Even though we have moved on past the days during the pandemic where we would work out at home, there are still some who choose to do so. There are a lot of benefits that come from a home workout. You don’t need to pay for a gym membership, you can go at your own pace, and you’re able to be flexible. It’s much easier changing your exercise routine when you are at home than when you take that to a standard fitness course. In this blog, we’re going to give you some home exercises that don’t require any weights or equipment, though we’d recommend some appropriate clothing, like activewear, or a yoga mat. Let’s get in shape!
Squats
You can do squats anywhere as long as you have a surface to lean on. For example, grab a chair and stand in front of it with your arms stretched out, and your knees ready to bend. Then dip down halfway, making sure that you’re able to squat until you touch the chair, without fully sitting down. Lastly, you bring yourself back up, straightening your knees without using your arms to lift you up. Or, make use of a nearby wall to be able to hold yourself in a squatting position for a set time, and stand back up for that same amount of time. Challenge yourself by raising your repetitions slowly over time. Squats help strengthen your legs and your core muscles.
Lunges
In order to perform this exercise, you may want to use a mat in order to appropriately distance how far you’re going to “lunge”. Put your hands on your hips, and stand up straight. Then put one leg forward, and bend the back leg to have your toes touch the floor. Lower your body so that your front leg bends with your knee facing up, and your back leg faces down. Continue this in repetition, and switch legs later. This exercise will help your glutes, hamstrings, and quad muscles.
Planks
Lie on the floor in a position where your hands are placed underneath your shoulders, flat on the floor. Have your toes touching the floor, and your feet close together. From there, you can hold your plank, or move into other position. You can move into a downward dog, where you would lift your hips up. You can lift one of your legs off the ground and alternate. Lastly, you could move your forearms down in order to plank with your elbows on the ground.
Crunches
To get into a crunching position, lay flat on your back on the floor. Lift your legs up, and pull your knees toward your stomach area. Put your hands behind your head. Stretch your legs out, moving them away from your stomach, while keeping them from touching the floor. Pull your knees back toward your stomach, and push your head toward your chest. Alternate by undoing that action, back and forth. You can make your crunches more challenging by doing it in a bicycle formation, with your legs alternating between crunching, and stretching out.
Hip Abduction
Target your hip area by laying down on your side, with your elbow on the floor. Use your hand to prop your head up. Meanwhile, make your legs sit on top of each other in a way that you can lift one of them up as high as you can. Using only your leg to lift it up, and lower it back down, this helps give your hips some extra movement. Make sure to alternate between your legs in order to give both sides the same amount of repetitions.
We hope that some of these exercises come in handy. There are simpler ones such as jumping jacks, stretching, and exercises with hand weights that are very helpful. Be sure to try what works best for you, at your own pace.
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