No time to go to the gym? We’ve got you.
We’ve all tried to fit in an hour at the gym into our schedule, but travelling to the gym, changing into your gym clothes, arriving back home, showering, and then changing back to your regular clothes all add up to a large portion of your day. To help you use your time even more efficiently, we’ve made a list of Workout moves and exercises that you can practise at home itself, saving you the added time spent travelling to the gym. You can read out post about selecting the best spin bike for your spinning workout.
These exercises are such useful gym hacks, that you won’t even have to purchase any extra gym equipment, like weights, to compensate for your time spent at the gym. If you’re a beginner, this might help you out as well.
1. Jumping Jacks.
The simplest of them all, you should normally start your home exercises with a set of around 30 jumping jacks. It gets your blood circulating, by elevating your heart rate, and is the perfect warm up exercise to start you home workout with.
Keeping your hands stretched above your head in a ‘V’ shaped position, your legs spread wide, mirroring your arms, you shift your position to a straight line, your arms back to your side, and your legs put together. Following this pattern, you repeat it at a quick enough pace to get your blood pumping, with a spike in your energy levels. This version exercises your entire body.
2. Squats.
They’re the go-to exercise for training your thighs, glutes, and core muscles.
The basic body-weight squat can be performed at your home. Simply spread out your legs, at around the exact width as that between your shoulders, as you stand tall. Now, slowly lower your body, as you pretend to sit on a chair, your arms straight in front of you, parallel to each other as well as the ground. Now slowly bring yourself back to the starting position. Repeating this pattern for around 25 reps a set should be enough if you’re just starting out.
3. Lunges.
They’re a great exercise to tone and exercise your legs, specifically your quadriceps, glutes as well as your hamstrings, i.e. your thighs and your buttocks. You need to perform them right if you don’t want to put any unwanted strain on your joints. It leaves you with lean muscle in your legs.
- The basic lunge involves you to follow the following steps chronologically:
- Stand in a pose similar to that of Wonder Woman: legs a hip-width apart, hands holding on to your hips, shoulders relaxed, chip up.
- Step forward with your leg, either one is fine, and lower your hips until both your legs are bent in a 90-degree angle. Make sure the knee on your front leg is placed right above your ankle, pushing it too far will strain your knee instead.
- Keep your weight onto the heel of your leg in the back as you slowly push back to your starting position.
Repeat the entire process with the alternative leg.
4. High Knee Lift.
To get your heart rate going, while helping you elongate your workout routine, the high knee lift combines regular running motion with exaggerated knee lifts, as you ‘run’ in one place or while travelling through a land mass. It helps improve lower body flexibility, speed as well as strength.
To perform the basic high knee lift, first get your legs situated hip-width apart. Keeping your palms, facing the ground, right below your chest, you bring up one of your knees to touch the palm, alternating as you speed up.
If you’re practicing the exercise as a warm-up, keep the speed at a slower rate compared to practicing it later in your workout routine.
5. Planks.
They might look like the simplest and easiest exercises to practice, but actually performing them hurts to such a degree that most people feel their confidence in their core strength evaporate after performing one for the first time.
To perform a plank, first you need to lie down onto the floor or mat, your stomach facing the floor. Now bring your palms next to your shoulders and slowly lift yourself up, while your legs are stretched. Now rearrange your arms by bending your elbows, placing your arm, elbow down, onto the floor. Keeping your form straight, you need to hold that position for at least 30-50 seconds. Practising it will help you build your endurance levels as well.
This exercise builds core strength while exercising your quadriceps and your shoulders. It is normally performed at the end of your workout. It’s the perfect exercise to help you hone on your fitness level.
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You’re still not done with your initial workout. To properly end your workout routine, you need to practise a few exercises to help cool-down your body, to help get your body into a steady and relaxed blood flow. You can simply stretch your body to help cool yourself, for a minute or two.
Now that you understand how you can save on time by simply exercising at home, practise these workouts and maintain your athletic frame.
Do let us know what you think of this article, and include your own favourite exercises to practise at home, in the comment section below.
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