As you already know, many of us are required to or choosing to remain away from public spaces in an effort to stay well. At this time more than any other, we need to continue our exercise routines, both for our mental and physical health! But it can be hard to motivate yourself to exercise when you’re not in that gym environment, especially when so many other things at home can be distracting.
If it all possible, at a minimum get outside daily and take a walk. Especially if you can get to a green space, or walk with a pet, your body and mind will thank you for it. Getting some fresh air and adrenaline will help improve your mood and keep you from feeling the blues.
Here are some tips for getting motivated for both in indoor or outdoor routine:
Begin by getting up and putting your workout clothes on, just like you were going to go to the gym. Put on some motivating music or make a playlist of upbeat songs that you love. Start with a light warm up, marching in place, low kicks, arm swings, twists, etc. to get the blood flowing.
After you’ve warmed up for a few minutes, you can do some light stretching. When you are ready, here are some strength training exercises you can do in your own home with just your body weight, a stretchy band, dumbbells or anything else that weighs a few pounds, and a mat if desired. The possibilities are endless, so mix and match to keep your workouts interesting.
Lower body exercises:
Squats. Stand in a hip width stance, bend at the knees and hips, keeping the chest lifted and shoulders back. Keep your weight in the heels and squeeze the glutes as you come back up. Knee range of motion is up to your own ability. You can do these as a bodyweight exercise or hold some moderately heavy weights.
Wall sit. Stand with your back to a wall and step forward with both feet while keeping your hips and shoulder blades against the wall. Slide down the wall to parallel or as far as you can. This is an isometric exercise which targets the quadriceps. Hold it for as long as you can before standing back up. If you don’t feel the exercise in the muscles right above the knees, try adjusting your foot position further out.
Sit to stand to a bench or chair. Using moderately heavy weights or just body weight, stand in front of a bench or chair and sit all the way down to lightly tap, then squeeze the glutes and come back up. You can do a partial sit down if you have any knee pain. Repeat 15 to 20 times or until muscle fatigue.
Lunges. This is a split stance exercise with 1 foot forward and 1 foot back. Take a big step forward with 1 foot and make sure the toes of both feet are facing forward. Keeping your weight in your front heel, lift the back heel and lower the back knee down toward the floor. Be sure to keep the chest lifted and shoulders back, and try not to let the front knee go beyond the toes. You can do these with body weight or holding moderately heavy weights.
Single leg/arm reaches (drinking bird). This exercise challenges both your balance and the outer glute stabilizing muscles, as well as the hamstring. Stand on 1 foot and hinge forward at the hip, reaching the opposite hand down toward the floor and extending the free leg behind you. Finish the exercise by engaging the glute of the standing leg and coming all the way back up to vertical before beginning your next rep. If it is challenging to balance, you can stand next to a wall and use it as needed for support. Do as many reps as possible on one leg before switching to the other side.
Upper body exercises:
Push-ups. These can be done on the toes, or on the knees if desired. Come down to the floor and place your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Engage your core, and begin lowering your body toward the floor, bending at the elbows. If you choose to use the knees down option, be sure to keep your weight shifted forward. Partial range of motion is fine if needed.
Band pull a parts. This is an exercise for the muscles of the upper back, shoulders, and arms. Grab a physical therapy band or other stretchy band so that your hands are about shoulder width apart. Extend the arms forward, and pull the band so that as it stretches it moves in towards your chest. At the same time, pull your shoulder blades together to contract the muscles of your upper back, without elevating your shoulders toward your ears. You can adjust your hand position on the band as needed to make it easier or harder.
Shoulder presses with dumbbells or other weighted items. Stand and begin engaging the core. Hold your weights above your shoulders with your palms facing away from you. Extend the arms and bring the weights together above your head, then bend the elbows and bring the arms back down until the upper arms are parallel to the floor. Make sure not to arch your back to assist in the movement.
Diamond push-ups for triceps. Similar to regular push-ups, these can be done on the toes or knees, but target the triceps on the back of the arms. Come down to the floor or a mat and place the hands so that the index fingers and thumbs are touching, making a diamond or triangle position with your hands. Bend at the elbows and lower your chest towards the floor, keeping the elbows tucked in closely to your sides. Partial range of motion is fine with this exercise.
Core exercises:
Plank: come down to the floor or mat and position your elbows under your shoulders. Lift up onto the toes if possible, or keep the knees down if you need to modify. Pull the belly button towards the spine to engage the core, and keep your weight shifted slightly forward. Make sure that your hips are not too high or too low. Hold for as long as you can while continuing to breathe throughout the movement.
Side plank. Turn onto one side and tuck your elbow under your shoulder, then stack the hips so that you are not rolling forward or back. You can also stack the feet or go with a wider foot position if needed. Pressing through the forearm, lift your bottom hip off the floor, focusing on engaging the oblique on that side. Lower back down and lightly tap the floor before starting your next rep. Complete all reps on one side before switching to the other side. Knees can be kept down on the mat for a modification if needed.
Bird dog. This is a great exercise for engaging the core, glutes, and balance. Go to a kneeling position on the hands and knees, with the shoulders over the wrists. Lift and extend one leg behind you, then add the opposite arm. Hold for one second, then switch to the other side. Continue to alternate sides, engaging the glute of the leg you are lifting. If this is easy, you can try lifting the arm and leg on the same side instead of the alternate side.
Dead bug. Lie on your back and extend your arms and legs toward the ceiling, in other words your fingers and toes are all pointing toward the ceiling. Lower the opposite arm and leg back down towards the floor, in other words your arm is extending overhead and your leg is going back down to the floor. Bring both the arm and leg back up to the top and switch sides. Throughout this exercise, focus on using the abdominals to move your arms and legs. You can decrease the range of motion if this causes any excessive arching or pain to your lower back.
Bridge. Lie on your back and relax your upper body and arms. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Engaging the muscles of the lower back and glutes, lift your hips up as high as you can, hold for one second and then lower back down to lightly tap the mat or floor before beginning the next rep. If this is too easy, you can either move the feet further away from your body, or make it a single leg exercise by placing 1 foot on the opposite knee in a figure 4 position. Be sure not to rotate the hips as you lift and lower.
Cobra. Lie on your stomach with your arms extended in front and your legs extended behind. Use your lower back and glutes to lift your upper chest, shoulders and arms off the floor, superman style. If you are able, you can also lift the lower legs off the floor. This is a small range of motion exercise, so stay in your own comfortable range. Try to do a few extra reps for this one as it is a great lower back strengthener.
Full body/functional/cardio:
Liedown/stand up. This is exactly what it sounds like, lower yourself down to the floor or mat and stand back up as many times as possible. You can stand up by crossing the legs, going with a wide stance, or rolling over onto one hip or even going into a hands and knees position. Feel free to use one or both hands to assist if necessary. This is an amazingly functional exercise that applies to something you need to be able to do every day!
Burpee. Begin in the standing position. Bend at the waist and place the hands on the floor, then either jump back or step back quickly; finish the exercise by jumping or stepping back in and then standing all the way back up to vertical. This is a cardiovascular exercise so try to increase the speed if possible while maintaining good form.
Froggers. Also known as a squat jump, this is a lower body and cardio exercise. Begin by stepping out to a shoulder width stance, lower into a squat position, and powering through the soles of the feet, jump up and reach the arms up overhead before landing softly on the balls of the feet and returning to the squat position. Try to do at least 20 reps of this exercise. If you need a low impact modification, simply lift the heels as you come up rather than jumping.
Wood chops with a weight. Hold a moderately heavy weight with both hands. Reach the weight up above one shoulder and above your head. Engaging the core, bring the weight diagonally across the body and in front of the opposite hip. Bend the knees and reach the weight down towards the floor, then press the weight back up again on the diagonal toward the ceiling. Repeat all reps on one side before switching to the other side. This is a full body and functional exercise. If you are able, you can slightly speed it up to make it more dynamic.
Balance exercises. Try standing on 1 foot and closing the eyes. Try a heel toe walk forward and backward to challenge your balance. You can also try standing in a heel toe stance and then rotating the shoulders and head both directions or closing the eyes for an additional challenge. Be sure that the ankles do not roll in during your balance exercises.
Perform one or two sets of at least one exercise for each body part, plus functional and cardio exercises. Cool down with light walking, light dancing, or a simple step touch movement. Finish with stretching for hamstrings, hips, calves, quadriceps, back, shoulders, arms, and neck.
Comments