Creating easy, simple and effective home workouts is a great way to maintain focus and motivation, especially as we come into the colder months. Having access to exercise options literally on your door step also helps remove so many barriers to exercise. I often say to my clients to make things easy on themselves and remove as many obstacles as they can when planning to achieve their desired outcome - this way it's far more likely to happen. These obstacles or barriers often result from our crazy busy lifestyles, which means we don't have time to drive to a gym, or we don't have a sitter for the children, or traffic is too bad to travel anywhere to exercise. Choosing to create a solution for yourself at home is empowering and so inspiring. Here are some tips to help make this a reality for you.
The first step is creating a space and making an exercise ispace in your home. There are some very affordable items that will help transform a space into your private exercise retreat, starting at the most basic and simple. If this is all you are able to start with, that's all you really need.
Create a dedicated space if you can
If you have a clear space or corner at home that you can use to exercise, you already have the makings of a great exercise spot. A small carpeted area works best, perhaps an off-cut of carpet in the garage or a corner of the lounge that is not being used so much. Pop a small TV or stereo there, a mat or towel and you are set. You can perform a variety of lunges - walking lunges, back lunges, side lunges all great for toning legs and increasing your heart rate. Press ups (including triceps press ups and tent press ups), glute (bum squeezes), running on the spot, single leg balances - there is such a variety of exercises you can perform just using yourself and a little space. My favourite little routine for this space is:
BREAKFAST CIRCUIT (perform each exercise straight after each other until finished and rest 1 minute before repeating the circuit another 2-3 times):
Squats with hands behind head x 15
Press ups on your knees with hands wide x 10
Forward lunge with hands behind head x 15 each side
Tent press ups x 8 (similar to a downward facing dog but gently bending your elbows so your head can touch the ground and repeating)
Slow speed abdominal bicycles x 20
Another excellent item to charge up your space and offer a whole world of new exercises is a fit ball or swiss ball.
Fit ball, aka swiss ball
Many of you may be familiar with the Fit Balls that are a regular feature in most gyms. They are the number one piece of home exercise equipment you could own. They can be used to achieve a range of toning and fitness goals and they will promote better posture that, in turn, can have positive benefits both in terms of stress relief and cardiovascular efficiency. Fit balls can be used as a seat, a bench for lying exercises, a flexibility tool, and a fitness tool; they can be used for many abdominal exercises, arm shaping exercise, leg and bottom toning and so much more. They are a one-stop home gym and you could achieve entire exercise programmes by just using the fit ball. I also love them as a starter exercise option for counteracting our office-bound postures by lying over them backwards and stretching out your abdominals, decompressing the spine and best of all, they can double as another seat in the lounge for the kids or the home office chair. This is a great little routine that focuses on the legs and abdominal area
SWISS BALL PROGRAM:
Swissball Wall squats x 20
Swissball seated figure 8s x 10 each way
Swissball Wall squats x 15
Swissball Leg Curls x 10
Swissball Wall squats x 10
Swissball abdominal crunches x 12
Swissball Wall squats x 20
Exercising at home could also be as simple as using some stairs in the house for step-ups or your couch for squats. I like to call this home location exercise, where you choose an exercise for each space of your home and every time you enter that space you perform a certain number of repetitions for that exercise. Here is a little example for you:
Kitchen:
Plie squats using the kitchen bench while waiting for the jug to boil
Bedroom:
Press ups on the edge of the bed
Laundry:
Calf raises reaching into the cupboard
Lounge:
Squats on the couch
Stairs:
Step ups
Dining:
Triceps dips using the chair
Bathroom:
Wall press ups
The options are endless and you can include the whole family in the routine for a bit of fun and competition. Exercise does not have to be hard, challenging or use lots of equipment to be effective. The most effective exercise is simply the one you actually do. Happy home exercising.