Joe De Sena’s Daily Exercise Routine

I’m religious about my workout. Every morning I wake up around 4:45 a.m., drink a few room-temperature glasses of water, and get right to work on my 15 daily exercises. I do fifty reps minimum of each, but if you only start out at ten or twenty, that’s fine too. The goal is to keep myself injury free, flexible, and mobile. Do these religiously and you will be bulletproof.

As a bonus, when time allows, (most of the week) I add these seven exercises

We should all wake up and live by the Spartan philosophy. Push harder, do more with less, be healthy. Don’t be defeated by a snooze button. Tell yourself I’m just going to do a few reps…then that will lead to a few more and before you know it you're done. Take a cold shower if you can’t get motivated.

Purposeful suffering builds resistance and something we call obstacle immunity, so when things get really tough, you won’t quit when it really counts.

Resist the temptation to have breakfast before getting your workout in. There are advantages to exercising on an empty stomach and I’ve been testing it for 30 years. According to Harvard Medical School, metabolic changes from exercising in a fasting state help the body use insulin more effectively, which may delay or prevent diabetes.

Here are the 15 daily exercises I do every day from start to finish:

Jumping Jacks. You should know this. Feet together, arms to your side. Jump up and throw your arms above your head.

Back Stretches. On your back, bring your left knee to your left shoulder and pull as hard as you can. Switch to your right and do the same.

Leg Hamstring Stretches. On your back, legs straight in the air. Touch your nose to your left knee, then your right knee. Repeat.

Windshield Wiper. On your back, legs straight in the air. Swing them from the left to the right, resembling a windshield wiper.

Open-Hip Situps. On your back, feet together and hands over your head. Come up like you’re doing a sit up, but open your hips with your elbows.

Meditation Pose. Left ankle on right knee, right ankle on the ground. Arms over your head, lean to the left and touch your nose with your knee to stretch back and obliques. Switch to the right ankle on left knee with left ankle on the ground. Do the same.

Downward Dog Kicks. Assume downward dog position. Kick left leg back with right heel down, kick right leg back with left heel down. Repeat.

Lunge Stretch. Go into a lunge position. Left knee into left armpit, hands flat on the floor. Stretch right leg back as far as you can. Switch legs and do the same.

Sidekicks. You won’t end up a kung-fu master in a day, but these are worth it. Hands on your sides, shoulders back. Kick to the side with left leg, then kick to the side with right leg.

Side Stretches. Hands over head, biceps behind ears with feet touching. Lean body to the left, then to the right.

Split Bend. Open up feet wide. Lean down, hooking hands on each side of your left and right foot. Place forehead to the ground.

Yoga Stretch. Similar to a slow-downed high-knee. Bring your left knee up and get your hands beneath the foot. Repeat with the right side.

Rockettes-Inspired Stretch. Looks silly, but does the job. Arms stretched out, shoulders back. High kick with left leg then the right leg.

Inverted Push-Up. Handstand against a wall so your feet are in the air with your back to the wall. Push up and down with your arms as you would in a normal push-up position.

Squats. Hanging onto a pole is helpful. Squat down as far as you can to the ground using your full bodyweight. Squat up and down as you normally would, making sure your feet are flat to the ground.

BONUS: 7 Additional Exercises

Bowling Lunge. Left foot forward. Right knee on floor. Extend your arm forward like you are rolling a bowling ball.

Push-Up into Hamstring Stretch. After a set of ten push-ups, lean back in a kneeling position with knees together, feet apart. Hold for about five seconds. Return to push-ups.

The Bridge. This is a killer. Think of this as a reverse push-up. Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Bend your hands backwards and position them near the side of your head. Lift glutes off floor into a bridge position.

Burpees. I live by these. Start in the standing position, drop to the floor and do a pushup, jump to your feet, and then leap as high as you can. Land on your feet in the upright position.

Pull-Ups. No pull-up bar, no excuses. I do pull-ups anywhere by grabbing the top of a door, and pulling my body toward the ceiling.

Box Jumps – Jump onto a stable, sturdy box. Jump or step down. If you don’t have something to jump on, set up an obstacle to jump over. 

The Seated Surfer. In a seated position, position your right foot near your right kneecap. Place both arms forward. Rotate your torso (try to not to move feet) with the goal of finishing in the same position (left foot left kneecap) on the opposite side

Do these exercises every, single day and watch how your body and mind transform. GET AFTER IT.

Article originally appeared on joedesena.com