As college students, we have busy lives. Our schedules can get pretty crazy and sometimes we just don't have the time or motivation to get out of the house to exercise. And motivation can be hard to find on those rainy days, or those days when its too hot to be outside, so I'm going to tell you about a few exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home. In a previous post, I mentioned how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that adults get a total of 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week and do muscle-strengthening activities twice per week that work all of your major muscle groups (arms, legs, back, abdomen, etc.). I talked before about what you can do to to get your moderate-intensity aerobic activity requirement every week, so now I'm going to tell you about some muscle-strengthening activities that you can do at home.
The CDC website suggests activities such as yoga and lifting weights, but there are many other exercises you can do at home that use your body weight for resistance. So next time you are stuck at home on a rainy day, or have no motivation to go out and exercise, try these muscle-strengthening exercises in the comfort of your home:
To strengthen the muscles in your chest and arms, you can do the modified push-up. It is just like a regular push-up, with a few simple modifications to work the chest muscles better.
To work the major muscle groups in your lower body, such as the thighs, gluteals, and hamstrings, you can try doing squats. Also, lunges can be done to work the other areas in your legs such as the upper thigh, buttocks, hip extensors and quadriceps, and you can do them with or without weights. Heel raises will work your calves for a complete leg workout.
Working your core muscles is really important when trying to strengthen your muscles because your core supports the rest of your muscles. The V-sit will work your core (abdomen and back), and its easy to do. The classic abdominal crunch is also a good way to work your core muscles.
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9 years ago
Thanks for all these exercises! Sometimes I hate going to the gym, especially when they get too crowded. When I do workouts at home, I try and focus on all the muscle groups. One good thing to help work the core is a plank, where you are in the push up position but just hold yourself there. Another good way to work your core is with leg lifts. You lie on the floor and lift you legs up only a few inches. The closer you keep it to the ground, the harder the exercise works out your core. I learned that during Softball practice in high school. Those can be killer. I like the idea of the v-sit though, I'll be sure to try that next time I do my home workout!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion! When I was in physical therapy a few years ago my doctor always made me do planks and I thought they were so hard, a great workout though.
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