Improve Your Fitness, Even without a Gym
With gym closures now a fact of life for the foreseeable future, a lot of people are looking for at-home solutions to maintaining a healthy body. While expensive gym equipment might make it easier to put on muscle fast, with the right techniques and regular use, it is absolutely possible to get a rewarding full-body workout using only your bodyweight. Whether you’re a seasoned bodybuilder or new to the world of exercise, we’ve chosen five essential movements to add to your workout routine, helping to maintain a healthy lifestyle without having to leave your home.
5 Body Weight Workouts You Can Do at Home
There are a wide range of body weight workouts that can be done from the comfort of your own home, but starting with the fundamentals and building up your strength from there is an excellent place to start. Here are 5 exercises to begin your home workout routine with:
- Glute Bridge: Especially if you are used to sitting at a desk most of the day, your glutes are probably in desperate need of some attention. Adding a glute bridge into your home workout is an excellent way to work out stress in these muscles and build strength. Simply lie on your back with your feet on the ground and lift your backside up until everything beneath your shoulders is off the ground and your glutes are nice and tight. Then return to the ground. 3 sets of 10 in your routine is a good start.
- Squats: If you think you are doing enough squats, do more! These are amazingly good for working your thighs, glutes and core, without any elaborate equipment. Being careful not to put excessive strain on your knees is important, but when done correctly, squats can encourage knee strength and also balance. Start by doing 3 sets of 10 and add speed if you want to throw some cardio into the mix.
- Planks: No one likes doing planks but there are few better ways of going straight to the core and working on that six-pack you’ve always wanted! Timed planks can work everything from the core to the shoulders, chest and groin depending on how you do them, which gets to another reason why planks are amazing: they are versatile. Depending on what part of the body you want to work, different plank positions and pairings with other movements can give you a near-comprehensive workout without even having to stand upright. Start by adding 3 30-second planks to your routine.
- Pushups: Grueling if you are not in shape but rewarding the more they are done, pushups are a must for any bodyweight workout. With several variations to keep things interesting, pushups especially target the triceps, shoulders, chest and core, leading to that classic “shredded” look people work so hard for. If you aren’t in shape, inclined pushups are a good starting point. Introducing 3 sets of 10 or 6 sets of 5 is a good place to start.
- Burpees: In a bodyweight workout, cardio can be the hardest part to factor in. Cardio is all about pace, maintaining movement and speed. It’s great for burning fat and building endurance and for that, burpees are as good as it gets. Combining a pushup and jumping-jack, burpees get the heart-rate up and the body moving, for a faster but extremely beneficial workout. 3 sets of 10 is a good place to start.
At Medical Rehabilitation Centers of Pennsylvania, we give our patients the tools, knowledge and resources to maintain their strength and wellness beyond our physical therapy appointments. Even if you aren’t recovering from an injury, maintaining physical fitness is essential to injury prevention in the future and can speed up recovery if you are ever injured. Find out how we can help you make significant improvements or find long-term resolutions through our personalized physical therapy programs by reaching out to our team of trained and licensed professionals today.
To learn more about our physical therapy services or to book your appointment, contact us at the location of your choice, or complete our online form and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.