This 5-minute workout will turn you into a morning person

If you’re feeling sluggish when you first wake up, and it takes you a while to warm up into the day, just throw out that coffee and forget about the snooze button on your alarm – scientists have proven that just a five-minute fat-burning morning workout routine sets the tone for your entire day.

Really? Only five minutes?

Yes, even five minutes of aerobic exercise is enough to make a lasting impact on your health. This 2013 study from the University of Utah focused on the amount of time that one participates in high-intensity exercise, and their research showed that even if you do little spurts of exercise throughout the day, it can still be an effective method to lose weight, burn fat, add muscle tone, and put a little pep in your step.

In particular, the study notes that both women and men who added “short bursts” of “high-intensity activities” into their routines at various moments throughout the day showed a noticeable decrease in their total BMI in comparison to the control group.

For women especially, this method seems to work wonders. The number of calories burned during these short and sweet bursts of exercise, the study notes, “allowed the women to weigh about 1/2 pound less than their non-active counterparts.” For both genders, the obesity rate was substantially lower for those who engaged in these “quickie workouts.”

This other 2013 study from the Obesity Society adds that small bits of exercise can also affect your appetite along with your weight. In the study, one group of participants who were considered obese participated in one hour of exercise, while another group did 12 spurts of five-minute workouts throughout their day. It was shown that both groups had similarly suppressed appetites at the end of the study as indicated by certain proteins in the gut.

And if five minutes is too long for you, good news – just one minute of intense exercise can change your body as well. This 2016 study notes that one minute of hardcore cardio within a 10-minute routine of anything from walking to elliptical training can lower your blood sugar and increase your heart health just as much as a 50-minute workout can.

Heck, even seconds-long intense workouts, if done right, can make a significant impact on your health.

But I hate mornings!

Even if you’re not a morning person, you should be interested in morning exercise; recently, research states that it’s more effective than evening exercise for weight loss, the heightening of endorphins, and mood stabilization.

A 2015 study from Sanford Research surveyed obese adults from South Dakota, and prescribed them a workout regimen – of the participants, about 40% did not respond to exercise, and no weight was lost. Confused, scientists re-examined the data years later, and found a pattern: the time of day that one exercised determined whether or not they’d lose weight.

Weight loss was shown to be significantly greater in those who exercised in the morning as opposed to the evening. It’s hypothesized that this is due to one’s energy level; you’ve expended more energy throughout the day already, which consequently leaves you with less energy for an intense workout.

So how do I do it?

Fitness gurus suggest that the best way to improve cardiovascular health, lose weight and maintain a higher energy level is to combine weight training with cardio. This five-minute routine does just that – though if you have any joint or heart issues, it might be best to consult a doctor before you try any workout, especially this one.

All you’ll need is a cheap yoga mat, and if you’re really devoted to the fitness cause, a nice set of dumbbells. However, dumbbells are a key part of any solid workout, but they’re an expensive investment, especially for those only looking to sweat it up for five minutes at a time.

Luckily, there’s a long list of solid alternatives to pricey fitness equipment, like a milk jug, canned goods, books, ankle weights, and much more.

If you’ve got all your equipment and you’re ready to get started, you should know that these four exercises are to be performed on a circuit, meaning that you start with the first, go to the fourth, and restart with the first one again.

The four exercises are:

1. Dumbbell front squats / wall sits

2. Knee highs

3. Bent over lifts

4. Side plank with leg raise

You’ll be doing each exercise for 45 seconds, then resting for 15 seconds in between each exercise, and ideally repeating the circuit until your five minutes are up. Good luck!