When you are at home, you need to be creative when it comes to working out. A simple, no-cost routine should include an element of weight training and cardio. This will ensure you recruit a maximal amount of muscle while burning calories. Building muscle not only improves your definition, but it also boosts your resting metabolic rate.
Simple Stretches Before Exercise
When you do a workout, you activate multiple muscles and joints throughout your body. If you exercise without first stretching your body, you run the risk of pulling a muscle or suffering some other form of injury. Dynamic stretches, which are performed in motion, can help prevent this from happening. Execute simple stretches, such as alternating toe touches, trunk rotations, leg swings, arm crossovers, high knees and shoulder shrugs.
Weight Training Exercises
If you are at home, you might not have fitness equipment to utilize, but you do have the weight of your body. With the addition of a chair, you can do exercises to work all your major muscle groups by doing decline pushups, regular pushups, incline pushups, dips, back extensions, lunges, squats and bicycle maneuvers. You can also hold on to full-gallon water jugs to increase your resistance. This would apply with exercises such as squats and lunges.
Circuit Format
Circuit training is performed by doing a group of exercises back to back with short rest breaks, then repeating the series three or four more times. This type of training improves your endurance, strength, definition and fat-burning potential all in one. String together a series of six to eight exercises and perform them one right after the other. Rest for 45 seconds or less in between each and repeat the circuit. As you get into better shape, continually decrease your rest breaks until you can do your exercises without rest breaks. The reps with circuit training need to be high. Aim for 15 to 20 with each exercise.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise is performed in a repetitive motion for an extended period of time. The end result is you burn calories and improve the health of your heart and lungs. Running and walking are both no-cost forms of cardio that you can do out on the streets. To achieve health benefits, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 30 minutes of cardio If you want to lose weight, increase your time to 60 minutes or higher.
Adhering to Your Workout
To get favorable results from your workouts, you need to exercise on a regular basis. Aim for three days of circuit training and cardio each week. Perform them on alternating days. On your off day, feel free to go for a walk in the park or play some form of recreational sport such as dodgeball or flag football.
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