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Peanut butter is a great food to fuel up on before a 5K or 10K because of its low GI, high carbohydrate and high protein content.
What to eat before a 5K or 10KExercise of any kind can decrease stress and anxiety and improve sleep. It isn't always possible to do your workout outside, be it at a leisure centre or class, so this blog has lots of suggestions to help keep you moving at home.
Exercising at home has the benefit that it is completely free, you can do it at a time that suits and there is no one else to measure your abilities against. Instead, you can do as much as you want, whenever you want.
Now, you may not know where to start when exercising at home so here are my top tips to get you started:
With an array of technology at our fingertips, it now easier than ever to practice a whole variety of exercises.
YouTube is a good source of exercise videos, with everything from beginner's workouts, to specific activities like yoga. Notable fitness-focused YouTubers include Joe Wicks, whose fun but challenging workouts can get the whole family involved. His morning P.E sessions, which come live from his living room at 9 am from Monday to Friday, are a particularly good way to get kids and adults moving.
If you can't make it out of your house to your usual exercise class, ask your instructor if it is possible to use Zoom – a video conferencing platform. Your instructor can set up a camera in front of them, thus making it possible to follow the workout at home. Zoom is an app that can be download to your phone or installed on your computer.
As well as Zoom, there are a vast range of other fitness apps that provide workouts to follow at home. Simply search 'fitness apps' into your phone's app store to find ones that are suitable for your device.
Finally, you can create your own circuits session by following a few of our exercise videos one after the other, for example:
You can do as many of these as you like, and in whatever order you like. For even more variety, you can check out all our exercise videos on our YouTube playlist below:
Now, some of us may be lucky enough to have weights lying around - perhaps under a pile of dust in the garage, or tucked away at the bottom of the wardrobe! If this is the case for you, give them a wipe and get started with some simple weight-lifting exercises.
Now, if you don't have any weights lying around, household items such as coffee jars, pet food, tins and books all work just as well.
This can be as simple as putting on some music that makes you happy, then dancing freely around your living room. If you'd feel more comfortable with a bit of guidance, however, YouTube is a great source of dance videos. It has everything from Latin to Hip Hop so it is a great way to try something new!
The app TikTok also provides dance challenges. These usually suggest making up a dance to a chosen song, or copying a dance from a music video. It is a bit of fun and a great way to get moving at home.
If you have access to a garden, you can play hide and seek with the kids, do some gardening, brush the front step, clean windows, clear out the shed or any number of activities. All of these get your body moving, as well as helping to tick things off the 'to do' list!
For those looking to do a low impact activity, stretching is ideal. You can follow the graphic below for a short workout but, even if you only do a couple of movements to start with, that's fine!
I'd recommend using these stretches to break up long periods of sitting and, if the activities are a little hard on your joints, put down a yoga mat, a few towels or rug to provide some cushioning.
These exercises are a mix of cardio and stretching. Make sure you have plenty of space around you before beginning.
Cleaning and housework are surprisingly good ways to burn calories and keep your body moving. Just remember, however, that the body gets used to doing the same activities after a period of time, meaning you'll have to do additional ones to reap the physical benefits.
So, if you are looking for ways to workout at home, this may be the perfect opportunity to give the kitchen cupboards a clear out, to move your furniture and clean underneath, to scrub the windows or tidy the bookshelf!
For something a bit lighter, try some simple chair exercises.
Now, if you have kids or grandchildren about (or even if you don't!) you may be familiar with active video games such as the Wii Fit. Again, this is a super way to get the whole family moving.
However, you don't have to have a fancy games console to move around and have fun. If there's a few of you, try games including Twister, Charades and even Simon Says!
The easiest way to exercise on the stairs is to run/walk up them a few times – say 10 times morning, afternoon and evening in addition to what you'd normally do.
Besides running and walking up the stairs a few times, you can also use your stairs (or the front/back step) to practice step-ups.
To do this, step up with your right leg (your foot should be flat on the step) and then bring your left leg up so that the toe just touches the step. Step down with your left foot and then the right. Do this 10 times, as quickly or as slowly as you like.
To help make exercise at home a regular feature, here are a few of my top tips:
Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
Morning | 30-minute cardio workout | 30 minutes of aerobics | |||||
Afternoon | 45-minute online yoga session | Gardening (1 hour) | |||||
Evening | Strength training with homemade weights (30 minutes) |
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Peanut butter is a great food to fuel up on before a 5K or 10K because of its low GI, high carbohydrate and high protein content.
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