No time and no equipment to weight train? No worries. You can do a quick workout at home using your own bodyweight as resistance.
For weight loss and maintaining a lean body, resistance training is the best for fat loss – more so than cardio exercises. And research also shows less time exercising is more effective than longer sessions, if done properly. A full-body home workout can be done in 30 minutes. However, we add more time to that with preparation and travel time going to the gym, including time waiting to use the equipment.
A home workout can be effective without being complicated. Just keep it simple. Traditional exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges and the plank have been around forever because they work. And at home, you can keep moving, to increase fat usage and fitness benefits. That’s hard to do in a busy gym, as waiting for equipment creates a time lag between exercises.
Equipment – even improvised equipment – isn’t necessary to get the benefits of weight training. You can do everything using body weight, with one exception: The “pulling” movement (for the back, biceps and rear shoulders) can be challenging to replicate without equipment. You can improvise using a towel, belt or rope: Anchor it around a secure object, lean back and pull yourself forward. Exercise elastics, a minor investment, also enable a pulling movement. Verify the correct “pulling” technique with a Certified Fitness Instructor.
If you choose to use something other than your own bodyweight, you don’t have to invest a fortune. Common household items can be improvised as exercise equipment. Here are some examples: as mentioned, a towel or rope for “pulling” movements; four-litre milk jugs as dumbbells (filled or partially filled with water); a broomstick (inserted through milk jug handles creates a “barbell”); and staircase steps (stepping for leg muscles and cardio fitness). Low-cost items include light dumbbells and resistance (elastic) bands.
Exercise variety is important, too. Work your body from all different directions to use different muscles. If you keep doing the same exercises, you risk muscle imbalances, and that’s a concern if you already have, say, poor “desk posture” from work.
If your exercises are mostly push-ups for the chest and crunches for the abs, your back is ignored. “Pulling” movements for the back will counteract poor posture developed from daily overuse of the “pushing” movements of the chest. Learn more about balanced training and working opposing muscles from a fitness instructor.
Before you exercise, do a five-minute aerobic warm up (like walking or stair-stepping). And stretch after your workout to relax muscles and promote flexibility.
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Eve Lees has been active in the health & fitness industry since 1979. Currently, she is a Freelance Health Writer for several publication and speaks to business and private groups on various health topics.