – the squats. Two sets of 5-10 squats with some stretching in-between and afterwards will get your blood pumping!

That’s about it.

What about you? What do you do to raise your energy level in the morning?

Everyone knows that regular exercise is a necessary part of living a healthy lifestyle, but despite being fully aware of the benefits of exercising, few people actually do enough of it.

There are various reasons (excuses?) for this, but they can all be overcome if you are really serious about improving your health, fitness and / or body shape…

If you’ve tried and failed in the past to stick to your exercise targets, then maybe now is the time to seek assistance in the form of a personal trainer.

These exercise professionals will look at why you have not succeeded in the past, and will come up with a fitness regime that will help you achieve what you want to achieve.

If any of the following apply to you, then hiring a personal trainer is a step that you should seriously consider…

• You struggle to motivate yourself to exercise 5 days a week.
• You have become bored of exercising.
• You feel uncomfortable exercising in the presence of others at gyms.
• You do not know how to use exercise equipment.
• You are concerned that exercising after a recent injury, or illness, is not safe.
• You are training for a specific event, such as a marathon, triathlon, or even a fun run.

If you are still unconvinced that you need a personal trainer, maybe that is because you are unsure what exactly it is that they do. There is a common misconception that a personal trainer is just like a gym teacher, who will shout at you and make you do hundreds of press-ups. However, this is not what personal trainers do at all.

A personal trainer is like an exercise buddy, but unlike just having a friend with you, they will, in addition to giving you moral support, do the following…

• Set achievable goals for you to achieve within a set period of time.
• Create a fitness plan based upon your experience, abilities and potential.
• Teach you exercises, and show you how to use equipment, that you’re not yet aware of.
• Improve your technique in relation to the basic exercises that you already know about.
• Ensure that you are exercising at a level and intensity that both pushes you, but that is also within a safe limit.

Here are a few good tips he gives on How to Be a More Energetic Leader »