If you find yourself held hostage in your home by inclement weather, kids that need constant supervision or a case of the working from home, you can still squeeze some exercise into your day.
Warm-Up: Cat/Cow Stretch
- To open up the muscles in your lower back, get down on your hands and knees, wrists in line with your shoulders and knees directly underneath your hips.
- Inhale as you lift the crown of your head and tailbone toward the ceiling and push your heart ahead of you.
- Hold for a few seconds, then release while exhaling, slowly moving the crown of your head toward the floor while lowering your hips toward the floor in tandem, rounding up your shoulder blades toward the ceiling. Reverse positions and repeat five times.
Warm-Up: Downward Dog Pedal Stretch
- Assume the downward dog position by placing your feet shoulder-width apart and bending at the waist to place your hands in line with your feet on the floor, forming your body into an upside-down V.
- Raise your heels off the ground and bend one knee in at a 90-degree angle toward the floor.
- Resume the V position to rest a beat and repeat with the other leg.
- Repeat on both sides twice more.
This helps release tension in the calves and hamstrings.
Workout 1:
Burpee/Plyometric Workout
These intervals are 45 seconds of high-intensity activity followed by a 15-second rest period. For this particular indoor workout, we recommend alternating between 45 seconds of burpees and 45 seconds of plyometric jumps for 10 minutes.
Burpees
- Begin in a squat position with your weight on your heels.
- Place your hands on the ground shoulder-width apart and thrust your legs straight back into a plank. This activates your abs, shoulders and triceps.
- Frog-jump your legs forward and spring straight up toward the ceiling, landing in a squat position for one complete rep. This works your core, thigh and calf muscles.
- To give your chest muscles a little added burn, lower your chest all the way to the floor before pushing up into the squat position.
Plyometric Jumps With 180-Degree Rotations
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees and sit back as you swing your arms back for momentum.
- Swing your arms overhead as you jump as high as you can into the air, turning over your right shoulder.
- Twist your body around, making a 180-degree turn in midair so you land facing the opposite wall.
- Reverse direction.
- Once you are back facing the same direction, turn over your other shoulder.
Workout 2:
Full-Body Blast Workout
Five rounds of this routine will give an efficient, full-body workout that’s well-suited to the great indoors and it takes 15 minutes max!
Man Makers
Man makers are squats and planks combined into a flow a challenging cardio drill that builds upper- and lower-body strength at the same time.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Drop down into plank position.
- Bend one elbow and raise one arm to a 90-degree angle (as if you were holding a dumbbell) while supporting yourself with the other.
- Lower your hand back down and raise the other arm in the same way.
- Place your hand back down on the ground and jump forward, raising yourself into a squat with your hands in fists near your shoulders.
- Return to standing, raising your arms straight up above your head, hands still in fists.
- Repeat five times per round.
Laying With Alternating Toe Touches
- Lay down on your back.
- Lift your left leg and touch your toes with opposite hand
- Lift both legs and touch your toes with both hands
- Lift right leg and touch your toes with opposite hand
- Do this move again with the left leg and continue to alternate.
- Doing 10 reps on each side per round will actively engage your arms, shoulders, chest, core and legs.
Single-Leg Hip Raises
- Lie flat on your back.
- Place your arms at your sides with the palms down.
- Bend both knees with your feet flat on the ground.
- Bend your left knee into your chest and flex your right foot.
- Raise your hips off the ground by pushing through your right heel.
- Raise and lower your hips, hugging your knee in the whole time.
Side Forearm Bridge
This move is basically a side plank that uses your forearm for support instead of an extended arm a great way to work your obliques, abs and lats.
- Lie on your left side with your torso raised and supported by your left forearm, bent at the elbow.
- With your right arm either around your waist or extended to the ceiling, keep your feet and legs straight and stacked on top of each other.
- Raise your hips into a side forearm plank.
- Keeping your core tight, lower your hips so that they hover just about the ground.
- Continue lowering and raising for 10 reps on each side.
Cooldown: Spinal Roll-Ups
- Lie flat on the floor with your arms by your sides and your knees bent.
- Pressing through your feet, begin to lift your back off the floor, one vertebrae at a time.
- When you reach the top, hold for a beat and slowly lower back down to the start the same way, rolling your spine out along the floor.