Home Workouts – Staying Fit Whatever the Weather
January 06, 2014
During the holiday season, it’s easy to get on the wrong side of the calorie count. Finding time for getting some well needed exercise gets more difficult especially as the weather gets colder and the motivation to go for a run outside starts to sag. While the gym might be an option, and full of great exercise equipment, you still need to get there, and it’s easy to make the excuses not to go.
Indoor workout routines can be a great choice for this time of year. Just roll out an exercise mat, put on some good music or a workout DVD and start warming up. They’re also great if you’re a busy traveler and want to throw in 10-15 minutes of exercises in the hotel. Here are a few calorie burning exercises you can do right in your living room.
Jumping & Cardio
Jumping jacks are great for a warm up; rotate through a combination of the following routines for 30 seconds each:
- Jumping Jacks: Just like you did at school. Stand with your feet together & arms by your side, then jump and make a big star with your hands and legs. Jump back to your starting position and repeat.
- High knees: Run on the spot, trying to raise your knees as high as you can each time.
- Butt Kicks: Again, run on the spot, but this time you are trying to kick your butt with your heel.
- Jump rope: Using a real jump rope inside is usually a bad plan, so use your imagination and start skipping!
After 5-10mins of this, take some time to stretch out the muscles before continuing.
Abs & Core
You only need about 15 minutes for a good ab workout, and it doesn’t all have to be all crunches. For floor work, there are a wide variety of moves to target this important region of the body:
- Bicycle Legs: Lying on your back, raise your legs and move them as if riding a bike. First forward, then in reverse.
- Scissors: Again, lying on your back, raise one leg a few inches off the ground and try raising the other leg to 90degrees. Gently lower the upper leg while raising the other. Do this 15 times each side.
- Elbow to knee crunches: On your back and bend your knees. Now perform a simple sit-up – touching each elbow to the opposite knee.
- Pulse-ups: On your back, arms by your side, raise you legs straight up in the air so they are vertical. Now lift your butt a couple of inches off the ground, hold, and gently lower. Repeat 20-30 times.
- Planks: Face down, lift your body so that you are supported only by your elbows and your toes. Hold your body so that you are perfectly straight, hold for 45 seconds (don’t forget to breathe!).
Chest and Arms
Working on your glamour muscles can also be done at home without any special equipment. Pushups will help utilize a number of larger muscles including the pecs and deltoids, and some triceps. They are also great for strengthening your core muscles and improving your posture. Try doing a mix of pushups to target the muscles differently. If you have a small step you can try incline and decline pushups. Also wide grip and narrow grip (military), and if you’re feeling like a show off, one arm! A chair is the perfect tool for a set of tricep dips. Raise a leg in the air if you want to make it a little harder on yourself.
Video workouts are great if you like to have a personal in home trainer telling you what you need to do, or if you want to take it up a notch. Indoor workout programs like Insanity don’t require any props and can easily be performed in about 6ft x 6ft of living space.
Here’s a great tip – exercise your intestines with high quality probiotics that can assist with digestion, regularity and as well as help you with just feeling better. Whatever you choose to do, find something that fits your fitness levels and do it regularly. The main goal is to take some time to get the blood flowing and staying healthy through the holidays, and hopefully take off some of those holiday pounds!
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