I wanted to share with everyone my favorite at home workouts that don’t require a gym or equipment! Getting our daily exercise in does not always mean rigorous workouts in a gym setting especially now that we can’t go to a gym and are stuck at home. Moving your body throughout the day is crucial for your physical health and mental health! These workouts will engage your muscles and can be done almost anywhere! For everyone working from home, doing school work at your desk or just having a lazy day watching TV, it is important to stand up for a few minutes EVERY hour. Get up and refresh your water or take a quick stretch break. Prolonged sitting has been linked to developing certain health diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/more-evidence-that-sitting-may-raise-heart-disease-risk
What I want to stress most about these daily workouts is not getting really sweaty or feeling so sore you can’t move the next day but rather engaging different muscles in different parts of your body throughout the day.
Morning
10 jumping jacks before you jump into the shower
Hold a plank while you wait for your coffee or tea
Grab two water bottles and do curl-ups while sitting at your desk
Afternoon
Squats while your smoothie blends
Lunges for finishing work for the day
Walk around the neighborhood for 20 minutes (fresh air!)
Evening
Hip thrusts while you wait for dinner to cook
Sit-ups during TV commercials
Calf raises when you walk up the stairs (or skip a step if you can)
Finish your day with some yoga, getting a deep stretch and relaxing your body before going to sleep. My favorite yoga poses include child’s pose, warrior and downward-facing dog. Click here to learn more about the benefits of before bed yoga. https://thriveglobal.com/stories/4-benefits-to-performing-yoga-before-bed/
If you are looking for a little harder of a workout, try these mini-workouts but with added weight (full water bottles, laundry detergent or even wine bottles) and more reps. Well Good has a fuller list of household items to use at weights! https://www.wellandgood.com/household-items-to-use-as-exercise-equipment/
All these workouts can be modified to your daily routine to what works best in your life. Squeezing in quick reps of these workouts can have a tremendous effect on your mood, even without being able to go to the gym. If you need little reminders throughout the day, write yourself motivational sticky notes and place them where you will see them most (coffee maker, desk, TV remote, etc.)
Please feel free to share in the comments if you did any of these mini-workouts or if you have any new suggestions for others to try! To learn more about Empowered Lifestyle please visit www.empoweredlifestylect.com or connect with Susanne Cesana at 860-682-2485 or [email protected]