When poor weather forces you to exercise indoors, don’t despair if you’re not a member of a fitness centre. In your own home, you can create a private, convenient gym, with little or no investment.
You can simulate a stair-climbing machine by using the bottom step of a staircase, or a sturdy box of the same height. Simply step up with right foot, follow with left — and then down with right, down with left. Repeat continually. Always land on the whole foot and stay as upright as possible; no bending forward at the waist. Walls and railings provide stability, if balance is an issue.
If you’re fit, and familiar with step training, step for 20 minutes. Gradually increase the height of your stepping platform up to 12 inches (higher is hard on the knees).
For the less fit, try 10 minutes (increase time gradually, and don’t step higher than six to eight inches, at first). Stepping is an effective cardiovascular (aerobic) activity, and a great workout for the leg muscles.
Other aerobic workouts include rope jumping, or jogging on a rebounder (mini-trampoline). If you live in a two-storey home or a multiple-storey building, walk up and down the staircase at a comfortable pace for your fitness level. No need to go fast — you’ll still get a great workout at a modest pace without risking injury.
Your (unused?) exercise bike can be used in several different ways for an effective heart/lung workout. Stand up as you pedal. Pedal backwards. Sit behind the bike on a chair, or on the floor, and you’ve improvised a recumbent exercise bike. You’ll work hamstrings and buttocks a bit more.
To determine the proper leg reach in a recumbent position, it’s the same as sitting upright on the bike: With the ball of your foot on the pedal, your fully extended leg should be slightly flexed at the knee.
If you live in a larger (preferably uncluttered) residence, take a brisk walk through it. Listen to music. To raise your heart rate more, do a light jog. Take short strides (baby steps) and pump your arms. Try not to run into anything.
Now, for the weight training equipment: Canned foods, water-filled jugs, fanny packs filled with heavy items, two large rocks from your garden, even small grandchildren, can all provide resistance to do many weight training exercises. If you decide to invest in weights, dumbbells in various weight increments are not expensive and take very little space.
Pushups are the same as doing the bench press (to work shoulders, arm and chest muscles). Lunges and squats (with or without weights) work the entire lower body.
For the abdominals or lower back, costly gadgets aren’t necessary to strengthen these muscles. The standard exercises are just as effective. Drop in to a gym and ask a fitness instructor to show you these and other exercises. And if you’re computer savvy, there are hundreds of videos on YouTube.com that will provide you with the proper technique.
After your workout, relax and stretch.
Eve Lees was a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Counsellor for 30 years. Currently she is a Freelance Health Writer and Speaker.
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Eve Lees has been active in the health & fitness industry since 1979. Currently, she is a Freelance Health Writer for several publication and speaks to business and private groups on various health topics.