Working out at home during quarantine can be tough, especially in the winter. In extreme cold, even going for a walk or jog around the neighborhood isn’t an option; and if you don’t have a home gym, your exercise program can get very boring. When spring arrives, weather is inconsistent in many locations, and it might continue to be difficult to ensure you’re challenging yourself as you work out. Rather than changing your exercise program, you might adapt in different ways. Here are ways to make your workouts more effective.
Workout Accessories
If you feel like your current exercises are getting too easy, you can add difficulty by making use of workout accessories like rubber resistance bands for leg exercises. If you’re doing weight exercises, hold dumbbells as you do them. This will give you more weight to work against and push your body even further.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, dumbbells were difficult to find for purchase, and got ridiculously expensive. Consider hardware store buckets filled with sand or variable depths of water for resistance.
Interval Training
Alternatively, you can combine your exercise routines to practice interval training. This eliminates rest periods. As you complete one routine, you immediately switch to another. This keeps your body moving but switches muscle groups, working out more parts of your body without overusing one group.
Monitor Heart Rate
Monitoring your heart rate isn’t making a change, but rather you focus on making sure you’re actually keeping your heart rate where it needs to be. Your maximum heart rate can be calculated by subtracting your age from 220. Making use of a heart rate monitor can help you ensure you’re staying within the desired heart rate range.
Add More Weight or Reps
This is perhaps the simplest way to make your workouts more effective. Investing in heavier weights is good for continuing to build more muscle while adding more reps to your routine will put your endurance to the test. Extending your workout may feel tedious, so to ensure you don’t become bored, make sure you have your favorite music playing or a suitable reward waiting for you after you finish your routine.
If you can’t get dumbbells, check the garage or the basement for safe objects you can use for resistance.
Learn Anatomy for Activity
If you can’t progress your activity level to your satisfaction, consider developing your exercise mind. Purchase an anatomy book written in the context of exercise, and study how muscles move your body. Study YouTube exercise videos produced by experts — especially physical therapists. You can study YouTube exercise videos from people who don’t present qualifications, but compare their messages to information from experts. Turn you attention toward presenters that provide a rationale for a chosen exercise, provide options for different levels of safety and progression, and provide exercise safety tips.
Workout Accessories
If you feel like your current exercises are getting too easy, you can add difficulty by making use of workout accessories like rubber resistance bands for leg exercises. If you’re doing weight exercises, hold dumbbells as you do them. This will give you more weight to work against and push your body even further.
Interval Training
Alternatively, you can combine your exercise routines to practice interval training. This eliminates rest periods. As you complete one routine, you immediately switch to another. This keeps your body moving but switches muscle groups, working out more parts of your body without overusing one group.
Monitor Heart Rate
Monitoring your heart rate isn’t making a change, but rather helps you focus on making sure you’re actually keeping your heart rate where it needs to be. Your estimated maximum heart rate can be calculated by subtracting your age from 220, but this catch-all formula is not very accurate. For example, there are many people at age 40 that have maximum heart rates above 180 beats per minute. Nevertheless making use of a heart rate monitor can help you ensure you’re staying within the desired heart rate range. Its a good practice to keep track of your heart rate to compare it to your perceived exertion. This way can recognize whether your heart rate is unusually high or low compared to how hard you feel you are exercising.
Add More Weight or Reps
This is perhaps the simplest way to make your workouts more effective. Using heavier weights is good for progressing to build more muscle mass, while adding more reps to your routine will put your endurance while reducing the risk of injury.
To prevent boredom, make sure you have your favorite music playing or maybe a suitable reward (water or protein drink) waiting for you after you finish your routine. Make your home workout area or home gym a fun place to exercise with motivating visuals.
★ | NEWS NOW | LOCAL NEWS
WEATHER NOW | US/World Chicago
