The Ultimate Guide to At-Home Workouts During Quarantine (6 Workouts You Can Do Today)
COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have made normal life feel like a thing of the distant past. Many people's routines have been derailed, causing them to neglect their exercise routines.
With gyms closed, switching to an at-home workout routine is the only option.
Starting your at-home workout routine is challenging, especially if you are feeling unmotivated like many people are.
But, because of the pandemic, many health and fitness experts are sharing tips for staying motivated and developing an effective at-home routine.
Staying in shape at home may difficult, but it is certainly doable. This comprehensive guide will show you how to make the most of the current situation by developing a customized workout plan.
Before we dive into the regimens, let's talk about stretching, warming up, and cooling down for a workout.
How Warm Up, and Cool Down
Warming up, and cooling down are essential parts of working out. They improve your exercise performance and help you recover faster.
Warming Up
A good warm-up will dilate your blood vessels and supply oxygen to the muscles.
Warm-ups raise the temperature of your muscles which helps you achieve maximum flexibility.
By raising your heart-rate slowly instead of immediately jumping into a workout, you will minimize stress on your heart.
Warm-up for at least 5 to 10 minutes. The more intense the activity, the longer you should warm-up.
Do whatever exercise you plan on doing at a lower intensity. For example, if you want to go on a run, jog lightly for the first 5 to 10 minutes as a warm-up.
Cooling Down
Cooling down after a workout is just as important as warming up. After a workout, your heart is still beating at a higher rate than average. Your body temperature is higher and the blood vessels are dilated. These are all things you need to slowly bring back to normal.
If you stop too soon after a workout, you could start feeling sick or even faint.
To cool down, stretch at the end of your workout. It can prevent lactic acid buildup, which can cause your muscles to turn stiff and cramp.
After a workout, walk for 5 to 10 minutes, or until your heart rate slows to 120 beats per minute.
Stretch and hold each stretch for about up to 30 seconds. Remember to breathe! Exhale as you stretch, and inhale while you hold the stretch.
Stretching Before Workout
Workout #1: Beginner Bodyweight Workout
This workout is an excellent option for people who have little to no experience working out at home. Here's the beginner bodyweight workout:
20 Squats
10 Push-ups
10 Walking lunges (make sure you do this on both legs)
10 Dumbbell rows (make sure you do this on both sides)
Use a gallon jug or another weighted object.
Plank (15 seconds)
Jumping jacks (30 reps)
This workout is a type of circuit training, which means that your objective is to run through the entire sequence once, and then repeat as many times as you can.
Workout #2: Intermediate Bodyweight Workout
Perform each of these moments for 45 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds. Switch to the next movement and repeat the circuit 5 times to complete a 30-minute workout:
Box jumps
Triceps dips
Walking lunges
Planks with shoulder taps
Burpees
Pushups
Workout #3: Advanced Bodyweight Workout
If you have some experience with at-home bodyweight workouts, here is a more advanced routine:
One-legged squats (10 reps each side)
This exercise is very difficult, so only try it if you think you're in good enough shape.
Squats (20 reps)
Walking lunges (10 reps each leg)
Jump step-ups (10 reps each leg)
Pull-ups (10 reps)
Dips (10 reps)
Chin-ups (10 reps/underhand grip)
Push-ups (10 reps)
Plank (30 seconds)
You can repeat this sequence as many times as you want. The advanced workout is more intensive than the rest, so don't feel defeated if you can only do a couple of circuits.
Woman Doing a Plank
Workout #4:High-Intensity Interval Training
You don't need to go to a gym to do high-intensity interval training. HIIT workouts help burn fat and build muscle quickly, and you don't even need equipment.
It's a form of interval training, which is a cardiovascular exercise strategy that requires alternating short bursts of intense exercise with recovery periods.
Do each of these exercises for 3 minutes, switching between 30 seconds of intense training and 10 seconds of rest. After you do eight intervals of each exercise, change to the next.
Side kick-through (30 seconds)
Rest (10 seconds)
Repeat 8 times
Skater hop (30 seconds)
Rest (10 seconds)
Repeat 8 times
Crab toe touch (30 seconds)
Rest (10 seconds)
Repeat 8 times
Burpees (30 seconds)
Rest (10 seconds)
Repeat 8 times
Walking lunge (30 seconds)
Rest (10 seconds)
Repeat 8 times
Workout #5: Choose Your Own Adventure!
To make working out more fun, come up with your own exercise regimen. It can be a compilation of exercises that you like at a pace that you feel comfortable with.
Give your workout a name and write the steps down so you can keep track of your progress.
Say you're trying to burn fat and you want an intermediate exercise routine; here's an example of what the routine might look like:
Jumping jacks (30 seconds)
Burpees (30 seconds)
Mountain climbers (30 seconds)
Squat thrusts (30 seconds)
Repeat this circuit as many times as you can with short rest breaks in between.
Workout #6: Full-Body Bleacher Blast
While this workout technically requires that you head to your nearest set of bleachers, you can still do this workout with your stairs at home. Workouts involving stairs are great for improving muscular endurance and cardiovascular strength.
By getting creative, you can hit every muscle group without ever picking up a piece of equipment. Start with a warmup of your choice, and then cycle through this circuit:
Run all the way up and down the bleachers (2 sets)
Squats (30 reps)
Bench triceps dips (30 reps)
Bench step-ups (20 reps)
V-sit pull-ins (30 reps)
Beginners should start by doing the circuit once. Only work up to two cycles once you feel comfortable.
Two Women Exercising
How Sleep Affects Your Resting Metabolic Rate
Your RMR, or resting metabolic rate, describes your metabolism during a period of consistent rest. Your RMR supports many essential body functions like breathing, blood circulation, neurological functions, and organ functions.
When we sleep, our cells and tissues recover from daily activities. The body's lymphatic system eliminates toxins, and the brain forms new pathways to improve memory.
What many people don't know is that there is a relationship between sleep and weight loss.
A study conducted at the University of Colorado showed that sleeping for only 5 hours each day for a week led to a weight gain of 2 pounds in the study's participants.
Without the right amount of sleep, certain hormones like leptin aren't regulated properly. Leptin suppresses appetite and encourages energy expenditure.
When we don't get enough sleep, our body produces less leptin, which leads to more hunger and possibly weight gain.
If you'd like to know more about resting metabolic rate and how it affects your health, set up an appointment, and consult Dr. Charlie Seltzer today.
Additional At-Home Workout Resources
Working out at home can be a challenge if you don't know where to start. Luckily, many fitness experts and reputable blogs are publishing how-to guides for at-home workouts.
This guide is packed with helpful tips for making the most of at-home restrictions and building an effective workout regimen.
Here at Dr. Charlie Seltzer Weight Loss, we're also hosting online fitness classes to help people maintain a healthy lifestyle while following social distancing regulations.
You can check out our free live-streamed home virtual workouts on our Facebook page.
Another at-home resource that you should take advantage of is the people you live with. If you're fortunate enough to live with family or roommates, begin this exercise journey together.
Sticking to a new regimen is much easier when you have a friend or family member to keep you motivated and hold you accountable.
Book a Consultation Today
Weight loss success takes careful planning and significant lifestyle changes. Take control of your health by building a custom workout plan, or trying out some of these beginners, intermediate, and advanced level workouts. With any workout, adequate stretching, warming up, and cooling down are essential. Practicing these things will help you maintain energy levels, prevent injury, and improve endurance.
Once you've gained some experience doing beginner-level workouts, you'll be more confident doing higher-intensity exercises and even developing a custom plan.
If you're ready to lose weight, but don't know where to start, book a consultation with Dr. Charlie Seltzer, a fitness and weight loss expert. Dr. Charlie Seltzer offers medical treatment for disorders that affect weight loss, nutrition counseling, physician designed workouts, and individual support.
You can sign-up for the email newsletter to receive a case study straight to your inbox or to hear directly from one of Charlie's patient success stories.
What are you waiting for? Take control of your life and health today by building an at-home workout routine.
