Wakeout pack — 15 exercises
An aggressive tension-release routine featuring punches, chops, and hard thigh smacks. Best for evenings when stress has built up and gentle movements won't cut it. The intense physicality resets your nervous system and purges tension so it doesn't contaminate your sleep.
Reach for this when…
Your day is still buzzing through you at bedtime, a gentle stretch won't cut it, and you need to punch it out first.
Why this happens
There's a category of stress that gentle stretching cannot touch — the kind where the nervous system is too activated to settle through slow movement alone. For that state, physiology offers a specific fix: discharge first, settle second. Aggressive physical movement (punches, chops, smacks, stomps) burns off the circulating stress hormones and sympathetic activation that accumulate across a hard day. Trauma researchers and somatic therapists have documented this pattern repeatedly — animals shake off threat with intense movement before returning to rest, and humans have the same wiring. Trying to skip the discharge and go straight to slow stretching often fails when activation is high. This pack is built for that exact moment: standing by the bed in the evening, body humming, mind replaying the day, needing something more than a breath exercise. Throw the punches, do the chops, smack the mattress. After the discharge, slower wind-down packs work better. Evening use, not morning — this is a discharge tool, not an energizer.
About this routine
Best in the evening, bedside, when stress has built beyond what gentle movement can address. Requires bed or similar surface to chop and smack into, plus standing space. Skip if you have acute shoulder, elbow, or wrist pain, recent injury to the upper body, or if aggressive movement triggers a panic response (some trauma survivors find intensity activating rather than discharging). Safe during most pregnancies with reduced intensity. Physical discharge, not therapy — if stress is chronic or trauma-related, a clinician matters more than a routine.
The routine
9 more in this pack
The iOS app plays all 15 exercises in order, with audio cues, countdown, and a streak that keeps you honest.
Use this pack when you need to…
Moves aimed at your neck and shoulders, plus arm-only work and push-ups or desk pumps where your arms hold you up.
Why this pack: Overhead Sledgehammers, punches and chops get your arms and shoulders moving, and the whole pack is about letting go of the tension that likes to settle in your neck.
Hip exercises, leg stretches, kicks and Pilates-style moves that get your hips and legs happily in motion.
Why this pack: Thigh Smacks, Thigh Presses and Thigh Karate Chops bring your legs into the fun, so your hips get in on the action too.
Cardio moves like punches, kicks, jumps and desk pumps that send oxygen through your blood and leave your head feeling clearer.
Why this pack: Double Punch Downs, Twist And Punch and other lively moves get oxygen pumping and give your nervous system a reset, so your head can feel clearer after.
Playful moves for when your mood dips at work, from dancing to pretend punches, kicks and a little fun with your office chair.
Why this pack: Lateral Jabs, Down Punches and friends give frustration a fun place to go, and you can do them right from your seat at work.
Frequently asked
Packs built for the same body, a slightly different moment.
14 exercisesPunch and smack your cushions to release the day's frustrations.
12 exercisesPlayful bed-edge bouncing that shakes off stress and brings back childlike lightness.
14 exercisesVigorous full-body shaking that leaves the day's tension on the floor.
16 exercisesSimple standing yoga poses that enhance mobility and clarity without needing a mat.
48 exercisesTone and energize facial muscles with targeted yoga-inspired exercises.
Three minutes, guided by audio, in the iOS app. Or add Wakeout to Chrome — every new tab becomes a tiny movement break.