If you're like me, these last few months showed just how much we can take things
for granted. Going out to the movies, going to restaurants with your friends,
getting a good workout in at the gym. It all just kind of stopped. And we were
able to adapt pretty well. We still had Netflix and Tiger King. Got busy in the
kitchen cooking a lot more. But how do you replace a gym?
Well, turns out, with the little creativity you can do everything you can
in a gym from the comfort of your own home.
Okay so an effective fitness program has five components: a warm-up,
a cardiovascular or aerobic work out, resistance or strength building
exercises, flexibility moves and a cool-down. Now the good news is you don't
need a gym full of equipment to do any of that. You can build an awesome routine
in your own home. Now yeah, going to a gym is helpful and it can make working out
more convenient and doable, depending on your circumstances. At home
you won't have access to a bunch of equipment or in-person workout classes.
And, of course, gyms are starting to reopen again. But whether it's for your
health or safety reasons, or maybe you just don't want to rely on a gym, there
are some great pros to working out from home. You don't have to deal with gym
bathrooms and showers. You don't need to drive out to the gym; saving time, gas
and money. It's free-ish or close to it depending on how you do it. And we'll get
to that. No waiting on others to use equipment. And you get to jam out to your own
playlists in your own space. So, it can definitely be more freeing in that way.
And you don't have to just take my word for it. We spoke with an expert to learn
more about working out and staying active.
Donna: my name is Donna Cataldo. I'm a
clinical professor in the College of Health Solutions. I teach for the
kinesiology program and I've been happily with ASU since 2001.
So, let's jump in. Here are some tips for working out at home.
Create a dedicated at-home
workout space. Having a dedicated space can help you build and establish a
routine for your at-home work outs. If you don't have a lot of space you really
just need a corner of a room and you'll be set. Now, if you are able to have the
space be completely dedicated to just working out. It's the same psychology
behind having a dedicated space for working from home as a way to eliminate
distractions. Having a space to work out from home can help you stay focused and
committed to your workout. Try to keep it separate from where you relax,
eating watch TV. However if, like me, you like to put movies or TV on while you
work out, you know go for it. There's there's no real rules, just find a place
that works for your routine. Okay, tip number two: you don't need a
bunch of gym equipment to get results. Being at home is a great time to
practice and focus on calisthenics and bodyweight fitness. Now, if you do have
some equipment, you know, dumbbells, power tower, treadmills, that's great.
Put them to good use. But you don't need them and you can still do effective
workouts with just calisthenics. Getting comfortable with a bodyweight fitness routine
allows you to workout anywhere even if you don't have access to a gym or
equipment and even while traveling. That being said, I don't think we'll really be
traveling anytime soon. And it might be quite some time still until gyms open
again at full capacity. But, hey, if you build up a routine now you'll be set for
the future. And now is as good as time as any to at least get familiar with
bodyweight fitness. Or working out with limited equipment. For cardiovascular
workouts, you can still go outside for a run or a bike ride. Just make sure you are
practicing safe social distancing, of course. Here in Arizona it's heating up
again quickly. So, if you can, try and build any outdoor workouts into your routine
early in the day or late at night, if you want to avoid the heat as much as
possible. And, of course, stay hydrated.
If you have a pool at your house, great! I'm jealous!
You can focus on swimming exercises, as
aquatic exercises allow for max calorie burn per minute and a minimum impact on
joint tissue. It's like a win-win! You can also jump rope or build a series of
cardio exercises into a workout. Such as mountain climbers, burpees and high knees
to get your blood pumping and heart rate up. For muscular strength and
endurance, there are bodyweight exercises for all
skill levels that can be built into your workout. Some course staple exercises are
the classics: push-ups, squats, lunges planks, flutter kicks and mountain
climbers. You can create your own circuit out of these exercises and more. Each of
these can have several stages of progression depending on your fitness
level and goals. And there are so many more exercises out there to incorporate.
Even though you can have a complete, full workout program using just your
bodyweight, it may be worth investing in some basic
equipment as well to expand your routines. I think one of the most useful
would be some form of pull-up bar, as they allow you to do variations of
pull-ups and chin-ups, which are fantastic additions to your workout. But
also dumbbells, a mat, resistance bands and a foam roller are all good basic pieces of
equipment that can also really aid your workout routine with a minimal
investment. But if you don't want to spend any money,
you can get resourceful. To warm up, you could get some chores done around the
house to get the blood pumping.
Donna Cotaldo: a warm-up is important because it kind of
facilitates that progression from what we're doing now -- rest -- to exercise. So
you're kind of increasing ventilation, and increasing blood flow to the muscle,
and in that process, you're warming those muscles up. When we think about
flexibility, we think about the ability to move through that whole range of
motion of a given joint. And we know that range of motion is so important in terms
of offsetting injury.
Use milk jugs or laundry detergent as freeform weights.
Wear a backpack and fill it with canned goods to add weight for different
exercises. Towels or sweatshirts could be used as DIY resistance bands. And you
could put a sturdy broom on two chairs to create a pull-up bar. Get creative
with it! What's important is you having what you need to stay consistent and be
able to meet your workout goals. Everyone approaches working out
differently, so take some time to figure out how you should approach it.
Speaking of goals, make sure to set realistic goals for yourself. Adapting
into a new workout environment and routine can take some time. Especially if
you haven't really worked out outside of a gym before. Just as it can be hard to
develop a routine to go to the gym, it can be hard to develop it even at your
own home. In some ways it's even a little harder since, well, I mean the couch is
right over there and that new Netflix show just released. But make sure to do
your best not to make excuses. A lot of us do have more free time right now so
try your best to develop good habits with your consistency and routine. One
thing that may help with this is to use your devices to get new workouts and
help your routine stick. There are plenty of apps out there that you can use to
help develop your circuits and programs, and help you keep track of your progress.
If you're like me, coming up with good circuits and knowing when to progress
and each individual exercise can be difficult. So, having an app or program
with built in progression over time can be super useful. You may already be
familiar with these kinds of apps if you use them for the gym, but there are
plenty of apps out there designed to help you to exercise anywhere with
or minimal equipment. And if you don't want to use an app try streaming
workouts online. There are plenty of online workout videos that you can watch
and learn from and even classes to help you.
I find online videos going over each exercise can be really beneficial for
focusing on proper form for new exercises or progressions you haven't
tried before. If you have a smart speaker in your house such as Amazon Alexa,
you can have it guide you through a home workout. It's pretty cool. This can be
helpful keeping you on track for time circuits and staying focused. Now, one
less thing to touch on is finding ways to stay motivated. Getting the motivation
to stay consistent with working out from home can be challenging. It doesn't come
easily for a lot of people. There are a couple things you could try to help. If
you can, try to work out the first thing in the morning. It can help set your day off
on the right foot and give you energy throughout the day.
Donna Cataldo: Getting up in the
morning and getting an activity in, the first thing in the morning, really
sets that mindset all day. It kind of sets your body up to burn more calories
throughout the course of the day. So, you've already, like, not only have I
exercised and gotten that activity in just for myself, that's gonna help my
sleeping behaviors and my mental health behaviors but it's also gonna help me
burn calories for the rest of the day. Done!
You could also try to set a calendar
to help keep you on track with your workouts. I like to set alarms on my
phone to remind myself I'd lose track of time. If you are able to, work out with
others in your household. Having support and someone to hold you accountable can
make a significant difference. And maybe an obvious one but do what you can to
always strive for a healthier lifestyle. From getting good sleep to eating
healthy with proper nutrition, managing stress, meditation, all these things can
work together to help you feel motivated and have the energy for working out.
Donna Cotaldo: I try to remind people that being physically active is more about quality
of life. And not just for today. 10 years from now, 20 years from now, what's the
health that I want to have? You know what is it that's gonna either internally
motivate you? It's like I love to help people but if I'm not healthy and
I'm not taking care of myself, I can't help others. And they if you are
extrinsically motivated, it's like there's so many apps out there that, you know, you
can get a badge for this or a badge for that. It's like, there's so many things.
You just have to find out what's important to you.
Live Well @ ASU has a bunch of resources and knowledge available to
help you improve your healthy lifestyle and stay active while at home.
One last thing that may help is to get inspired. Whether that's through music,
people you know or motivating videos online, try to find something that inspires you to
stay motivated every day. Check out some of these videos on wellness asu.edu that
can help you get in and stay in a healthy mindset. Lastly remember why we
work out in the first place. At the end of the day, we work out to stay healthy,
to feel better physically and mentally, to help our bodies and our immune
systems and to stay fit and active, I hope we continue to push ourselves no
matter the circumstances, to continue living healthy and staying active every day.
Donna Cotaldo: So, it's just keeping a good balance. Literally. Muscle balance and mental
health balance. We always say, you know, it's not magic, it's just eating
well, sleeping well and moving. That's it.