Written by Nicole Eldred BSN, RN; Edited by Amy Will 17x Marathoner
Hitting the gym may feel like the last thing you want to do after a long day of work, a day filled with errands, or simply when you don’t feel like facing other people! One positive thing the pandemic taught me is the power of at-home workouts. All you really need is some floor space and your own bodyweight and you can put in some real work!
Give these at-home workouts a try:
Workout #1: 20 minute full body EMOM, “Every Minute on the Minute”
Minute 1: 15 air squats
Minute 2: 15 sit-ups
Minute 3: 8 push-ups
Minute 4: 8 superman back extensions
Minute 5: rest/dance break
Repeat x4 (for a total of 20 minutes)
Workout #2: 20 minute leg burner AMRAP, “As Many Rounds as Possible”
-5 burpees
-5 lunges each leg
-10 lateral line jump-overs (find a point on your floor and jump back and forth over it 10x)
-10 single leg RDL (5 each side)
Workout #3: To Do List (complete the list of movements from top to bottom)
-50 jump ropes or lateral line jump-overs
-40 sit-ups
-30 bird-dog extensions
-20 jump squats
-10 push-ups
-5 tricep dips
-4 burpees
-3 shuttle sprints (pick a location ie, down your hallway/driveway, and sprint back and forth 3x)
-2 :30 second side planks (1 each side)
-1 high-five, because you’re done!
Workout #4: Full Body Tabata (Tabata is a style of exercise that is :20 seconds of max effort work followed by :10 seconds of rest. Complete the following exercises using this time scheme)
-4 minutes of walking lunges
-4 minutes of hollow holds
-4 minutes of sprints (walking, running, stationary bike, etc.)
-4 minutes of ab bicycles
-4 minutes of burpees
Create Your Own: Creating an at-home workout can be super simple. You can select the amount of time you have, a rep scheme you like (Every Minute, As Many Rounds, Tabata, or a To-Do List), and a body area to focus on and get to sweating! You can get creative with this, and can adjust your workout to your skillset.
Always remember to treat your body with love and listen to your gut. If something is hurting, stop and assess. Warming up, stretching, and cooling down play vital roles in preventing injury. Make sure to modify any movement to fit your individualized ability and never sacrifice proper body mechanics. For example, knee push-ups are an amazing substitution to ensure proper form rather than doing “regular” push-ups. If you do not know what an exercise listed is, I have made sure that Google yields a good example, so just type it in to see a great how-to!
Remember the importance of hydration after exercise and be sure to stay safe and have fun!