Last week saw peak drop out from January New Years Resolutions. Apparently, the statistics will say that we slip back to our 2018 habits. When it comes to exercise, many will fall foul to the age old barriers to exercise. These include a lack of time, lack of money and or a lack of social support. These are all valid reasons that make it more challenging to exercise regularly. Performing your workout at home can help to overcome these. Indeed, many gym memberships sit unused. Whilst gyms memberships may be swelling right now, the active membership next month will be a fraction of those on the books. Being able to perform your workout at home can save you money. Here, leading personal trainer based in Ascot, Nathan Kelly, highlights his suggestions for your home workout.
Workout at home: The benefits
If your able to get your workout done at home then you can immediately overcome the classic barriers to exercise. It saves time and can also save you money. It doesn’t involve the potentially intimidating gym either. You don’t have to be elaborate. As long you are moving well and moving more than normal you will be having a positive impact upon your health and fitness. At NK Fitness we see a lot of our Ascot personal training clients in their own homes. More often than not they will have some equipment of their own and we advise them on any suitable additions. From a practical perspective, they don’t have any travel time, and their sessions are extremely time effective. They pack a lot of exercise into the time available.
Equipping your home workout
Ultimately, you don’t need any equipment. There are many bodyweight exercises that put together in the right way to form a session can give you an excellent home workout. Furthermore, placed into a consistent and progressive plan these bodyweight exercises can yield fantastic improvements in fitness. For example, if you’ve been cleared to exercise by a doctor and are experienced with your techniques just try to perform 15 Squats, 10 Sit Ups and 5 Push Ups as many times as possible for 15 minutes! Alternatively, 7 minutes to get as many burpees done as possible is a killer workout. A guide to bodyweight routines is beyond the scope of this blog. However, do your research, get creative and you can see some brilliant results using just bodyweight to workout at home.
Adding resistance to your workout at home
If you’re looking to add a piece of equipment to your schedule then kettlebells are worth strong consideration. Take time and care to learn the proper techniques before using them as part of a routine though. Traditional kettlebell exercises primarily work muscles of the posterior chain. The very same muscles that are underused with modern sedentary lifestyles. They are also versatile enough to be used in a similar fashion to dumbbells.
Dumbbells would be next on the list. There are some great adjustable dumbbells on the market but they come at a price. Again, take time to learn how to use them properly and seek out some proper instruction before using them in your workout at home. Dumbbells require more stability and control than barbells and single objects and therefore provide a fantastic stimulus for dominant versus non dominant sides of the body.
Also, in the mix should be medicine balls. Many human movements involve acceleration and rotation. Medicine balls can provide a versatile piece of equipment that can be thrown and rotated around the body.
Before you get started
Before you embark on your workouts at home it’s important to revisit the goals of your fitness programme. Being clear on what you want to achieve is fundamental to setting the right routine and purchasing the right equipment. Once you’ve got your new workout equipment, be sure to learn the proper techniques of using it. Get qualified instruction whenever possible.