Dr. Mark Bronson's personal full-body morning exercise routine that he has done for decades to stay healthy and keep his body in capable shape. Follow the written instructions below, or watch the video below so you can follow along at home! (Pause the video to complete each exercise before moving on to the next.)

• Great for all ages!
• No equipment necessary, just your body.

Dr. Bronson’s “How to Get Healthy” Series

14-Minute Exercise Routine

Plan to do these exercises every day of the week, first thing in the morning, for the rest of your life, no matter where you are, what time you wake up, or how much time you think you don’t have for it. The good news is that it only takes fourteen minutes, it’s easy, and it’s free.

After getting out of bed, just lie on a carpeted floor or an exercise mat and begin. There is no need to get yourself motivated because you can virtually sleep through the first half of it. Now before you think that fourteen minutes of exercise can’t possibly do you any good, consider the math. Fourteen times seven is ninety-eight. That means that if you do this every morning then by the end of the week you have exercised for over an hour and a half. Most people do not exercise for an hour per week. But even if you go to a gym three times per week, do these morning exercises anyway.

You may be asking, “Other than being able to sleep through most of my exercise routine, why do I have to do it first thing in the morning?” Well, there are several reasons. First, this is probably the only time of day when there’s nobody around to interrupt you. Second, it’s quiet and peaceful. You can even meditate or pray if you wish in lieu of sleeping through it. Third, you will be giving your body a jump-start that will energize you better than a cup of coffee. Your heart rate will increase gradually, and your blood will circulate through your body tissues. Your joints will become lubricated by their own secretion of nourishing fluids. Your lymphatic system will be primed, enhancing your immune system for the day. Lastly and probably the most exciting, is that you will be setting your body’s metabolism which will burn more calories, and you will naturally lose excess fat.

Now, if you are ready to make a commitment of 14 minutes every morning for the rest of your life, keep reading.

First thing to do is crawl out of bed. Go ahead and use the restroom if you must but maintain somnolence.

Lie on your back on a carpeted floor, rug, or exercise mat. You don’t need much space, but enough to keep from kicking something while moving around in the dark or with your eyes closed.

Begin exercising.

1. Press back. While lying on your back with knees bent, tuck your abdomen and rock your pelvis so that the lower part of your back presses against the floor. Hold 10 seconds.
2. Abdominal curls (crunches). Bend your knees, hands across your chest, and lift your head and shoulders off the floor by contracting your abdominal muscles and hold for a half second before returning to the floor. For neck support, place the palms of your hands firmly behind your neck. Try to do fifty or a hundred.
3. Side-lying leg lifts. Lie on one side with your head cradled by your bent arm or on a pillow. Bend the lower leg. Raise the upper leg out to your side and upward. Try fifty or a hundred. Modify your side leg lifts by alternating in a slightly forward and then backward angle. Try 10 or 20. Then pull the leg over and stretch the hip for 20 seconds. Then while the upper leg is pulled over with your foot resting on the floor in front of the lower leg, do some leg raises with the lower leg to exercise the inner thigh. Repeat on the other side.
4. Butterfly stretch. Come up to a sitting position with knees outward and feet together pulled toward you. Stretch for 20 seconds.
5. Push-ups. Try 25, 50, or 100 if you can. Modify as needed such as positioning yourself on your knees with your hands against a bench.
6. Now on hands and knees, reach forward with your hands and squat back like a cat (prayer position). Reach out as far as you can to stretch your arms and the pectoral muscles in your chest. Hold for 20 seconds.
7. Push-backs. While lying face down on your belly, arms out to your sides and elbows bent so that your hands are overhead, raise your arms and hands straight up to the ceiling to exercise your back muscles. Try 25. Then rotate your arms so that your hands are pointing toward your feet and repeat the exercise 25 repetitions. When finished, move into a cat pose and stretch between your shoulder blades.
8. On hands (or forearms) and knees, upward “donkey kicks” (push foot toward ceiling) followed by backward straight leg lifts.
9. Now come up onto your hands and feet with your knees straight and your butt in the air. Assume a triangle position with the floor and stretch your calf muscles and Achilles tendons for 15 to 20 seconds.
10. Toe-ups. Stand up and hold onto your countertop. Come up on the balls of your feet using your calf muscles. Repeat slowly, up and down, 50 or 100 times.
11. Stretch the calves. Step back away from the countertop while holding on to it and stretch the calf muscles and Achilles tendons again slowly. Hold for 20 seconds.
12. Squats. While holding onto the countertop, squat ½ way so that your thigh is horizontal and come back up. Do 50 or 100.
13. Stretch the front of the thighs. While standing, reach back and grab the front of your ankle. Pull backward and upward until you feel a good stretch in the front of your thigh. Then stretch the other side the same way. Don’t lose your balance.
14. Take a shower and start your day, knowing that you have already done some exercise. If you feel like doing more later, that’s great, go ahead. On mornings when you feel like it and have more time, add repetitions and some of your favorite exercises just for fun. Remember your commitment to doing these exercises every day for the rest of your life.