Sunday mornings can be rough.
Everyone has those nights where you somehow end up in a fast food restaurant at 4 AM and then when you get home, you decide it’s a good idea to smear chocolate frosting from your roommate’s cake onto the leftover bread from your sandwich. Right??? Don’t answer that one. Or, you know, you wake up the next day with Tyson’s pet tiger in your bathroom and realize you have a baby and a hooker wife and missing tooth.
We’re all entitled! But once you put the pieces back together (or not), does it make it all better if you motivate yourself to go to the gym the next day? I think yes. So when I arrived at Equinox on 19th and Broadway in NYC yesterday at 2pm, my trainer Tom took one look at me and introduced to me:
The 6 All-Time Best Hangover Exercises
1. FOAM ROLLER: This isn’t so much of an exercise as it is a self-massage. By letting your body weight do the work, roll your glutes, legs, back and obliques back and forth on a foam roller. You’ll be releasing toxins from the night before. (Otherwise, we recommend a massage)
2. ROWING MACHINE: Rowing machines are just more fun that most cardio machines. Instead of setting a time goal, set a distance goal of 1000 meters. This will take you about 5 minutes to complete (more or less depending on your hustle) and will seem like less. Do this twice, giving yourself a 5 minute breather in between.
3. MEDICINE BALL (THE SLAM): They don’t call it a medicine ball for no reason. Slam it down! The morning after a rough night calls for some fun. And there’s nothing quite as fun as slamming a medicine ball down to the floor and letting out a booming ARGGGG!!! Do 10 in a row— it gets your heart pumping and provides sensational release! Go back and forth 3 times between this exercise and #4:
4. MEDICINE BALL (PLAY CATCH): You’re not done with your meds. You’ll need a partner for this one. Stand about 8 feet apart, and toss the medicine ball to one another underhand. Now, do this while trotting back and forth across the width of a room 20 times. You’ll forget you’re even working out!
5. SPRINTS: This morning is all about baby steps. Don’t even think about a treadmill… just run back and forth! Do 3 sets of 10 laps— across a gym classroom, or any clear straight path where you can see the other end and don’t think “oh man, that’s far.” On the way there, sprint it. On the way back, jog it out.
6. JUMP ROPE: If you did it on a playground in grade school, chances are you’ll be able to handle during a hangover. Make it to 100 without skipping a skip! Every time you mess up, that’s one push-up you have to do afterward. 4 trip-ups? 4 push-ups. Do this twice, and make sure you’re listening to some good old school music to add to the experience.
Don’t forget to DRINK LOTS OF WATER! Or do better, and drink something with electrolytes like Gatorade. And when you look in the full-length mirror, don’t hide. Embrace the dishevel. You could have gone back to sleep, but look at you, superstar!
Training sponsored by Equinox on 19th and Broadway, NYC