If you want to get in better shape, you don’t have to join a gym to make fitness part of your regular routine. You can do many workouts at home, and you may even be more successful if you can do your fitness activities in the comfort and privacy of your home instead of at a gym or in another public setting. Here are some of the best tips on how to exercise at home and improve your overall health.
Weight Training
You can either buy your own weights or use different objects around your home to do your workouts. A standard barbell that you’d find in many gyms or filled water jugs can be used to perform bench presses. Handheld weights or vegetable cans often work great for performing other weight training exercises that work muscles in the arms, back, and chest. Leg weights or plastic bags that are filled with heavier objects can be used for different leg exercises. Other household items that you can use as substitutes for gym-style weights include flour bags, backpacks, and condiment bottles. Even your own body weight can work great for weight training and be used for exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and bench dips.
Yoga
Yoga can be an excellent fitness activity for both the body and mind. You’ll be doing stretches and poses to increase your flexibility, improve your balance, and channel positive energy flow throughout your body. The downward dog pose, which is done by bending the upward body forward so that body weight is supported by the hands and feet, is one of the best yoga poses that you can try to master. A typical yoga session also includes poses like the mountain, plank and warrior poses. As you progress with your yoga, you can even try to master more challenging poses, such as the crow, bow, and wheel poses. You may even want to encourage management and coworkers in your workplace to take part in an online corporate wellness program that includes yoga training sessions so that you can also do some of your fitness training at work.
Plyometric Exercises
These exercises involve jumping and using maximum muscular force in short intervals to achieve better muscle reaction and increase strength and speed. One plyometric exercise that you can try is the broad jump, which you’ll do by jumping as far as you can from a squatting position with your arms extended above your head before landing in another squatting position and repeating the exercise. Lateral jumps, which are performed by jumping from side to side and landing on one leg each time, can also be included in your plyometric training. Other great plyometric exercises to try are burpees, box jumps, and stairway hops.
HIIT Workouts
HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training and incorporates different cardio exercises that are performed at high intensities with short rest periods. HIIT workouts are known to be effective at improving strength, losing weight, and raising metabolism. You’ll also improve your stamina and have greater endurance for other fitness activities if you do your HIIT workouts correctly and consistently. Many HIIT routines can be completed in 20 minutes or less and involve exercises like reverse lunges, overhead arm lifts, and jogging in place.
Dance Workouts
If you want to have as much fun with your workouts as possible, dancing at home can make you feel as though you’re enjoying a night on the town with friends instead of just doing standard exercises. You can turn on some music and follow a video or an online program that includes different dance workouts that are designed to improve muscle tone, posture, and stamina. Zumba, hip hop, and line dancing routines can get your energy and blood flowing while offering you some additional entertainment with your workouts. You can even incorporate other dance styles, such as salsa, jazz, or ballet, into your fitness training.
Better fitness can start in the home, and you can fit many of these workouts into your schedule at convenient times. You can focus on a single fitness routine or do a combination of any of these workouts to achieve the best results. If your job allows, you may even be able to do some of these exercises at work with your boss and coworkers so that all of you can benefit from living fitter lifestyles.
