  Working out at home is often more comfortable to the individual -- Digital Vision/Digital Vision/Getty Images. |
We’ve all heard home is where the heart is, but now many are finding out that it’s also where the heart gets pumping.
“I feel that someone can get as good a work out at home as the gym,” says Fitness Consultant Filomena Roberto. “But, you have to push yourself to do it.” Roberto trains several clients from home, often using materials found around the house. “There’s a lot of stuff in your home you can use. If you don’t have weights you can use can goods. If you don’t have a Pilates ball, use grapefruits.” Roberto does caution that these materials are typically useful only to beginners and usually you will need to upgrade the weight as you become stronger.
She says there are three pieces of equipment that are her favourite for working out at home. They are the exercise tube, the stability ball and hand held weights ranging from light to heavy to heavier. Since cardio machines can be expensive, Roberto says to go for a brisk walk, climb up and down the stairs or do jumping jacks to warm up.
When it comes down to the specific exercises, Roberto recommends speaking with a personal trainer to start you off or visiting a gym and getting a few pointers from an experienced friend. However, she has offered to give us a few of her favourite at-home exercises that will surely start toning those muscles.
The first exercise is squats. If you have an exercise ball this will help keep your back straight and body in position. Position the ball against your back and then against a wall. Slowly begin bending your knees until your body is in a sitting position. Lift up, and repeat for 3 sets of 10 repetitions. “This exercise is very easy on the joints. If someone feels pain they usually stop or not go down as far.”
Roberto says it is important to give a specific muscle a small break and move onto a different body part for the next sets. So, second is the shoulder press. For this exercise, hold the weights at the shoulders and then lift up above the head to a full extension, but don’t lock your elbows, and then back down to shoulder-level. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 repetitions. “We do a lot of lifting as women and it’s important to strengthen the upper back,” says Roberto. Strong back muscles also improve posture. “That’s the number one thing I look at when I train is posture. If posture is bad it means the back muscles are extremely weak and cannot pull the shoulder blades back into a vertical position.”
The third exercise is lunges. In a lunge you are focusing on quadriceps, gluts and hamstrings. Roberto says to increase the intensity of a lunge you can hold on to weights, or use a single step. If you are looking to increase endurance then instead of adding weight, increase the number or repetitions to 3 sets of 12 or 3 sets of 15.
After lunges is a return to the back muscles, in particular the upper to middle back. For this Roberto says to stand with free weights, bend at the hip joint and bend your knees slightly. Then, straighten your arms forward. Then pull the arms back, close to the body, with your elbows towards the ceiling. Only the arms are moving in this exercise the rest of the body remains still. When lifting the elbows up, remember to keep your shoulder blades close to together to contract the back muscle. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Next, Roberto moves down to the calf muscle. This one is easy. Simply pick up the free weights again, slightly bent knee, in a upright position, lift your heels up and then lower them down. 2 sets of 15 repetitions will work for this one.
The sixth exercise is the chest press. If you have a mat you can do this on the floor. With your weights in your hands, just above your chest, palms facing forward, lift up toward the ceiling and then back down again. You are looking for 3 sets of 12, and you should definitely be feeling the burn by number 8 or 9 in the repetition. Roberto reminds us to exhale on the push up and inhale on the push down. You can do the chest press on the stability ball as well; this will engage your core muscles. “Using the stability ball for this exercise is an excellent way to work more than just the chest. You are actually working the inner thigh and working hard to keep the body in position.”
For the next exercise Roberto returns to the shoulders, only this time she is focusing on the deltoid muscles. She especially likes using the exercise tube for these next exercises. Standing upright in the middle of the tube with your feet spread a little wider than your hips and your shoulders back and in a good posture, pick up the ends of the tube. Lift the arms out to the side, no higher than shoulder-level. If the exercise is too difficult to do with both feet on the tube, use only one foot or free weights instead. Once you’ve completed a set of these, move yours arms to the front and then lift. After one set here, move your arms back, with the back of your hands against your bottom and then lift up slightly.
Completing all these exercises should take you about 25 minutes, says Roberto. If you still have some time left she says to focus on your inner and outer thighs. Lay down on your side on a mat. Pull in your tummy and lift your top leg up. You can place a weight on the thigh to increase the intensity of the exercise, or wrap the exercise tube around your foot and use this for extra resistance. Once you are finished your 3 sets of 10, stay in the same position, move the top leg behind and lift the bottom leg up. Again you can wrap the tube around this foot to increase resistance. Once this is complete, turn around and do the same on the reverse legs.
Finally, don’t forget about your abs. Crunches on the exercise ball are a good way to end off.
Roberto says it is important to stay motivating when working at home and to do the exercise properly to avoid any injury. She says if a personal trainer is too expensive to maintain then perhaps hire one just to start you off on the right program for your goals and to teach you to perform each exercise correctly. Some trainers are willing to train 2 or 3 individuals at one time, so if you have a couple of friends team up to share the cost.
Remember to stay motivated and stay on target. Working out at home can save time, be more comfortable to the individual and effective with the right tools. Now get that heart pumping.
