Exercising In The House

 

We are heading into the colder temperatures. Some of us live in climates where it gets too cold to enjoy time outdoors or the weather is such that you can’t go out but you still want to do some sort of exercise. So today, I will make suggestions for things you can do at e when you can’t go out. These suggestions do no require any fancy equipment nor access to a gym.

First is one of my favorites. Just throw on your favorite music and dance to it. I love using music from the 1960’s because it has a great beat, and it is so danceable. After about 30 minutes, I am sweaty and feel great. If you are not comfortable bopping around, you can check YouTube for instructional clips. 

Second, clear a space in the living room for yoga. Fortunately, there are many different versions of yoga so you are likely to find one that works for you. Again, YouTube has a some really good videos to follow if you’ve never done it before or you are not confident enough to do it on your own.

Third would be a barre exercise. Think of dancers standing next to the barre to stretch. I admit to sometimes using the back of the sofa or a chair instead of a barre and either worked well. YouTube has some really nice workouts but if you have never done barre before, look for those videos that are no more than 20 minutes long.

Fourth is High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT which integrates segments of high intensity exercise with lower so your heart has to work a bit harder. I’ve done it before and I enjoy it because it makes me work harder at times and I don’t mind it because I know the high intensity sections are say 60 seconds. Although I have a couple DVD’s with HIIT, I also hit YouTube for variety.

Fifth is the couch potato workout where you squeeze in exercises during commercial breaks. For instance, during the first set of commercials, you can go from sitting position, to standing, then back to sitting and repeat till the show comes back on. During the next break, sit at the edge of the chair, place your hands next to your body, then schoolchildren a bit so you can easy your body towards the floor by bending your arms, then raise yourself up by straightening your arms and repeat. You can sneak in lunges, squats, the plank, jumping jacks, or other exercise. 

These are just five examples of exercises you can do at home if you are unable to get out due to weather. Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear. Have a great day.