We live in difficult times when most of our usual daily activities are being restricted or eliminated altogether. Going out to dinner with groups of friends, going to weddings, going to a concert, are just some of the things that in this new era, where the virus is everywhere, we have had to leave behind. Although all these activities are important for our social life and our emotional ties, there is another type of activity that is even more important for our physical and mental well-being that we cannot stop practicing despite being isolated: sport.
After more than 30 days of confinement, you have probably begun to notice the effects that confinement and lack of movement are having on your body; feeling heavier and possibly putting on a few extra pounds. This is when you feel the need to start practicing sports in your home, but how can you do it without the space and the basic equipment that we usually have in a gym?
For all those who are desperately looking for a full body workout to keep fit and not go crazy indoors without being able to move and generate endorphins, we will give you a complete at home workout that requires no equipment, so you can achieve it. Through this routine you will be able to exercise movement, resistance and strength, just like you would in a gym.
Ready?
Let’s get started!
The workout
The training that we are going to explain next was made by experts of the sport who looked to include all the necessary exercises so that we can work force, resistance and movement in a same interval of time and without moving out of the house. According to the experts, one of the main problems of confinement is the lack of mobility, which in the long term will not only make us lose shape, but will also harm our cardiovascular health by deteriorating it little by little.
What will we need?
As we have indicated throughout the article, this at home workout can be done with only a couple of meters of free space and with some heavy objects that act as dumbbells and helps us to enhance the strength exercises of the routine, such as a box of milk or a bottle of detergent from 2 to 5 liters.
The best thing about this very complete routine is that we only need 30 minutes of our time to carry it out. Easy, right?
Take note!
Warm-up exercises
Before starting with the strength exercises, in which we will really need a great physical effort, we must practice four different warm-up exercises:
Gluteal bridge
This exercise is a good ab workout that will help us warm up gently:
- The first thing you should do is lie on your back against the floor with your hands on each side (preferably on a padded surface, although you can also do it at ground level). Then bend your knees and place your feet on the floor at hip level.
- Then we tighten our buttocks and abdominals, while pushing with the help of our heels to lift our hips until our body forms a completely straight line from our shoulders to our knees.
- We will pause and keep our buttocks firm in the upper one, and then we will start to relax and slowly lower our hips to our initial position.
- We will do as many repetitions as possible within 30 seconds.
Dead bug
- We’ll lie on our backs with our arms straight and our knees bent at 90 degrees and stacked on our hips.
- From this position we will slowly extend our right leg outwards, while letting our left arm fall on our head. We stay in that position for a few seconds
- Tighten your buttocks and keep the center of your body with your lower back pressed against the floor at all times
- Then we’ll gradually return to the starting position
- We’ll repeat the same exercise with the other arm and leg
- Do as many reps as you can in 30 seconds
Bird dog
- The starting position is with hands and knees in table position, with the wrists piled under our shoulders and the knees under the hips.
- We will then extend our right arm forward while stretching our left leg backward. It is important to keep your back and hips completely flat and aligned with the floor at all times.
- Keep your abs tight for a few seconds and return to the starting position gently.
- Go alternating each side until you reach 30 seconds
Squatting body weight
- We’ll have to stand with our feet spread at hip level and with our core occupied
- Then we will bend our knees and slide our hips back so that our thighs are parallel to the floor.
- We will keep the center of our body occupied at all times to help keep our back completely straight
- We’ll stand up again, squeezing our buttocks tightly, and get into the starting position
- As many reps as you can in 30 seconds
Strength exercises
After doing those four initial movement exercises to warm up our whole body, we will proceed to perform this series of three exercises in which we will need the help of some kind of heavy element that does the same function as a dumbbell.
Through these three exercises we will make some complete arm workouts to strengthen our upper trunk:
Squat to Overhead Press
- First, we must place our feet at hip level and take a weight with each hand on top of our shoulders.
- Then, keeping your back straight and your abdominals in tension, bend your knees and shift the weight towards your heels until you are in a squatting position.
- We will stand up again keeping our buttocks in tension at all times, and when we reach the top, we will press the dumbbells above our head with our elbows completely straightened
- It is important to keep the body centered and the hips tucked underneath to prevent our back from arching during the exercise
- Do as many reps as you can in 30 seconds
Bent-Over Row
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a weight in each hand with your arms at your side.
- Then, with the clip attached, buckle your hip forward while pushing your butt back and bending your knees a little.
- Then we will make a line pulling the weights towards the chest, always keeping the elbows close to the body and tightening the shoulder blades during the three seconds at the top of the movement. Remember that the elbows must go through the back while you carry the weight towards the chest.
- Slowly lower the weights by extending your arms to the floor and repeat the movement.
Wood Chop
- Stand with your feet spread apart beyond the width of your hips and with a dumbbell held in both hands on your left leg.
- Then, raise your arms diagonally in front of your body to the upper right, allowing your torso and toes to rotate naturally to the right as you turn
- Then shift your weight to the left at the front of your body and towards your left ankle. It is important that the whole body rotates in that direction naturally and that we keep the back very straight and the core strong.
- Do 15 seconds to one side and 15 seconds more to the other.
Bodyweight workouts
We have reached the end of our training, so it is time to put our endurance into practice with these bodyweight and leg workouts full of movement:
Skater hop
- We stand with our feet shoulder-width apart and bend our knees slightly
- Then we will jump to the right as far as we can, directing the movement with our right foot and swinging the left leg just behind the right one.
- We land on our right foot with the knee slightly bent and swing for a few seconds on that foot
- Then we will repeat the movement this time to the left, jumping on the left foot and keeping the balance for a few seconds
- The important thing about this exercise is how quickly and in what coordination we do it; the faster we go, the better.
Plank Up-Down
- We begin the exercise with a high board position with the palms of our hands on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart and legs fully extended behind us; the buttocks and back must be kept fully tensed throughout the exercise.
- Then we will begin the exercise by lowering our left arm until our forearm touches the ground; then we will do the same with the right arm.
- Then we put our left hand on the floor and then continue with the right hand, until we are back in the initial high board position.
- It is very important to keep our hips straight and in tension during the whole exercise and to avoid them from swinging.
V-Ups
- You should lie on your back with your legs and arms fully extended; keeping your arms close to your ears and contracting your abdominals downwards to keep your back firmly on the ground.
- Then pointing with the toes, thighs together and buttocks tight we lift our legs and upper back off the floor. At the same time, we raise our hands to meet our feet so that our body forms a V.
- We hold the position for a few seconds and slowly go down to the starting position.
