3 Moves to Wake Up Sleepy, Tight Muscles

The workout below is for Day 3 of the Just Enough Workout, a four-week workout plan. Today’s routine is pretty great on its own, but you can also check out the full programright here or browse the calendarhere. If you’d like to sign up to receive daily emails featuring these workouts, you can do thathere.

After yesterday’s cardio routine, we’re back in strength mode with a full-body routine that pays special attention to your shoulders and your hamstrings (the muscles in the back of your legs).

If you’re looking for Just Enough Movement today, the three-move circuit we have on tap is a great morning wakeup for tight, sleepy muscles: The bodyweight good morning lengthens your hamstrings and mobilizes your lower back; the bird-dog activates your core; and the inchworm dynamically stretches your hamstrings while firing up the small, stabilizing muscles in your shoulders as you extend into your high plank. Go ahead and try one round in the morning, and intersperse another one or two throughout your workday when you need to get your blood flowing. Or block off 10 minutes and do all three rounds at once!

If you’re feeling something more intense today, Just a Little More Movement builds on those same patterns, but offers additional spice: You’ll add a dumbbell to your good morning to challenge your hamstrings and glutes; a push-up to your inchworm to get your shoulders and chest working even harder; and a crunch to your bird-dog to hit your obliques, the muscles on the side of your abdomen. Your workout circuit will also include an overhead press to directly target your shoulders, and a glute bridge to make your hamstrings and butt work even more.

Feel free to work solely in one option or the other, or to mix and match. For instance, you could do one round of Just Enough Movement to wake up your muscles, add in one round of Just a Little More Movement for a challenge, and scale back to Just Enough for a final round to bring your body back to baseline.

Just Enough Movement Directions:

• Complete each exercise for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds.
• After completing all three exercises, rest for up to 60 seconds. That’s 1 round.
• Complete 2–3 rounds.

Just Enough Movement Exercises:

• Bodyweight Good Morning
• Bird-Dog (Alternating Sides)
• Inchworm

Just a Little More Movement Directions:

Complete each exercise for your chosen work/rest interval:

• 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
• 40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest
• 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest

After all of your exercises are done, rest for up to 60 seconds. That’s 1 round. Complete 3–5 rounds.

Just a Little More Movement Exercises:

• Good Morning (Medium Dumbbell Set)
• Overhead Press (Light Dumbbell Set)
• Bird-Dog Crunch (Alternating Sides)
• Glute Bridge (Medium Dumbbell Set)
• Inchworm to Push-Up

Exercise Directions: