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09 Apr 2018

Turn your home into a gym

When it comes to exercise, procrastination is all too easy due to the mental and physical barriers that we put in place. People who want to get fit are often told to join a gym or buy an expensive piece of workout equipment - things that cost more time and money than most people have. There is a solution, however, working out at home. By turning your home into a gym and getting inspired by your domestic environment, you can break down the barriers that have been holding you back for so long.

Above all else, getting fit is about attitude. Even the simplest workouts can be incredibly productive if you do them consistently and with 100 percent of your focus. By combining the following exercises into a circuit, and performing them a few days each week, you can get a total-body workout without leaving the confines of your home. Stairs are a great starting point for any workout, and it really is as easy as left, right, left. A staircase workout is a great way to improve cardiovascular fitness and overall health, and when you add squatting to the mix, you can also tone your muscles and improve your balance.

The walls of your house can also provide great support and resistance for a range of exercises, including squats, wall sits, wall push-ups, and wall lunges. In fact, much of the equipment you find at gyms can be substituted for simple domestic surfaces, including tables, chairs, and hand rails. If you think about it, all exercise works because of support and resistance. Bodyweight exercises and other forms of resistance training have become incredibly popular over the last few years, because they help people to self-regulate their routines and avoid injuries. Common bodyweight exercises you can easily do at home include push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, and pull-ups.

Yoga and Pilates routines are also easy to perform at home, with numerous books and websites available to help you with correct posture and technique. Interestingly, lots of popular yoga and bodyweight exercises have been inspired by animal moves, including downward dog, the crouching tiger, frog hops, the monkey shuffle, and the bear crawl. Because these moves are inspired by natural movements, they don't require external equipment and can easily be performed at home. Yoga and Pilates is a great way to improve your flexibility and balance, with these key benefits not always seen in static gym-based fitness routines.

Core strength routines can also be performed at home, including things like squats, lunges, back extensions, crunches, thrusts, and bridges. While it's totally possible to work on your core without the use of any gadgets whatsoever, a few simple pieces of equipment can prove useful. Medicine balls and balance boards can both be used to improve balance and flexibility during core strength routines, with exercise balls another great way to work on your core muscles without leaving home. By turning your home into a gym and performing these exercises on a regular basis, you'll never have an excuse to procrastinate ever again.

 

Image source: Luna Vandoorne/Shutterstock