Everything about home workouts

When the usual routine disappears

Going to the gym at set times under normal circumstances can be a great way of having a steady fitness regimen. However, with so many gyms temporarily closed for the foreseeable future, this can be a risk to the solid workout routines many have fought hard to perfect. Once the routine disappears, motivation can aslo go along with it.

It can be difficult to find motivation to exercise at home and and a common misconception is that motivation is something that arises out of thin air. It does not. Motivation comes when you actually get on with and gain some momentum by doing things. So a very good place to start building motivation in working out at home is by creating routines specifically around that.

In the same way, that it can be good to change into your regular work clothes or have a checklist to refer to when working from home, it helps to make exercise a habit. Routines create habits, and those habits create motivation - might sound a bit run-of-the-mill, but it feels extremely rewarding when that motivation kicks in, so keep it up!

The 5 best tips for workout motivation.

1. Set time aside in your calendar for exercise at home, even if you're "just" sitting and working from home. For example, book 30-45mins at 2pm each day arms, legs, shoulders, chest, back etc.
2. Lay out your workout clothing in advance so you'll be easily reminded and can get ready in an instant when the time comes.
3. Follow a programme for outdoor training (provided you have space for it) or indoor home training - it'll be easier for you to know what to do and how to plan your workouts.
4. Get a group together with your friends, family or neighbours via group call apps, so you can all train together and still practice social distancing. Committing to workout time with others is another great way of getting it done.
5. Track stats on your workouts / progress in your calendar or a fitness app! It's always cool to see stats and figures on the progress being made - just like you'd expect to see payment from any job done on your part.

Start with active breaks

Working at home for the first time or more than you have previously? It's easy to get a bit lost in your computer and forget to take moments to pause when colleagues aren't asking when everyone can take their next tea break. Set an alarm every half-hour, step away from the computer and move around with your whole body for a few minutes. Getting the body moving and increasing your oxygen intake can help with maintaining that workout desire.

Three exercises for active breaks

1. Turkish Get Ups

− Turkish get ups (TGU) help with everything! Concern, love, stiffness and beyond. With TGUs you get to train your shoulder, core, legs, back and your stabiliser muscles. Traditionally these are done with kettlebells but you can also do them with textbooks, large water bottles or free weights you may have lying around.

2. Get up on a chair

− The legs need to be worked in order to support all of your body whilst seated. Step up and down and alternate the leg you lead with on a secure chair or box for several minutes

3. Variations on bridges

− Bridges are like the medicine that fight agaisnt stiffness when we sit hunched over in front of our computers - there are loads of different variations on bridges, so regardless of how flexible your body is, there is a bridge out there that will work for you!

Variation of a bridge exercise

Other great exercises for active breaks

• Jumping jump-rope
• Squats
• Sun salutations
• Rows with a resistance band
• Heel raises
• Planks
• Learn to shuffle

Outfit your home with some training equipment

When talking about home gyms, it's easy to let your thoughts wander to large, bulky machines that take up loads of space and cost and arm and a leg. However, you can grab a few workout / fitness tools and accessories that are easy to store, don't take up your whole room and you can discretely keep them behind your sofa or in a corner.

Kettlebells

Kettlebells have become a staple of any gym. If you do crossfit training, you'll be very familiar with this type of weight. If you haven't tested out kettlebells before, it can feel a bit odd and difficult at first to figure out exactly how one uses them, so if you don't have the opportunity to book some instruction from a PT, there are loads of great tutorial videos on Youtube that can guide you through the basics.

Kettlebell weights usually go up in 4kg intervals. The lightest kettlebell you'll usually find in a gym is 8kg (but there are kettlebells lighter than this as well), and they usually increase by factors of 4 (8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 28, 32kg and so forth). Which weight is best to begin with is largely a question left to the individual. It can be better to have both a light and heavy weight to tackle different types of exercises, but kettlebells are used primarily for both strength and conditioning.

Resistance bands

Resistance bands take up next to no room when not in use and they're one of the most effective forms of equipment in resistance training. With the help of resistance bands and mini bands, you can make all of your body weight exercises more challenging. They're all excellent for exercises designed to trigger hypertrophy, or time under tension for the muscle.

Resistance bands are also well-suited to active breaks - step away from your screen and activate your shoulders, which are likely to get a bit stiff after many hours sitting in front of your computer.

There are different types of resistance bands to choose from; some are longer or thicker than others, which can affect the level of resistance one feels. They are highly versatile and are a popular tool when building up strength to chin-/pull-ups. There are also resistance bands that come with handles so it's a bit easier to maintain a steady grip and also do varied upper-body exercises. There are also so-called "mini-bands", which are primarily used for activating and training your legs and glutes.

Multi-trainers

Just like with resistance bands, multi-trainers are used primarily by utilising your body weight to build strength. These bands are often referred to TRX bands (which is actually just a well-known brand for these types of bands) and take up very little room, despite being super effective exercise equipment.

Another benefit of these bands is that they're a little unstable, which means that you have to activate your core and stabiliser muscles along with your strength whilst exercising. It means that more muscles are trained simultaneously, and that is always great!

What exercises should I do at home?

Still feeling a bit lost without the weight rack and treadmill that usually await you at the gym? Wishing for someone to direct you on what to do? There are loads of training programmes online out there you can find - websites, apps, videos on Youtube, blogs and more!

When inspiration is needed – check out YouTube

If you're itching to let someone else lead the way in your new training regimen, YouTube is a fantastic source for you to utilise. You can find tutorials and instruction videos on everything from yoga, crossfit, kettlebells, fitness dancing and much more.

Yoga

There is arguably no single yoga instructor with so many people adopting their training methods as Adriene Mishler. At the time of writing this, she has over 6.43 million subscribers on YouTube. In her channel Yoga with Adriene there are loads of yoga training videos to test out. From the absolute basics, to 30-day challenges and 5 minute exercises for those pressed for time - it's all there!

Calisthenics

Challenge your body with gymnastics-based exercises that build strength, conditioning, mobility and are sure to give you a serious workout. THENX has a wide range of instructional exercise videos that you can do both indoors and outdoors.

Dance the stress away

Do you think that exercising is a bit drab but you love music? Why not try out dancing with The Fitness Marshall! In most videos there are different difficult levels, which makes even the most rhythmically gifted people a challenging routine.

Exercise with the kids

Tough to find time to train in peace and solitude? Invite the kids to join you for your workout! If they're a bit skeptical initially, their attitude will change completely when they realise they're far better att moving around than you are. The Body Coach TV has a series of short workouts that you can do with the kids. Does 8 minutes feel too short for you? Do another one and another until the kids start to tire themselves out a bit (or marvel that they can handle so much more than you).

The best exercise apps for home workouts

If you have the ability to exercise in your backyard - give it a go! That way you get a bit of fresh air and sun, at the same time whilst breaking a sweat from your home workout. If you're not to keen on streaming everything from YouTube, there's an exercise out there with great tools to help you with your home workouts.

There are loads of exercise apps out there to choose from, here are some of our favourite picks for exercising at home!

NTC – Nike Training Club You may be surprised to hear it, but NTC is a free app that offers lots of good workouts. Whether you are a beginner or best friend with all the coaches at the local crossfit gym, here are some workouts that will make you sweat.

Download here: Android - iOS

Strava Be a walking stats-machine when running! With Strava, you can easily keep track of your distance speed and running path and the app also has bonus photo function that lets you see all the stats on your training session with a picture taken during your workout - perfect for giving you some extra motivation.

Download here: Android - iOS

Down dog Take your yoga to the next level with the help of the Down Dog app. At the start of each session, you enter in a level to train at, the desired length of your session and how long you want to stay in a savasana position at the end of your yoga session. It also has clear, easy-to-understand instructions in image and oral formats.

Download here: Android - iOS