I have 9 a.m. classes every day this semester, and it’s killing me. I know, I know, people in the real world wake up and go to work that early all the time. But I haven’t had 9 a.m. classes in two years, and I’m having a lot of trouble getting moving in the morning. Exercise is one of the best ways to help yourself wake up. It gets your blood flowing, and forces your brain to do something other than dream. So, I’ve put together a quick little energizing morning workout. Do it with me, people!

1. Cardio Warm-Up of Choice

Start with 30 seconds of high knees, jumping jacks, or just jumping up and down in place. Choose your favorite!

2. Forearm Plank to Straight Arm Plank

Begin in a forearm plank position, making sure to engage your abs to support your back. Place your right hand on the floor, then your left hand, to push up to a straight arm plank. Then lower your right forearm, then your left, to the floor to return to a forearm plank. Do 10 sets (1 set = push up and lower back down), making sure to alternate which arm you start with.

3. Bicycle

Lay on the floor, and raise your head and shoulders off the floor like you’re doing a crunch. Twist your right elbow toward your left knee, and switch. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

School’s out for summer and the time of sun, relaxation and road trips has arrived. But chances are, like me, you also have a summer job or internship that requires you to spend long hours sitting at a desk. Even if you’ve gotten a good night’s sleep, a day of nothing but sitting can leave you feeling groggy and drowsy. And as every college girl knows, relying on coffee to wake you up can turn you into a jittery mess. It also adds up, because most of us buy our coffee much more often than we make it. So, in honor of all you working girls, here are a few tips to keep you feeling awake and energized throughout the day – whether you’re in a classroom or a cubicle.

1.     Start your day with movement and keep it going. When you first wake up, your body has been inactive for hours. If you roll out of bed, drag yourself to work and then sit for the whole day, it will take you a long time to fully wake up. So, when you get up in the morning, get out of bed and move! Jump up and down, or if you’re really ambitious, drop down and do a few push-ups or crunches. This seems like the last thing you’d want to do when your alarm has just gone off, but it works. Activating your muscles will cause blood to flow into them. This increased blood circulation will energize you from head to toe.

Move as much as possible throughout the day. Obviously, some work environments will allow more opportunities for this than others. Any chance you have to stand up and walk around, take it. Do you have a dog or a cat? If so, you’ve surely noticed how often they indulge in a nice stretch. Take a page out of your pet’s book! Stretching increases circulation, too. Stand up and reach your arms to the ceiling, like you do when you’ve just woken up. Or, as Lil Jon would say, bend over to the front and touch your toes! (Just not when any creepy coworkers can see you – this one might have to wait for lunch or bathroom breaks.)

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Here’s a fact: If there was an award for the worst morning person, I would win. By a landslide.

I FAIL at early mornings. I set four alarms, hit snooze on all of them 6 times and then eventually turn them off. I’ve even tried setting alarms across the room… only to hop back into bed for “five more minutes.” I’m a morning disaster. If I had to describe myself in one word: Over-sleeper would probably win over ‘fantabulous’ (although I like to think I am that too. Maybe a fantabulous over-sleeper? That I definitely am!).

But last night my friend just told me about a GENIUS alarm clock that I totally dread trying but figured we all should know about because, even if you are a morning person (I will NEVER understand you weird breed of people), we all have those days when we are up studying/out drinking and have about 2 hours of shut eye before class… and fear turning off our alarm clock in our sleep. Read More »

So you just spent ten minutes of your morning de-puffing your eyes with spoons fresh from your freezer, but they still look tired and small. What’s a girl to do? No fear, just use these super simple tricks to make your eyes appear bigger, brighter, and more awake!

If only everything else were so simple.