With the closure of school, gyms and social distancing in full effect, it can be quite difficult to stay active whilst at home. However, with more time on our hands than ever before, it is the perfect time to try and incorporate some form of exercise into our daily lives. In this article, I will be detailing some ways for all of us to stay fit, regardless of age, experience level or access to equipment.
Reasons to Exercise at Home
- Cures boredom
With all the extra time we have, it is easy to get bored at times. Adding in some daily exercise can help switch up your routine and keep things interesting.
- Exercise is motivating!
Even though it seems counterintuitive since motivation might be at an all-time low in these trying times, giving yourself something challenging to engage in and setting a goal to work towards can help keep you busy and motivate you to continue working and striving towards your goals.
- Physical benefits
Staying inside for many more hours a day, although contributing to preventing the spread of the virus, also takes a toll on our body and mind. Sitting for prolonged periods of time can cause stiffness and mental tiredness. Taking up exercising is a useful means of alleviating such symptoms.
- Friendly competition
Competition, in moderation, is healthy. At home, we often lack a source of this playful and rejuvenating competition. By engaging in some exercise with your friends and family, you can compete and continuously challenge one another!
What About Equipment?
Equipment such as dumbbells, barbells, weight plates and resistance machines are useful to getting in a good workout. If you have access to such equipment, then all is solved! However, they are most definitely not a necessity. There are many other ways to exercise effectively without said equipment and still make noticeable progress. For example, you could use your own bodyweight, household objects and the manipulation of training techniques. Resistance is resistance at the end of the day!
What Exercises Should You Do?
This is probably the most challenging part of exercising at home, as many of the traditional exercises are off the table. We will take a look at some exercises that you could perform and the muscle groups they work.
The exercises we are going to look at are mainly compound movements and involve many muscle groups, with the exception of a few. Most exercises can be classed into three categories, either push, pull or leg movements.
Push Movements (Chest, should and triceps):
- Push-ups
Beginners can start with knee push-ups and slowly work towards full push-ups. More advanced trainees can use harder variations of the push-up such as close-grip push-ups, decline push-ups or even manipulate training techniques such as using high volume training.
- Overhead presses
Performing overhead presses at home with household objects is quite easy. You can use books for resistance, for example. If you have no objects to perform this exercise with, pike push-ups provide a great substitute with a similar movement pattern, mimicking an overhead press very well.
- Dips/Chair dips
Note: When performing bench dips, it is advisable to place yours hands in a position that your palms are facing in the same plane as your body. This causes external rotation at the shoulder, preventing excessive pressure on the anterior shoulder capsule by the head of the humerus.
Pull movements (Back and biceps):
- Pull-ups
The king of upper body exercises! Pull-ups are extremely challenging and provide a great way of strengthening your posterior chain without the need for additional weight.
- Inverted rows
Inverted rows, as well as being a great exercise on their own to help strengthen the upper back, are a great progression and alternative to pull ups. They can be performed on the bottom of a kitchen counter or below a table. Varying the incline of the body can make the exercise harder or easier.
- Down dog pull throughs
This exercise involves the very well known yoga pose, downward dog. The movement results in shoulder extension, one of the main functions of the lats.
Leg exercises (Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Glutes):
- Squats
Squats are considered the unrivalled king of lower body exercises. For trainees of a more advanced level, harder variations of the squat such as the pistol squat, bulgarian split squat or jumping squat can be used to provide sufficient intensity.
- Lunges
These are a challenging and taxing exercise, both muscularly and cardiovascularly. More advanced trainees can perform jumping lunges or loaded lunges using a backpack.
- Glute bridges
Glute bridges are a great exercise on their own, or when used in tandem with other leg exercises in a superset. Adding weight to your lap using books, for example, can help make the exercise more difficult.
When choosing exercises to perform, it is important that you work your entire body, otherwise, you will develop imbalances that can lead to future issues and injuries.
In addition to performing resistance exercises, you can also engage in cardiovascular exercise such as going on walks or runs.
Tips to Make Home Workouts More Effective
- Keep the intensity high.
Using time intervals or very short rest periods can help keep up the pace of the workout, making exercises more difficult and challenging you.
2. Use time-tested, basic exercises.
The exercises above are quite basic, but are time-tested and have proven to work. Stick with them and vary the difficulty of the exercise according to your own personal strength levels.
3. Spice it up!
Have fun with your workouts. Exercising should not feel like a chore. Make it what you want and perform the exercises in the style that provides you with the most enjoyment.
4. For advanced trainees-
Try some prison-style, high rep workouts such as the 500 push-up or 30 down squat workout. These workouts can be surprisingly difficult and will leave you with nothing left in the tank.
Exercising at home can be quite challenging and confusing at times. However, with some thought and ingenuity, there are countless exercises that are challenging for all skill levels. Above are only a few examples. I encourage you all to do some research and use the brief tips in this article to find a group of exercises that you enjoy while challenging you!
