How to exercise at home: a round-up of my favourite resources and equipment
Sometimes I like to sneak in a few kettlebell swings when I have the chance - even in my skinny jeans and slippers!
I like exercising at home: I don't have to go anywhere, I can squeeze it in during times I wouldn't be able to fit in a full workout, I can look after my kids at the same time, and I can essentially do it for free.
Here in Germany, as in many parts of the world, the pandemic has meant the closure of gyms and fitness centres for the foreseeable future. It's also cold (and snowing) in much of the Northern Hemisphere, meaning that many outdoor fitness activities are currently not possible (although I have noticed a few people running around in the snow wearing shorts - but I think they're the minority!).
Now, more than ever, staying fit and healthy and maintaining a consistent exercise routine has become quite challenging. This is why today I'm going to share with you my favourite methods, resources, and equipment for staying fit and healthy during these difficult times. Most of the things that I discuss are free and can be adapted to many different lifestyles.
YouTube channels
BodyFit By Amy
Note: this is my FAVOURITE exercise resource!
Find her channel here
I discovered Amy at BodyFit By Amy about 3.5 years ago when I was recovering from the birth of my first son. After being really inactive during pregnancy, I was keen to regain my fitness afterwards. I first discovered her postpartum workouts (she has had two babies herself) but then realised that she had a ton of other content. Amy is a California-based Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor with a long history of experience. She explains the moves very clearly, focussing on good form, and nurtures you all the way through. She also offers plenty of options for each exercise, so you can adapt the workouts to your fitness level and challenge yourself appropriately.
Types of workouts on offer: Aerobic style cardio workouts, high intensity interval training (HIIT) with weights or bodyweight, boxing, pilates, kettlebell workouts, yoga, medicine ball workouts, resistance band workouts, TRX workouts and much more.
Are you pregnant or postpartum? She has playlists full of pre-natal and post-natal workouts that are awesome if you need some guidance in working out safely during and after pregnancy.
Are you new to exercise? Or have you not exercised in a while? She has whole playlists of beginner and low impact workouts. These are a great place to start. I began with the postpartum workouts, then moved to the beginner ones, and, now that I've built my strength and fitness up, I do whatever takes my fancy.
Length: There are workouts of various lengths, ranging from 5 minutes to about an hour. This is great, because you can choose to do what suits you depending on the time you have available during the day. Most weekdays I only manage to fit in 10 - 20 mins of exercise but because I can choose high intensity workouts, they are very effective!
Difficulty: Again, you can choose very simple workouts or very challenging ones. There's really something for everyone: from the novice to the more advanced.
Cost: FREE - well, you'll need an internet connection and a device.
My favourite BodyFit By Amy workouts:
Amy's Insanity Plyometric and Cardio Strength Workout (here): Like the name suggests, this is quite a full-on workout. I did this one a lot between my two pregnancies because it is nice and concise at 20 mins. I haven't been game enough to do it since I was pregnant with my second son, but I remember it being very effective: you will be sweating and breathing hard after this one!
10 Minute Low Impact Cardio HIIT Workout - Quiet Workout with High Intensity Intervals (here): I have done this workout a ton during this winter lockdown. I strap the 11 month old in the high chair, set up the 3.5 year old with an activity, and get to work. It's only 10 mins but it leaves me puffing and feeling like I've done something. Lots of squats and lunges in this one - an excellent lower body workout without jumping.
23 Minute Pilates Cardio and Toning Workout - No Equipment Standing Barre Sculpting & Cardio (here): This has been my favourite workout to do since giving birth to my second son (after a few months, of course!). I had a mild case of diastasis recti, so didn't want to risk doing anything that would put pressure on my abs. This is perfect because it's all standing! It's also quite short and sweet, and very intense so super effective.
Yoga with Adriene
Find her here
I have loved doing yoga fairly regularly since I was about 16 years old (so more than half my life!). I used to get up really early during high school and do a program that was broadcast on free-to-air TV, but now there are so many more options available to me with YouTube! I found Yoga with Adriene a few years ago and I quickly re-began my yoga journey. She explains things really clearly, and somewhat poetically at times. Her voice is soothing, but not in an airy-fairy way - just in a calm yet strong way.
Types of workouts on offer: There is a lot available, from Vinyasa (or flow) yoga, to standing yoga, prenatal yoga, meditations and so on. There are also playlists geared towards tackling particular challenges: eg "Yoga for neck tension", "Yoga for uncertain times," and "Yoga for courage." There's morning yoga, yoga for at work, bedtime yoga. Adriene has a yoga workout for almost any particular situation you could think of!
Never done yoga before? She has two series' to get you started: "Yoga For Beginners" and "Foundations of Yoga".
Length: The videos go for between 10 and 60 mins. She also has playlists organised by length, which is very helpful in picking a workout.
Difficulty: She has routines that are useful for the most beginner to the most advanced. She also often offers various options that you can try depending on your level of experience.
Cost: Again, free.
My favourite Yoga with Adriene workouts:
Reunite With Your Body (here): This is a good whole-body Vinyasa routine that is only 19 mins long. Great to ease out all those kinks and to start breathing a little more deeply.
5-Minute Morning Yoga (here): This is a great quickie to start the day off right.
Day 5 - FEEL ALIVE FLOW (here): This is part of her 30 days of Yoga series. It's a relatively quick, 16 minute Vinyasa flow.
Yoga For Focus & Productivity - 10 min practice (here): This is a great 10 min routine to do in the middle of the workday if you're working from home (or, if you have your own office!). Nice for a little pick-me-up in the post-lunch energy slump - more effective than coffee!
MadFit
Go here
I discovered MadFit a few months ago, and have only done her dance workouts so far (they are really fun, even though I am completely uncoordinated and probably look extremely silly while doing them!).
Types on workouts on offer: There are a tonne to choose from - the dance workouts I already mentioned, and also cardio, dumbbell, ab workouts, yoga, and no equipment workouts.
New to exercise? She has a long playlist of beginner workouts.
Length: From around 6 mins to 30 (with most hovering around the 15-17 min mark).
Difficulty: Again, I've only done the dance workouts. They were difficult for me, leaving me puffed. I haven't tried anything else, but it seems like she's catering to all levels - from beginners to more advanced.
Cost: Free again.
My favourite MadFit workouts:
15 MIN 90's DANCE PARTY WORKOUT (here): I was a 90s kid, so I couldn't resist this one. I had so much fun dancing along to The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, and The Backstreet Boys. This 15 min workout flew by! Note: she gives no audio instruction on the dance videos - you simply follow along and listen to the songs while you're dancing.
15 MIN CHRISTMAS DANCE PARTY WORKOUT (here): I loved dancing along to Christmas hits in the lead up to the holidays. This is definitely one I'll be doing again this December.
Our original P90X DVD set from 2008 - yes, we even brought it with us to Germany.
DVDs and online memberships
P90X Extreme Home Fitness
Okay, so I have this DVD set from 2008, which contains "12 Extreme Training Routines". My husband bought into the program and did it a bit, and then I started doing some of these workouts quite religiously for a while during my PhD. There were some that I avoided, like "Chest and Back", because they required weights, but there were two workouts I loved from this series: "Cardio" and "Yoga". They were all instructed by a guy called Tony Horton, an incredibly fit (now 62 year old) man. They are extreme, but they are effective! Plus Tony is such a motivating instructor.
How can you access this? I looked online and it turns out that now you can pay for a Beach Body membership and get access to workouts. Tony Horton has 279 available on there, including the original P90X ones.
Find out more here
Tracy Anderson
Again, this was something I had on DVD back in the day (it's probably now sitting in a box in my in-laws' garage back in Australia). She's known for training many a star, including: Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Kim Kardashian, and Jennifer Lopez, just to name a few. Her workouts (at least the ones I used to do) are quite cardio-based and sometimes involve a dance element. They were also quite long (about an hour). I did feel like they were quite effective in making me feel like I looked fit, but I don't know if they were actually effective in making me be fit.
How can you access this? These days she has quite the enterprise online. It seems like you can buy into various programs and courses of hers. It seems quite pricey to me but you might be interested.
Find her online classes and videos here
10 Minute Solution Yoga
Again, I used to do this workout by Lara Hudson on DVD back in Australia. It's a series of 10 min yoga videos, that add up to 50 minutes. You can choose to do one, or a few, or the whole thing. I remember it was very effective and helped me get into yoga.
How can you access this? It seems like you can still buy the DVD online!
Equipment
I'm a big fan of guided workouts - I like having someone there to tell me what to do, and it usually means that I workout harder than if I were to go it alone and design my own routine. But, that being said, I still utilise some other ways to workout.
Kettlebells
If you're going to invest in one piece of exercise equipment, then I say make it the kettlebell! I have one that is 10kg and I use it primarily for kettlebell swings. Tim Ferris in the Four-Hour Body tells a story of a woman who lost 100 pounds or about 45 kg (and gained a beautiful butt) by simply doing Russian kettlebell swings twice a week for 15-20 mins (see here). He calls the kettlebell swing the king of all exercises, and I kinda have to agree. I think if you're going to do one thing and one thing only, then do some kettlebell swings - it's a whole-body move, that builds heaps of strength, and takes very little time. But make sure you have good form: see here for Tim Ferris' explanation and tutorial. Don't have a kettlebell? Try using something you've got lying around: a big jug of laundry detergent, a backpack and so on (see here for some further ideas).
Resistance bands
We have a set of these, but my husband uses them more than I do. But still, they are a great piece of equipment to have because you get a lot of the benefits of weights without taking up as much space! BodyFit by Amy has some resistance band workouts to get you started.
Foam roller
I had a foam roller back in Australia and I loved that thing. So nice to roll around and soothe those aching muscles after some tough exercise.
My trusty pink Nike runners. I’ve had these for at least 10 years - they’ve probably only lasted that long because I’m not a runner.
No equipment, no nothing
You can't go past the basics. Think: squats, lunges, push-ups, star jumps. Design your own body weight routine. It can be as easy or as hard, as short or long as you'd like and you don't need anything but yourself to do it.
So, there you have it - these are my favourite resources and equipment for exercising at home. Of course, there are plenty of other options - I didn't cover treadmills and exercise bikes and so on because I haven't had experience with them. No matter what you like to do, there's an at-home option! I hope you've found a few to try out yourself over this winter.
Where do you exercise? How do you exercise at home? Leave your answers and tips in the comments below!
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