Got Bands?
You don’t need a lot of equipment to have a great workout at home. In fact many exercises don’t require anything. But if you are going to buy 3 items for your home workout I suggest…
- Stability ball – 55cm size if you are under 5’6” and 65cm size if you are 5’6” or taller. These balls come with pumps but it’s definitely a workout to pump them up!
- Resistance Band – preferably the kind with handles, a light or medium resistance depending on your strength.
- A set of dumbbells – between 5# and 10# to start depending on your strength.
Here are some examples of beginner exercises you can use with the equipment above.
Seated Row 
- Sit on a stability ball, floor, or the edge of a chair, place band around a sturdy table leg or pole
- Hold ends of band. With good posture, slowly pull band so your elbows go behind your body. Squeeze shoulder blades together.
- Keep forearms parallel to the ground.
Lateral Raise (Can also be done with dumbbells like shown)
- Stand with one or two feet on center of band (two feet=higher resistance).
- Hold ends of band. With good posture, raise arms out to the sides. Do not go higher than your shoulder joint.
- Lower down slowly, resisting gravity.
Bicep Curl (Also can be done with dumbbells as shown)
- Stand with one or two feet on center of band (two feet=higher resistance)
- Hold ends of band with palms facing out. With good posture, bend elbows and pull band up. Keep wrists straight.
- Lower down slowly, resisting gravity.
Tricep Push-down - Stand with band anchored over a door or over a pull-up bar.
- Hold ends of band with palms facing down. Keeping elbows next to your sides at all times, push down. Keep wrists straight.
- Slowly let forearms come back to the starting point.
Stability Ball crunch
- Sit on ball, walk forward and lean back until lower back is supported.
- Hands behind head, elbows out. Keep spine in a straight line and abs tight.
- Exhale while lifting upper back off the ball, not letting ball move. Inhale as you return to starting position.
Squats, walking lunges and static lunges are lower body exercises that can also be done without any weights or by holding dumbbells.
Squats - Stand with feet hip-width a part 1 foot in front of chair.
- Sitting back on heals, lower butt as if reaching for the chair. Keep back flat –NOT rounded.
- Keep knees directly above ankles as you lower down. Try to touch the chair with your butt and stand right back up.
Walking lunges - Standing with feet hip-width apart, take a big step forward with right leg. Left heel is off the ground.
- Keeping good posture, lower down so both knees are about 90 degrees bent. Do not let right knee be forward of the right ankle.
- Bring left leg forward and stand up. Repeat the above with left leg leading.
Static lunges are the same as above except you are not traveling forward but are repeatedly lowering down with one leg forward / both knees bent.
Got Cardio?
So you don’t have a treadmill and the weather is questionable. Don’t worry! If you have a pair of tennis shoes and some flood space you are good to go. Here are some examples:
- Jumping Jacks or Modified jumping jacks –Modified move: From a standing position with legs hip width apart, do a “half” jack by moving right leg & arm out to the right (touching right toes on ground) then coming back to the center and switch to the left leg & arm moving out to the left side. Keep alternating sides.
- Shadow boxing – do a mix of punches, uppercuts, front & side kicks. Each movement counts as ½ a repetition. Ex: a punch with your left fist, then right fist equals 1 repetition. Kick at shin-level for beginners, then gradually aim for knee and thigh-level.
- Jump Rope or Modified jump rope – Modified move: Without a rope, move your arms in a circular jump rope motion while bouncing or hopping on the balls of your feet.
- Stair running or walking – go up and down a flight of stairs. Skip stairs on the way up for more intense workout.
- High knee marching or High knee running – in place, lift one knee up until thigh is parallel to the ground, alternate legs.
Got a Plan?
Now you can put all these exercises together into a workout. By combining strength and cardio you are maximizing your calorie burn!
15 min workout: Perform the following exercises in order. Repeat the whole sequence.
- High knee marching or running warm-up 30 sec
- Squats (hold dumbbells) 20x
- Push-ups (on toes or knees) 20x
- Jumping Jacks or Modified Jacks 30 sec
- Walking lunges or static lunges 10x each leg
- Seated Row (band) 20x
- Shadow boxing – punches 30 sec
- Stability Ball crunch 20x
- Squats (hold dumbbells) 20x
- Lateral Raise (band or dumbbells) 20x
- Shadow boxing – front or side kicks 30 sec
- Walking lunges or static lunges 10x each leg
- Bicep Curl (band or dumbbell) 20x
- Tricep pushdown (band) 20x
- Stability Ball crunch 20x
- Jump rope/modified jump rope OR Stair running/walking 30 sec
Be sure to have some water handy and take a 30 sec break before repeating the sequence for the second time.
This workout can be done every other day. Your goal: 3 days per week (ex: Mon/Wed/Fri). Perform 20-30 cardio on the off days for faster results and to feel amazing!!!
Good luck and please feel free to comment below or email me with any questions on the 15 minute workout or any other general questions, as well as any topics you would like me to write about!
CMOTC MoM and Personal Trainer
0 comments:
Post a Comment