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Exercise and staying healthy at home

24 March 2020

If you can't get to the gym or don't fancy heading outside, there are some great ways you can get your heart racing in the comfort of your own home.

black pair of trainers and dumbells on laminate flooring

Exercising at home has never been easier as there are plenty of workouts that we can practice and plenty of sources online. In fact, this is a great opportunity for you to try new exercises! Here are some recommendations that may be useful for you:

Do yoga

Every morning after you wake up, try to spend at least 10 minutes doing yoga. This can be a great way to stretch your body, stay calm and have a productive start to the day.

A tip is to challenge someone else in your house to do yoga with you. This will make practicing yoga - and other exercises - much easier when you start a new sport that you aren’t familiar  with.

If you don’t know where to start and still want to give it a go, the YouTube channel Yoga With Adriene is a perfect place to start.

Make your house your own gym

Many of the workouts that you would usually do at the gym can be easily done at home. Place a yoga mat on the floor and try different exercises!

There are endless cardio workouts that you could do at home: get a rope and try jumping/skipping, burpees, squats, push ups, mountain climbers and many more!

You could also try to do some strength exercises and lift some weights. Don’t worry if you don’t have weights at home, you can use some books, cushions or plastic water bottles as dumbbells.

Need some guidance? Check out YouTube channels like POPSUGAR Fitness and Fitness Blender. These are great ways to get your blood pumping and release endorphins.

Your room is your stage

This is your opportunity to become an artist and learn fun choreographies to dance around your room. Move things around so that you have plenty of space to dance and stay safe.

There are many professional dancers who are offering online free classes on their social platforms, so follow their lead and move like noone is watching!

And if you want to mix dancing with some workouts, The Fitness Marshall will make sure you get your cardio fix for the day.

House and garden tasks

There are mundane activities that we practice in our daily basis that we could turn into exercises.

Is it a good day to rearrange the furniture in your room in a new way? Or maybe sweep, vacuum and mop all the floors with vigorous effort?

There are many tasks that could become small workouts, with the extra productivity bonus.

If you want more ideas on how to stay healthy and exercise whilst at home, the NHS has published a list with equipment-free workouts for all levels.

Remember to stay safe and healthy!


By Javier S Bautista, PhD in Biomedical Sciences