Working out may sound dreadful to some but it’s the most effective way to lose weight and build muscles. Now here lies the question, should you invest in a gym membership or will working out at home suffice? If you’re keen to find out how working out at home can be just as intense as working out in a gym, read on!
When it comes to keeping yourself healthy, a good diet and frequent exercise is key. But when you’re new to working out, it’s highly likely that you’ll be intimidated by the various equipment found in gyms,. In such a case, working out at home won’t be too bad of an idea!
While there are limitations to working out at home, the limitation mainly being the lack of equipment, there are also several perks. First of all, there’s no need to pay an outrageous gym membership fee every month. You’ll also be in the comfort of your own home, so don’t worry if you feel shy about working out in front of other strangers. Working out from home also saves you time from travelling! Instead, that time can be better spent on your workout routine.
Being “lazy”
I’m sure we all know the benefits of exercising. Exercising helps you to be healthier by losing weight, gaining muscles and relieving stress. Despite this, I know that I’m guilty of saying “I don’t have the time to exercise” truth is, I just don’t make it a priority. Workouts don’t have to be hours long. Even breaking a sweat during a 30 minute session would be better than not doing anything at all.
It may be difficult to find the motivation to push yourself and start exercising, but just remind yourself of your goals from doing so! Take baby steps and slowly increase the duration of your workout if you’re just starting out. Be sure to set realistic goals for yourself as well. Pushing yourself too hard can result in getting yourself injured.
If you really want to, you can also try to incorporate exercises into your daily life. There are exercises you can do at your work desk, in the kitchen or even in bed! Doing chores around the house is also a great workout; a situation where you kill two birds with one stone.
Home vs gym
When people decide to go for a workout, they usually have plans to go to the gym. But sometimes, you might just be met with disappointment if the gym is too full. Working out at home, you’ll never have that issue. All you really need is space and you’re pretty much good to go!
Eventually, you can increase the intensity of your exercises by using equipment such as resistance bands, kettlebells and dumbbells.
You can even use household items like a chair, your couch, or even water bottles (that have been filled up of course).
Now let’s get into what exercises you can do at home without having to use equipment.
Warmups
Before starting any exercise, its important to begin with warmups. As the name suggests, this is to warm up your body and get your muscles ready. Warmups usually last for a short amount of time (5-10 minutes).
Warmups can also help to prevent the chances of sustaining an injury while you are exercising. I’m sure that the last thing you want from this workout is a pulled muscle.
Warmup activities you can try:
- Jumping jacks
- Lunges
- Jogging on the spot
- Arm rotations
HIIT / Tabata
What is HIIT
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It is similar to the Tabata Training method where by after a set duration of exercise (e.g 30 seconds), it is followed by a set duration of rest (e.g 15 seconds). The intervals can boost cardio-respiratory health as compared to continuous exercise.
During this exercise routine, several exercises can be done such as burpees, sit-ups, push-ups and many more! These exercises can also be interchanged to make each workout different.
On YouTube, there are several HIIT workout videos that guide you. It’s a great place to start if you’re not too familiar with what exercises to do.
Pamela Reif
Pamela Reif has several workout routines of varying durations on her YouTube channel.
Dr LA Thoma Gustin
Dr LA Thoma Gustin often does workout live streams on her channel. She even includes different ways the exercises in the workout routine can be adapted to your body (increasing/decreasing intensity).
Yoga
Yoga is one of those workouts that are done at a slower pace. It allows you to be more aware of your body and be one with yourself. If it’s your first time doing yoga, it’s important to take note of your posture.
Yoga with Adriene
Adirene has a wide variety of workouts that focus on different aspects of the body.
Cool downs
Similar to warmups, cool downs also play an important role. After stretching and working your muscle during the workout, a 5-10 minute cool down session will do your body good. This will help to prevent dizziness and muscle cramps. Moving through the cool down slowly also brings down your heart rate at a slow pace.
While exercising may be dreadful at first, be sure to keep yourself motivated and start small. You can always mix up between working out at home and at the gym as well to make exercising more interesting. You can also invite a friend over to do the workouts together and have a friendly competition. Eventually, you might want to switch over to a gym for their equipment so as to increase the intensity of your workouts. Gym memberships may be costly but if you’re looking to use the equipment, you’ll definitely make your money’s worth!
References:
Lifeguide.sg 