This past weekend, most of Ontario experienced some nasty,
nasty weather with cold winds, rainy skies (umm hello union station flooded??)
and very little sunshine. With weather that cold and rainy, I had no intentions
of going for a run or bike ride outside, and can only last about ten minutes on
a treadmill before I am completely bored, even with iPod in hand, TV on and
all. I also had no desire to walk 20 minutes in the pouring rain to the gym, get
drenched, work out, then have to drag myself back home. Bad weather though, is
no excuse to miss a workout. Having a backup plan to deal with obstacles to
your exercise routine is crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. My backup
plan: grab my yoga matt and workout at home. One of the best things I learned
at my personal training course was the “elevator workout”, aka a workout you
could do if you were stuck in an elevator with no equipment.
Here are some
example exercises you can do at home that don’t require any fancy equipment or
machines. And no, I’m not going to post a picture of me doing each one (I have a life and a thesis to finish), so if you don’t know what something means, I’m sure Google
or Youtube has an answer.
Jumping jacks, burpees, high knees, forward and side kicks,
lunges (walking, jumping, stationary), squats (regular, one leg, sumo), crab
walk, lying leg lifts (think Jane Fonda) pushups, mountain climbers, basically
any abdominal exercise (bicycle, plank, crunches etc.), the list goes on and
on. Turn on the TV, workout to one episode of Oprah and you’ve gotten your 60
minutes of daily physical activity.
Need some motivation? Try purchasing a
workout DVD (P90x, Insanity, Jillian Michaels) for a great total body workout.
Hate working out at the gym around others in general? Try purchasing a couple
free weights and do upper body strengthening exercises in your family room at
home :)
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