Want To Create A Home Work Out?

Jun 22

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Want to create a home work out? Here's what you need to know!

In a recent Community Chat, I spoke with Rachel Hernould, a personal trainer who has been working in the fitness industry for over 20 years. Below are the key points from our chat.

When one thinks about creating a workout, at home or otherwise, whether you're fit or unfit there are several factors to keep in mind to create balanced workouts.

Fitness can loosely be broken down into five components:

1. Cardiovascular fitness

2. Muscular endurance

3. Muscular strength

4. Flexibility

5. Body fat (level)

If you can include a little bit of each of these five elements in your fitness plan, then you are already on the road to a good plan.

There are three basic parts to a good workout:

1. A short warm up period - this can be some light cardio to get the blood flowing and the muscles warmed up, e.g. brisk walking

2. The main body of the workout - this could be sets, a circuit, intervals, a mix of full/ upper/lower body exercises

3. Cool down - a short period of cooling down and stretching.

There are several other factors to keep in mind when structuring your workouts:

Fitness level - how fit are you?
Injury - do you have any injuries? special considerations?
Age - how old are you?
Time - how much time do you have per day/week to exercise
What do you want to achieve - your fitness goals
Equipment available

The amount of time you have to spend on your workouts plus the equipment you have available will help you decide how to structure your workouts.

You want to try to work all muscle groups, including upper body, lower body, abs/core.

You also want to thinking about activities which are cardiovascular and which increase or maintain your flexibility. How much time you have will help you to decide whether to group everything together, pair one or two or do them separately.

For a home workout it is always nice to have some equipment to work out with to challenge the body to the next level. Dumbbells, bands, cables, kettle bells, medicine balls, a Physio ball blown up firm are all great options. These things can add more choice and challenge to your workouts.

You can also use various things found around the house to substitute for other equipment. Plastic bottles with liquid in them with easy to hold handles can be a good substitute for weights. Make sure to weigh them properly so that you have balanced weights if you’re using a pair. The added resistance will help to build stronger bones and muscles.

There are so many reasons to keep active! Just a few include the following:

Better mobility
Better sleep
Stronger body
More flexible
Mental well being
Stress relief
Looking and feeling better

Think of your fitness as a type of health insurance. The better your fitness level is the more likely you are to live a superior quality of life not just when you’re younger but more importantly when you get older. If the process seems unreachable and daunting, start small, start easy, gradually increase your intensity as your fitness level increases.

The internet is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to getting ideas. Be very specific when you ask the search engine what you want - refer to your age, fitness level, injuries, cardio, flexibility etc. If you’re a first timer get some help from a professional if possible.

Here are some tips to get you going or to keep you going: