Home Exercise Tips That REALLY Work

Whether you have never exercised before or you are an avid gym goer, we have put together some top tips that you can use in order to stay fit, active and healthy at home!

WALKING

Walk everywhere! How about a 20 minute walk before breakfast or after walk? Or a 30 minute walk at lunch? The benefits of walking are HUGE and you can literally fit it in anywhere! People have been known to rock up thousands of steps just by walking round the house pottering about! 

Catch up on the hoovering, give the furniture a dust, reply to all your social media messages, whatever you choose to do, rack those steps up! 

Don't underestimate the benefits of walking ... here are just a few:

• Burn calories - can help you maintain or lose weight depending on the distance covered and walking speed
• Strengthen your heart - walking for 30 mins a day can reduce your risk for coronary disease
• Eases joint pain
• Boosts immune function
• Can help lower your blood sugar
• Age related memory decline can be lowered 
• Boost your energy
• Improve your mood
• Tone your legs

If that's not enough reasons to grab your trainers and get out for a walk, then we don't know what is! 

Don't forget to check out your local area too as there could be some hidden gems of different walks around you, whether it's a local country park or a hidden woodland path, go exploring and have fun! (Socially distanced of course!) 

BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES

Want to tone up whilst losing body fat? A lot of people presume that the best way to burn fat is simply just through cardiovascular exercises such as running or cycling, BUT you can burn calories and tone up at the same time by doing exercises that simply use your body weight - no equipment needed! With the prices of workout equipment such as dumbbells sky rocketing with each lockdown, this will be music to your ears! 

Want a good full body workout that is going to get your heart racing and put your muscles to the test?

Try some of these exercises below, put together your favourites and try the following:

1. 30 seconds of each movement, followed by 30 seconds rest.

2. Alternatively try 15 reps of each exercise and have a circuit of 5 exercises and repeat 3 times!

Upper body exercises:

• Press ups
• Tricep dips
• Plank
• Side plank
• Abdominal crunches
• Shoulder taps
• Pull ups
• Chin ups

Lower body exercises:

• Squats
• Forward lunges
• Reverse lunges
• Split squats
• Curtsey lunges 
• Wall sit
• Step ups 
• Leg raises
• Donkey kicks
• Side leg raises
• Glute bridges
• Flutter kicks

Unsure what any of these movements are? A quick google will help you 😊

RESITANCE BANDS

Resistance bands can be a fab addition to your workout and can be one of the best and compact tools in your home workout.

Resistance bands can be a super-effective way to add difficulty to your workout whether it’s those fast-paced HIIT sessions or your favourite booty-building exercises. Getting fitter can be really simple and doesn't need to be over complicated with heaps of expensive equipment. All you need is a little determination to push your body out of it's comfort zone and increase the intensity.

The majority of resistance bands come in different strengths, often with low, medium or high resistance. As a beginner it would be best to start off with a low resistance band and work your way up. 

You can use resistance bands in a huge variety of ways including bicep curls, face pulls, straight arm pull downs, tricep extensions, glute bridges, squats, crab walks and kick backs.

Make sure you're performing the exercises with the correct form to avoid injury and rep to failure to really up that intensity and feel the burn! 

TAKE UP YOGA!

With the craziness of the World right now, Yoga can be hugely beneficial - not only for fitness, but for the mind too. By holding each pose for just a few seconds at a time, slowing down your breathing and concentrating on the now, the benefits are endless. 

Improving muscle tone, increasing flexibility and even weight reduction, this is perfect for anyone - from beginners to exercise fanatics, young or old, and can even be done from the comfort of your bedroom floor. 

Try these simple poses: 

1. Childs Pose

This can be done as a great pause pose, stretching all the muscles from your lower back to your neck. Focus on your breathing and relaxing of the muscles in your spine to feel the benefits. 

2. Tree Pose

Whilst improving your balance and strengthening your core, this pose is also great for your thighs, ankles and spine. Lying face down, place the palm of your hands face down on the floor, inline with your chin, and lift up your upper torso. You will feel the stretch all down your back! 

3. Corpse Pose

This pose is perfect for anyone at anytime! A personal favourite for us too. This focuses on the mind and is a great way to squeeze in a minute of relaxation into our busy schedules. Focus on your body sinking into the floor - one part at a time. Try to feel each body part as a focal point, moving up your body, until you reach your head. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF WARMING UP & STRETCHING

One of the most important parts of any form of exercise is taking the time to warm up and stretch efficiently- this will allow your body to feel prepared, loosening up your muscles and steadily increasing your heart rate, without leading to injury. 

Not only this, but stretching can improve posture and decrease muscle soreness once you have exercised. Stretching is great for anyone with back pain too! 

FREE FITNESS RESOURCES

In Lockdown 1.0 thousands of people downloaded the NHS Couch to 5K app on their phones and starting running. The fantastic thing about the app is that it gradually teaches you how to go from running just 30 seconds to a whole 30 minutes - an incredible achievement for anyone, young or old! 

What is great about technology now is that you have hundreds of apps at your fingertips and also, hundreds of FREE workouts online! Search through your social media as often fitness coaches have uploaded workouts to their IGTV on Instagram and DON'T FORGET about The Skinny Food Co LIVE workout on 28th January at 6pm with fitness coach Jack Wilson!