Maybe the cost of a membership at the gym is too steep for you, but you still want to move your body and keep it in great shape. However, perhaps you’re a bit apprehensive about working out at home. After all, you know yourself. You’re certain that you’ll find all sorts of excuses not to do it—you have work to finish, you should clean this room and that room, or you need to take care of your kids or your cats and dogs.
The thing about working out at home is that it has the same amount of perks as going to the gym, maybe even more. Staying active within your own property saves you time and money, and the best thing about it is that you can try everything from cardio to yoga to something else you haven’t even heard of.
Not convinced yet? Another plus of working out at home is that you can do whatever you want right after. You can grab a healthy snack in the kitchen or soak your tired muscles in a relaxing Epsom salt bath.
You don’t even have to worry about equipment as you can use your body weight to build and tone your muscles. Here are six ways you can stay active at home without needing any expensive workout equipment:
Cardio
Cardio is the short term for cardiovascular exercise. It’s the exercise to do when you want to condition your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Cardio is an effective way to burn fat and calories for weight loss. It also helps expand your lung capacity, allowing you to breathe easier. Plus, it enhances your quality of sleep, and who doesn’t want a good night’s rest, right?
Here are a few cardio exercises you can easily do in the comfort of your own home:
- Jumping jacks
- High knees
- Running or jogging in place
- Inchworm crawl
- Burpees
- Mountain climbers
- Squat jumps
If you have stairs inside your home, walking up and down the steps is an excellent cardio workout as well.
There are a variety of online videos from fitness trainers and instructors that you can also follow along with.
When doing cardio, remember to add a 5- to 10-minute warm-up at the start of your session. This will help in lowering your risk of injury. Likewise, do not stop your workout abruptly. You’ll need to cool down for about 5 to 10 minutes as well.
Calisthenics
Calisthenics is a low-resistance form of exercise that involves using your body weight to train your major muscles. With calisthenics, you’ll need to do many repetitions in order to build muscle. It can be a warm-up or a cool-down for another fitness routine, but it can also be its own workout.
Calisthenics is quick, and it involves moving most, if not all, of your body parts. Repeat each of these exercises 10 to 12 times or more, depending on your fitness level:
- Push-ups
- Pull-ups
- Jumping jacks
- Planks
- Sit-ups
- Lunges
- Trunk twists
Kickboxing
Another cardio option to try is kickboxing. It’s a lot of fun, and it engages almost every muscle in your body. You don’t need to be an expert to do this. Much like cardio workouts, you can find a good number of at-home kickboxing videos online.
Here are some moves you can start with:
- Boxer’s shuffle and switch
- Back kick and knee strike
- Jab, cross, squat, jump, and switch
- Jab, cross, upper, duck
- Switching roundhouse
- Squat sidekicks
Pilates
Pilates is a form of physical training that can help improve your balance, posture, and strength. It’s also a great way to manage low back pain and increase muscular endurance and flexibility.
Try these out for yourself:
- Roll-up
- Shoulder bridge
- Tendon stretch
- Kneeling sidekicks
- Leg swings
- Wall chair
Yoga
Why not be active and flexible at the same time? When it comes to flexibility, yoga is your best option. However, there are many different types of yoga, so check them out and see what will fit the level of intensity and difficulty that your body can handle.
Yoga is also one of the greatest ways to uplift your mood as it is a relaxing activity. It can melt stress away and ease your mind.
Here are some basic yoga poses for beginners:
- Mountain pose
- Tree pose
- Downward facing dog
- Triangle pose
- Cobra
- Child’s pose
Chores
Yes, doing your daily household chores can help you stay healthy and active. When gardening, you can burn as much as 250 calories, depending on the task at hand. Conversely, you can burn 148 calories per hour while doing the laundry.
You can even increase the number of calories you burn by adding in some cardio or calisthenics as you do your chores. For example, vacuuming burns 4 calories per minute. You can turn this seemingly everyday task into a full-blown exercise routine by doing a full lunge each time you move the vacuum forward. Bring your leg back once you pull the vacuum toward you.
At home, it’s harder to stay motivated, but here are some ways to keep yourself in check:
- Remind yourself why you need to exercise. For improved health, stress management, better memory, a good night’s sleep—whatever your reason is, this will motivate you to move.
- Schedule your workouts and stick to what’s on your calendar.
- Block off time for your workout. It’s more challenging to exercise when you don’t make time for it in the first place.
- Do what you can. 30 minutes of exercise a day is better than nothing at all.
- Set up a workout space for yourself. Simply dedicating a corner of your living room for your exercise mat can keep you from getting distracted.
- Track your progress. Being able to see how far you’ve come can motivate you to keep going.
- Reward yourself. It can be as simple as a sweet snack or as luxurious as indulging in a soothing Epsom salt bath. You deserve it.
Rest And Recover With Pure Epsom Salt
Don’t ever forget that as much as your body needs to keep moving, it also needs time to rest and recover. Overexercising is a real thing.
Submerge your tired body into Better Bath Better Body’s aromatic and therapeutic Muscle Soak. This Epsom salt product is infused with natural essential oils for bath that are great for soothing your muscles and putting your mind in a calm and carefree state.
For more information about our range of Epsom bath salts and other products, head on over to our online shop.
