Everyone who has ever exercised knows that as soon as you get going you feel the benefit of making the effort and you can genuinely congratulate yourself on not ‘opting out’ at the last minute.
The problem is that with our busy work lives and various other family or home-related responsibilities, it’s sometimes the easiest thing in the world to skip the work-out and promise yourself you’ll do it tomorrow. Then tomorrow becomes the day after, and the day after that… it’s a common occurrence that even the most focussed fitness fans will admit to at some point in their lives.
Life can be all-consuming. We get it. The one excuse that we just can’t accept however is the decision to do nothing because you simply didn’t have the gym equipment you needed to do the exercises you wanted to.
Ok, you may not have the resistance weights or the multi-functional pulley trainer you always used when you had a gym membership, but simply bodyweight exercises can be just as effective and beneficial as those you do with equipment. What’s more, you have everything you need at home – mainly your own body!
Push-ups, for example, are a great starting point. As well as targeting your chest, triceps and anterior deltoids, it’s an amazing core strengthening exercise – who doesn’t love a strong core? And there’s also something pretty satisfying about seeing yourself progress with time. No measuring tape or heart-rate monitor required here, you’ll know when you’re getting stronger as your stamina and recovery will have improved, and you’ll be doing twice as many without the breathlessness you experience the first time round!
Sit-ups, burpees, lunges, crunches, mountain climbers… the list is limited only by the imagination – and all without the need to purchase even the smallest piece of professional equipment. Boredom needn’t be a problem either. Once you’ve mastered the basic moves then you can take them up a level by incorporating the pieces of furniture you’re surrounded by at home.
A simple dining room chair can turn an old-school squat into something quite sophisticated like a Bulgarian split-squat and introduces the opportunity to work even more muscle groups and burn more of those tricky lower body areas.
The Kardashians may have made the Glute Bridge fashionable, but the ability to perform it in the privacy of your own home has made it accessible. Most of us would, we suspect, feel more comfortable squeezing those glutes on the lounge floor than we would doing it in the middle of the gym!
The list of home exercises is almost inexhaustible but, as with many elements of working out, we recommend that you take advice on which routines may not only be best for you, but which will produce the best results and let you achieve your personal goals in an enthusiasm-boosting timescale.
Speak to your personal trainer to find out why having no gear sometimes makes for the best fitness ideas.
