The ongoing pandemic situation all over the world has made us rethink about our lifestyle and to focus more on being healthier and fitter. People are on their toes to increase their immunity. As social distancing and staying home become a way of life for the foreseeable future, people are concentrating more on home workout. Regularly exercising reduces cardiovascular health risks, prevents back and joint problems and helps in managing your weight. You can boost your metabolism by increasing your muscle to fat ratio.
Some of you may be lucky enough to have a home gym set up but for the rest, this may be your first step towards working out at home.
It’s a common misconception that an effective or high-quality workout can only happen in a gym where you have access to large and/or fancy equipment. Others believe making progress toward fitness goals must make a big hole in your pocket and too time consuming. Most of you must be thinking, “ I don’t have dumbbells or any equipment’s, what do I do? I have no access to my trainer, who will guide me? How do I know what I’m doing is right?”
Home workouts are accessible, affordable and incredibly effective. Not to mention, you don’t have to drive anywhere or share your equipment( Safe and Hygienic) You can get in a quality workout at home by using your own body weight as resistance. Once you get the kick of home workout, you may never buy a gym membership again.
Here is a small guide towards home workout for beginner’s.
Let’s get started
- Set a Goal – You should know your own limit. Setting a specific and measurable goal will help you stay motivated and on track. Start slow and steady, gradually increase the levels while working out at home. If you have your equipment, that’s great but if you don’t, need not worry, you can use water bottles for your exercise. However, Safety comes first.so keep that in mind as you have no trainer there to guide you.
- Create Space -You need to figure out how much space you will need to plank,jump,squat etc. You don’t want to get hurt while exercising so remove any clutter or shift any furniture that comes on your way. We would suggest six to ten feet space is adequate to move from side to side and back and forth.
- Gather Props – Start with comfortable workout clothes and shoes for support. Keep a bottle of water and a hand towel. Most of the home workouts are free hand exercises but you can have a yoga mat(optional) if you want. You can also keep a stopwatch to count your timings. Listening to some music while working out not only boosts your energy but adds rhythms to your exercise.
- Choose a program – Create your own workout program. Do not push yourself too hard. Go easy.. There is nothing wrong with working out every day. However, don’t repeat the same workout every day.it is always advised to rest a day or two before working on the same muscles again as it provides time for the body to recover.
- Schedule it- Fix a time from your daily activity for workout. This should be the time of the day when are high in energy and fully motivated to exercise. Schedule your workout in a calendar.
Now, let’s move on to the exercises.
Beginner’s Routine
The first and foremost thing you need to do is a warm up. Warming up is preparing your muscles for the activity. Always remember to warm up those muscles that you are about to use, like jogging or a brisk walk can be a great warm up if you are concentrating on your legs or lower body. You should allow two seconds from your starting position to end position and another two seconds to return to your starting position.
Our beginner’s exercise plan will help on a whole body workout:
Your workout at home program can include cardiovascular fitness, fat burning, strength, endurance, core strength .
Lower body Exercise – Lower body exercises will help you develop and maintain strong quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves. Indulging in well-balanced lower body exercises helps build good lower body strength that acts as a foundation for your whole body.a. Squats – 2 sets of 20 rep
b. Wall sits – 2 wall sits of 20-30 sec hold
c. Stationary lunges – 5- 10 steps each leg
d. Mountain climbers – 2 sets of 12 rep
e. Straight-leg donkey kick- 2 sets of 10 rep per side
f. Hip lift – 3 sets of 10 reps
Upper body exercise – Your upper body encompasses everything from the waistline, up your abdominals, back muscles, arms, and chest.
a. Push-ups – 2 sets of 8-10 push ups
b. Burpees – 2 sets of 10 rep
c. Dips – 2 sets of 15 rep
d. Bicycle crunch – 2 sets of 15 rep
e. Inch worm – 1 set of 3 rep
Core Strength exercise – Our belly, back, pelvis and glutes consists of core muscles. They help in maintaining postures, standing and sitting without falling so to avoid bad postures and injuries practicing core strengthening exercise every alternate day is important.
a. Planks – 2 planks of 30-60 seconds hold
b. Bridge – hold for 10-30 secs each bridge of 10 rep
c. Side leg raise – 3 sets of 12 rep
d. Flutter kicks – 2 sets of 15 reps
e. Arms High Sit Ups – 2 sets of 12 rep
f.Crunches – 2 sets of 15 rep
Once you have completed each set of exercise, take a brief break of 5 mins in between to cool down and bring your heart rate to normal. It is advised to never exercise on an empty stomach or after having any heavy meal. You can grab a energy bar or gulp down your favourite smoothie before you start exercising.
Don’t forget to take care of your mental health along with your physical health . A 10-20 mins of meditation can relax your nerves and mind. Always remember a healthy diet along with exercise is key to a healthy life. If you have any pre-existing medical condition, always consult a doctor before exercising. Keep motivating yourself and never give up.
