By exercising outdoors and in your home, you can improve your fitness without joining a gym. Your daily routine should target all areas of fitness. A complete fitness routine includes strengthening, improving flexibilty and also cardiovascular fitness. Consistency is important to any fitness program, so set aside time each day to exercise. Whether it is 30 minutes or 90 minutes, commit to that time rather than skipping workouts and trying to make up for lost time on other days.
Strength
In order to increase strength, you must work against resistance. This can mean lifting weights, using resistance bands or working against your own body weight. The classic pushup works the triceps, shoulders and chest and by using different arm and leg positions, you can change the nature of the exercise and work the muscles in different ways. Perform pull-ups to work the biceps and back or alternatively use dumbbells or heavy objects in the home to perform weighted rows. For the lower body, perform deep squats with proper technique, keeping you spine in a straight line. Once they become easy, move to one-legged squats. Lunges are also excellent leg exercises and raising your back leg onto a bench or chair can increase the difficulty.
Stretching
Stretching improves your flexibility, which has several benefits. An increased range of motion can improve performance in athletic actions such as sports and dancing and also lowers your risk of injuries. Stretch before and after every workout, holding each stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. Also make one of your daily workouts each week a flexibility workout based around stretching. Important areas to stretch include the hamstrings, the calves, the chest and back. If you play sports, particularly tennis or golf, pay extra attention to the rotator cuffs because they can become tight, which limits performance and can lead to injury.
Cardio
Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart. A stronger heart is able to pump blood around the body with greater ease when resting and also suffers less strain when you engage in vigorous activity. Just 60 minutes per week can improve your heart health but the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recommends either 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity or half that amount of vigorous exercise. Obvious options include walking, jogging, running and cycling but household exercise such as vigorous gardening can also be included. For many people, aerobic exercise outside is more pleasing than the gym equivalent, so find a nice route to run.
Supplementary Exercise
You might wish to add something different to your routine from time to time to keep things interesting. Tai chi is a slow-moving martial art with dance-like movements that improves balance, flexibility and coordination. Yoga is also helpful for strength, flexibility and relaxation. Both tai chi and yoga be performed alone in your living room.
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