Working out at home can easily be done without any equipment, or even just using items that are already in your home. What makes this even greater is that you can fit your workouts in around everything else that you may need to do. Maybe you get home from work and prefer to relax by watching a tv show to unwind, well why not do some exercise in front of the tv? Maybe you need to be home because of looking after the kids, well whilst they are keeping themselves occupied you can do some exercises and keep an eye on them at the same time.
Gym memberships can be pricey and for those of you just starting you may be feeling apprehensive about even setting foot in a gym – working out at home means you save money and build up your fitness.
We all know we should exercise and the American College of Sorts Medicine (ACSM) states that the “overall recommendation is for most adults to engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week” so that can be broken down into 30 minutes per day 5 days a week.
Not everyone can fit in a long exercise session into their day, so the following are different workouts for you to choose from depending on how much time you have. Although there are some short workouts this does not mean you can do just one 6 minute workout per day, you should schedule your workouts so that you hit at least 150 minutes per week – so either do more of the short sessions per day or do 1 longer session per day. Remember though that any exercise is better than none and it is also important to schedule at least one rest day each week.
For the exercises mentioned below it is important to concentrate on having the correct form when completing the movement. When there is a timed element it is tempting to try and rush through the exercises but it is more important for you to complete the exercise safely and correctly to get the most benefit and to avoid injury. You will be pushing yourself to do as many reps as you can in the allotted time but remember quality over quantity.
The Workouts
6 Minutes
4 Exercises – 20 seconds each exercise, 10 second rest, repeat 4 times
Workout 1
- Mountain Climbers
- Squat with Overhead Press (use a bottle of water in each hand for the overhead press)
- Push Ups
- Tricep Dips
Workout 2
- Burpees
- Side and Front Lunges – lunge to side, return, lunge to front, return, lunge to other side, repeat
- Diamond Push Ups
- Reverse Pull Ups – place a strong bar between two chairs
15 Minutes
You can use the above exercises and repeat 8 times instead of 4 or you can choose from the workouts below.
Workout 1
For this workout you will do 3 exercises and you will need a heavy bar or a bottle of water held horizontally in each hand for the shoulder press part of the first exercise and also for the single leg row.
- Front Lunge, back to start then Side Lunge with Overhead Press (30 seconds to one side then 30 seconds to other side)
- Rest 30 seconds
- Push Ups 30 seconds
- Rest 30 seconds
- Single Leg Row (30 seconds each leg, no rest between legs)
- Rest 30 seconds
- Repeat 3 times.
Workout 2
- Jumping Jacks 1 minute
- Butt Kicks 1 minute
- High Knees 30 seconds
- Jump Rope (if you don’t have a rope jog on the spot) 30 seconds
- Side Skips 3skips to one side then 3 to the other side repeat for 30 seconds
- Mountain Climbers 30 seconds
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Squats 1 minute
- Push Ups 1 minute
- Reverse Pull Ups 1 minute
- Tricep Dips 30 seconds
- Front Raise and Lateral Raise 30 seconds (front raise then return to start position, lateral raise return to start position repeat) – use a bottle of water in each hand.
- 30 seconds rest then repeat the last 5 exercises
- Finish with Russian Twists for 1 minute
30 Minutes
If you are looking to lose weight Discovery News recently reported that a study has found that 30 minutes of exercise per day led to more weight loss than 60 minutes of exercise per day.
Workout 1
- 2 Minutes Mountain Climbers
- 25 Side Lunges (25 each side)
- 25 Push Ups
- 2 Minutes Side Jumping Side Step across vertical rope or line on floor
- 50 Squat, Bicep curl and Overhead Press (squat with hands to sides, return to start position then bicep curl and at the top of the move rotate hands and push up into overhead press).
- 2 Minutes Jumping Step forward and back over a horizontal rope or line
- 15 Tricep Dips
- 2 Minutes Burpees
- 30 Reverse Pull Ups (using a strong bar between 2 chairs)
- 2 Minutes Step Ups (using a bench)
- 15 Russian Twists (use a heavy item)
- 2 Minutes Standing Knees to Elbows
Workout 2
- 1 minute Butt Kicks
- 1 minute Jumping Jacks
- 1 minute Side Skips 3 to one side then 3 to other side
- 1 minute Mountain Climbers
- 30 seconds Rest
- 2 minutes Reverse Lunges
- 2 minutes Squat with Overhead Press
- 1 minute Push Ups
- 30 seconds Rest
- 2 minutes Single Leg Row (1 minute each leg)
- 30 seconds Tricep Dips 30 seconds
- 2 minutes Side Lunges
- 30 seconds Rest
- Repeat above
- End with Plank for 1 minute
For all the workouts that include push ups – if you need to modify them (i.e use the kneeling position) that is fine to start with but ultimately you want to work towards being able to do full push ups. Keep trying even if you do only 1 full push up before moving to your knees, try to increase your full push ups by 1 more each time you do the workout.
Remember you can also be more active during your day by making small adjustments to your routine, take the stairs instead of the escalator or lift (even if you only get out a floor or two early). Park further away from the shops, get off the bus a stop earlier, walk around the block at lunch. Try some wall sits when reading at home, there are many ways you can do a little bit extra activity each day and it will make a difference.
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