When COVID-19 hit Australian shores, lockdowns were imposed across the country forcing the population to the confides of their homes. Gyms shut their doors to reduce the spread of the virus, subjecting millions of people to find different ways to stay active. However, a challenge, countless online resources in the forms of videos, blogs and social media influencing provided a variety of home workouts to keep people active and motivated during those mentally demanding times. Now that gyms have been open for several months, that option is still available however, many are favouring home workouts for various personal reasons such as lifestyle, financial and travel preferabilities. Working out at home can save time in travelling to the gym, paying for a membership and can be more comfortable for some who aren’t confident in working out at a gym. You don’t need fancy gym equipment or machines to reach your goals, all you need is some handheld weights like a set of dumbbells, or you can simply use your bodyweight and lastly a mat, it’s that easy! Let’s take a look at the best home workouts that will target all areas of your body and keep you sweating. Put on your favourite and most comfortable activewear, we suggest Avvini’s Seamless legging like our Adapt Seamless Scrunch Bum Leggings or our Luna Seamless Scrunch Bum leggings to not only feel good in your before-workout selfie, but to ensure a full range of motion and flexibility for the intensity you choose.
Warm Up in your activewear
Firstly, always warm up whether you are in the gym or at home to ensure your muscles are ready to be put to work. Warming up gradually stimulates your cardiovascular system, raising your body temperature and increasing blood flow to your muscles. It is best to stretch and warm up all areas no matter what body part you are focusing on to reduce the risk of injury, increase performance and to ensure those targeted muscle groups are ready to go. A Dynamic Warmup is best for before a workout and can mimic the movements you do during your workout without the weights, while increasing your flexibility to reduce any stiffness. Add some mobility as you go, like some twisting and jumping. - Lunges - Squats - Push Ups - Glute Bridges - Arm Circles - Leg Swings - Hip Circles
1. Lower Body Burnout
Let’s focus on the lower half of your body first, you can choose however many reps and sets you want. You can choose to stick with one exercise at a time to really burn out those muscles or create your own superset or circuit. To ensure you’re getting the most out of your home workout we suggest you do at least 10 reps with 3-4 sets per exercise with a 30 second rest in-between so you can keep moving and your heart rate up. Challenge yourself and introduce some heavier weights as you go if you have the equipment. Start with the most challenging, heart racing exercises so when you’re feeling tired towards the end of your workout you have gotten the hardest part out of the way. If you don’t feel comfortable using dumbbells or you don’t have access to any you can always use bodyweight. - Donkey Kicks - Squats - Lunges - Lateral Lunges - Glute Bridges - Deadlifts - Calf Raises This set of exercises will target and burnout your entire lower body; your glutes, hamstrings, abductors, quads and calves. A complete lower body burnout without the need of any gym equipment in the comfort of your own home.
2. Upper Body Burnout
Similar to the Upper Body Burnout we suggest 10 reps with 3-4 sets per exercise with a 30 second rest in-between. You can again, focus on one exercise at a time burning out each muscle group as you go or create a superset of a couple exercises such as shoulder lateral, front and press and move on. It’s up to you! - Push ups - Shoulder Lateral raise - Shoulder Front Raise - Standing Shoulder Press - Chest Press - Bicep Curls - Triceps Kickbacks - Leaned Over Rows This set of exercises will target and burnout your entire upper body; shoulders, chest, back, biceps, and triceps.
3. Equipment Free Cardio & Abs
If you don’t wish to use any equipment or you’re looking for a more high-intensity workout you can choose some heart-racing exercises to get you jumping and moving. Use a timer to set yourself a goal, 30 seconds, 40 seconds or challenge yourself with a 60 second heart racer. Make sure to have a short break in-between sets, we recommend the same amount of time you are working out for example, 30 seconds on and 30 seconds rest etc. - Squats Jumps - Jumping Lunges - Jumping Jacks - High Knees Running - Burpees - Mountain Climbers Finish off your cardio with a quick ab burnout such as sit-ups, bicycle kicks, heel taps, and finally a plank.
Cool Down
Once you have completed your workout whether it was lower body, upper body or cardio it is always best to incorporate a Static Cooldown. This will reduce your heart rate to a steady pace, cooling down your body while stretching your muscles to help lengthen and loosen to reduce the risk of injury or soreness. - Triceps Stretch - Hip Flexor Stretch - Lying Hamstring Stretch - Quad Stretch
