Fun and easy exercises to keep you moving at home

Working out at home can seem tedious, especially when you are indoors most of the time. This often leads us to have a sedentary lifestyle, which makes us even more lethargic and affects our mood. Adding fun and easy workout routines can make exercising quite interesting.

To curb this, some mild to rigorous physical activities with a focus on muscle groups are exactly what is required to stay fit. If you are bored with the usual workouts, a simple and fun activity can be a pleasant change, resulting in improved metabolism and strength, alleviated stress, boosted energy and uplifted mood.

From basic workouts that involve using your body weight to the dance-fitness programme of Zumba and the practice of yoga asanas, there are many workout routines you can choose from to stay fit. Moreover, these hardly require any time and can be done in confined spaces. And, what’s even better is that muscle strengthening exercises will make you look radiant post workout.

However, before starting any new workout routine, undertaking any physical activity or trying out any of the exercises listed below, choose a beginner’s version and consult a physician or a certified fitness trainer.

Here are six workout routines that you can try at home to become fitter

Zumba

Bored with the usual routine of jogging or running? Try adding Zumba as an alternative to the otherwise mundane cardio. Zumba is a high-energy session of Latin-inspired dance moves, which will turn your workout session into a party.

You can either join a Zumba class or follow an online tutorial or just dance to grooving beats of Salsa, Reggaeton, Cumbia and Merengue.

Practising this versatile, super fun exercise routine for about an hour will help burn as much as 300-900 calories per day. However, that depends on how vigorous the routine is.

It is interesting to note that the dance-fitness programme was created by dancer and choreographer Alberto Perez, who started using Latin dance steps in his aerobics training, in Columbia.

Today, the form of exercise has become world famous, with people across age groups taking part in it. Additionally, it is a trademark owned by Zumba Fitness LLC who provides professional Zumba training to teachers across the globe.

Bodyweight workout

Losing some extra inches and burning calories is not something that can be done effectively only at a gym. A bodyweight workout routine proves just that and helps you to sweat it out in a smaller space.

A no-equipment regime, this workout uses the weight of your body as the only form of resistance. Common exercises would include planks, wall sits, lunges, pushups, chin-ups and squats. It can be easily modified to suit your body type and your fitness goals by moderating the repetitions and rest time.

Moreover, bodyweight workouts can be done anywhere, thus eliminating all excuses for skipping exercises. What makes this workout more feasible is that you can do it at any time of the day.

Research has also shown that doing machine-based strength training can reduce a person’s agility as compared with those who opt for free-weight workouts.

Bodyweight workouts can also be a great start for beginners before getting into more challenging regimes.

7-minute workout for lazybones

This exercise regime is for all those who get extremely lazy when it comes to working out. Extremely easy to follow, the seven-minute routine, without jumps and fewer movements, is also super fun.

These basic, free-hand exercises, like leg lifts, lunges, planks, slow mountain climbers, supermans, arm rotations and sumo squats, are aimed at improving your overall fitness.

If you wish to amp up the workout, use water bottles or rice sacks as weights.

Here’s a pro tip: Try this right after waking up in the morning. That way, you can do most of the exercises while in bed.

Card game workout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zON0xhkF-dw

Have you ever imagined that something as interesting and simple as laying a game of cards can be an excellent workout regime? Yes, you read that right! This at-home fitness routine doesn’t need any equipment for a good calorie burn.

All you need is a deck of cards, give it a good shuffle and get ready to sweat it all out.

Reveal one card at a time. The number on the card is the number of reps you will have to do for each workout of your choice.

If you get face cards and aces, you’ll have to do 15 and 20 reps, respectively, while the jokers will get you a good 30 reps of a workout.

One of the super fun and easy workout routines, it includes basic jumping jacks, squats, lean backs, lunges and planks are some exercises you can begin with.

Don’t worry, you aren’t expected to use up the entire deck all at once. But if you are the fitness junkie who likes to push their limits, go for it! Make it more fun by partnering with friends, and you can pick cards for each other.

Yoga

Yoga needs no introduction. This traditional age-old Indian practice of physical fitness, using the body to perform several poses, has numerous health benefits too. It not only helps with weight loss but also aids in calming your senses and making you feel at one with nature.

With no equipment needed, yoga can be done from the comforts of your home and is often regarded as a spiritual practice. One of the most widely practised and performed asanas, or yoga poses, today in the West is the ‘Hatha Yoga’. It comprises Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Iyengar and Power Yoga.

Yoga is aimed at improving your body’s flexibility, strength and stamina while engaging your core muscles and maintaining a balance between the mind and the body.

Some popular examples of asanas include Surya Namaskar, or sun salutation, the bridge pose, the tree pose and the downward-facing dog pose.

Tabata workout

If you are up for some high-intensity interval training (HIIT) but have little time in your hands, then Tabata is for you. These are heart-pumping exercises that use core strength.

A typical four-minute Tabata session would comprise eight rounds of 20-seconds-long strenuous exercises followed by 10 seconds of rest.

Fitness trainer and Tabata expert CJ Hammond tells Women’s Health magazine that this “training is all about reaching the pinnacle of your anaerobic capacity.”

It is interesting to note that Tabata was originally formulated by Izumi Tabata, dean of the Ritsumeikan University Graduate School of Sport and Health Science, in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996. He laid down the protocol after observing athletes who undertook four-minute intense workouts to increase their anaerobic space, which was more than those following other regimes.

Some basic Tabata workouts include burpees, pushups, high knees, squats, jumping jacks and overhead presses.

Hero image credit: Image credit: Jonathan Borba/@jonathanborba/ Unsplash; Feature image credit: Maryjoy Caballero/ @emdjay/ Unsplash