Has it ever happened with you, that you feel tired after waking up? Although, it is quite common and obvious to feel tired by the end of a long exhausting day. Whatever be the case, if tired, most of us crave for a good and relaxing bath or sleep depending on our mood and situation.

Do you know instead of going into the resting mode, you could opt for various workouts to instantly feel energized? Needless to say, it would benefit you in the long run too. Through this article, let us look for various workouts that we could incorporate in our daily lives to help enhance the energy levels, leading to better physical and mental aspects.

Exercises that don't require too much effort or equipment:

• Walking: This is the simplest workout, possible for people of almost every age group, and only requires a pair of good walking shoes. It can be done during any time of the day, and both indoors and outdoors.

However, walking outdoors during early morning hours can provide exposure to the morning sun and fresh unpolluted air which instantly freshens you up.

An average 20-30 minutes' walk can do wonders for your health by helping you maintain a healthy weight, strengthening your muscles and bones and making you lose fat especially in the problem areas such as the stomach, thighs or waist. Both slow and brisk walking is good, especially if it is consistent.

On a psychological level, walking could help reduce stress and increase self-esteem. Regular walking could also help improve sleep quality, regulate blood pressure & cholesterol and also improve the overall immunity of the person. Owing to all these benefits, the energy levels of the body improve drastically.

• Jumping jacks: As children, most of us would have indulged in jumping jacks, and would have loved it! Why not practice it as adults too? It is also another simple exercise that offers cardiovascular health benefits and can also help tone your deltoid or calf muscles. It will automatically increase your heart rate and make you energized.

• Squats: This kind of workout requires energy and also improves the overall energy within the body by making use of multiple muscles. If you are new to squatting, you would feel the difficulty in getting into the pose and staying in it for long.

It puts pressure on the knees, calves and even feet, since it uses up a lot of energy. But, once you gradually increase the intensity and time to hold the pose, you eventually understand how energetic you feel after practising squats.

• Pilates: On the days that you are feeling low on energy, you could undoubtedly practice Pilates, which is a fantastic way to make you energetic.

The breathing patterns help oxygenate the entire body, and thus energize the chest, thereby enhancing the breathing, stretching the front area of the neck for better thyroid production, and working on hips to relieve stress.

• Yoga: The relaxing techniques along with focused and deep breathing in yoga benefit both the mind and the body. Also, the regulated blood circulation through the body helps tackle fatigue. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle involving lack of physical movement, and feel lethargic all the time, then yoga can help you combat the lethargy.

When we are seated most of the time, the energy levels in the body tend to become stagnant and get stuck in the spine, leading to many problems such as low energy, painful back, etc.

A lot of Yoga poses help counter these problems by energizing the central nervous system, since they involve elongation of the spine, leading to release of the stored up energy in the entire body.

Surya Namaskar or sun salutation, camel pose, warrior II, bow pose, upward facing dog, headstand, etc. are some of the most popular poses in yoga that are delightfully able to energize an individual.

Surya Namaskar is a full-body workout which instantly relaxes and energizes the whole body. You could start with as less as 2 cycles of Surya Namaskar, and go up to the number that your body allows.

Few workouts which require an environment or equipment:

• Swimming: A swim can easily help improve your energy or in waking you up! The contact with water in addition to swimming related laps is a wonderful way to energize.
• Sports: Playing any sport of your choice could help uplift your mood and energy, since you would get the required exercise while enjoying what you like. The chances of you getting bored and skipping this workout mid-way diminish because you would be doing an activity that you love, and your body and mind will accordingly respond.
• Cycling: Regular cycling has multiple benefits such as it can help reduce stress and depression, enhance memory, improve sleep, improve posture, strengthen bones and joint-mobility, increase cardiovascular health, etc. In a nutshell, all these advantages can result in making you an overall better person, happy and relaxed, and its direct consequence is the surge of energy in your body.
• Gym: The various equipment in the gym are helpful in improving cardiovascular health, muscle-building, and to shape up the body in a healthy way, leading to reduction in stress and increase in energy levels altogether.

Happiness = Energy = Happiness

The relevance of each of the workouts mentioned above is in terms of the overall health benefits that they provide - Mental & Physical both!

Any workout that you opt for will help you reduce the stress hormones such as cortisol and increase the production of chemicals in the brain called endorphins, which are natural painkillers and mood-elevators.

The happier you are, the more energetic you will be. If you are sad or stressed out, you are bound to feel tired and lethargic.

Few tips to keep up the joy and energy of a workout

• Choose a workout that you love: If you decide to go for a workout that you don't like, or feel obligated to do, you would certainly lose the steam and would end up getting more tired. Instead, switch to a new one that you love.
• Focus on yourself: Lack of focus can lead you to lose interest and your body would be able to feel it and get bored and lethargic. Keep up the focus for best results!
• Cheer for yourself: Be a self-motivator and keep cheering up for each and every milestone that you achieve during the workout. A happy mind would certainly lead to an energetic body to take up more challenges.