Exercise at Home

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.

Stretch, stretch, stretch

Stretching is an important part of healthy living, whether you exercise daily or not. It can help you increase your flexibility, improves your muscles' range of motion, improve circulation and even relieve stress. Stretching before a workout will help to prevent injury and soreness and it will also improve the quality of your workout. Also, stretching daily even when you do not exercise will make you feel healthier because you will have better circulation and motion range of your muscles.

In the following pictures, my roommate Brooke is demonstrating basic stretches that you should do before every workout, as well as a few times per week. These stretches will stretch the main muscles your body uses when you exercise: the calves, hamstrings, quadriceps ("quads"), adductors, lower back, and arms. Each stretch should be held for at least 30 seconds for it to be effective, and should be repeated on each side of the body (i.e. left leg and right leg, left arm and right arm). You should stretch only until you feel a light pull of the muscle and it should not be painful, if pain occurs, you should stop the stretch and talk to your doctor about it.

In the pictures: Brooke Carpenter, 21, Ohio University.